Diva ADHD Assessment: 11 Things You're Not Doing DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis

DIVA is a semi-structured interview designed to improve ADHD assessments for adults. This study is aimed at assessing the criterion valid of DIVA 2.0 and its concurrent validity compared to Conners Adult ADHD Diagnosis Interview for DSM-IV criteria.

Compared to the top 20 attributes, DIVA attributes that correlate strongest with diagnosis are attention deficit for both childhood and adulthood and hyperactivity/impulsivity for adults, followed by CAARS ADHD TT1 score and IOWA personality disorders evaluation.

Symptoms

The symptoms of ADD/ADHD impact every area of life including relationships and career progression to the day-to-day tasks that make up our lives. This is why it's important that our ADHD assessments adopt a holistic approach by examining how symptoms affect every aspect of our lives. Dr. Schilling will begin by evaluating your symptoms and medical history. She will then conduct a DIVA 5 assessment. This is a semi-structured interview which evaluates both the main symptoms and the impact of ADD/ADHD your life.

The DIVA is an interview tool for diagnosing ADHD. It was developed by psychiatrists and psychologists to evaluate adult ADHD symptoms. It has been found to be extremely sensitive and specific. It is highly effective at identifying those who have the disorder. It is able to raise awareness and help diagnose adult ADHD in Korea as it is the only validated semistructured diagnosis interview available in the country.

A trained and experienced clinician, typically psychiatrists, will inquire about the most prominent symptoms of ADHD. These include inattention, hyperactivity and an impulsive nature. The clinician will also look at the history of the individual and their childhood experiences and their influence on their behavior. The symptoms of ADHD do not appear suddenly. They develop over a period of time, from childhood to teen years and into adulthood.

The DIVA can detect ADHD because it considers both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria in the early years and later in adulthood and how these signs affect the individual's daily functioning in five distinct areas - education, employment, family/partner relationships, social activities/leisure, and confidence in oneself. As a contrast other screening tools, such as the WURS-brief, which was compared to the CAADID and showed low sensitivity and negative predictive values.

Diagnosis

To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is essential to evaluate the symptoms and their background. This can be done with an extensive interview regarding childhood symptoms as well as a neurological assessment. It is crucial to think about the impact that these symptoms have on the person's work and life. This can be assessed through a structured medical interview, the DIVA and, in certain instances, getting information from family members and friends.

The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview first designed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been revised to be used in other countries including Korea. diva assessment for adhd examined the criterion that is valid for the Korean version (DIVA-5) using an actual clinical sample of patients with ADHD.

During the DIVA, the clinician asks about the presence of ADHD symptoms in childhood and into adulthood, the age at which symptoms onset, and the severity of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The clinician will also collect different sociodemographic information and inquire about any psychiatric-related co-morbidity.

Patients were screened for psychiatric comorbidity using the MINI-S plus version 5.0.0, the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impairment Screening Instrument (BEARNI), and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB). A diagnosis of clinical ADHD was determined by two psychiatrists with experience who used the DIVA-5, a structured diagnostic interview, to assess symptoms in both adulthood and childhood and determine the duration of these symptoms.

The sensitivity and specificity of DIVA-5 was found to be high for both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms in childhood and adulthood. The diagnostic tool was demonstrated to have good concurrent validity with the WURS scale and fair concurrent validity with three self-report ratings instruments: the ASRS, FAB, and Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.

The sensitivity and specificity of the DIVA-5 was found to be high for all subtypes of ADHD in both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity in adulthood and during childhood. The DIVA-5's diagnostic accuracy was found to be comparable to the accuracy of a clinical diagnoses that were made by two psychiatrists. This was in line with the specificity and sensitivity of previous screening tools such as the ASRS and the WURS.

Treatment

Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your daily life. This can be in many areas, from relationships, academic and work progress to the simple task of organising daily living. A diagnosis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and also provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and coping mechanism.

A licensed psychologist (typically a psychiatrist or a psychologist) will have a structured discussion with you, using the DIVA-5 tool to assess your current symptoms. It will ask you standard questions about your levels of hyperactivity, inattention, and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also look into your personal history, including your childhood experiences, to gain a complete understanding of your symptoms and their impacts on your life.

This method is essential to ensure a thorough diagnosis of adult ADHD. This allows us to better understand your symptoms and inform your treatment.

The DIVA assessment is a highly efficient method of diagnosing adults with ADHD and has high sensitivity and specificity. It has also been proven to be reliable in determining the validity of criterion when compared to self-report scales for rating such as the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concordance validity with these scales and reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.

In contrast to the more conventional methods of assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA assessment is focused on identifying and discussing the symptoms that can be observed in childhood and adulthood, thereby increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis and enabling an easier comparison of sociodemographic traits of the two groups. The DIVA assessment also allows for consideration of the impact of coexisting disorders on symptoms and severity of ADHD symptoms.

If your Psychologist is not able to prescribe treatment, it might be necessary to set up an appointment with a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist to further assess and/or therapy. They can refer you to an expert Psychologist for more in-depth evaluation of your symptoms and to determine if there are any co-occurring diagnoses and differentials. This includes assessing co-occurring conditions, such as anxiety or depression. This will enable your Psychologist the best treatment plan.

Getting Started

Being diagnosed with ADHD can be life-changing and provide explanations for lingering problems and opening the door to effective treatment options. However, a reliable assessment requires the expertise of experienced medical professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a well-organized and comprehensive tool that helps to improve the accuracy of an adult ADHD diagnosis by assessing symptoms across different life stages. It also identifies persistent patterns of behavior, and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and other conditions that can exhibit similar symptoms for adults, such as anxiety or depression.

In a DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician conducts a structured interview to ask an array of questions about symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The doctor evaluates the frequency, severity and duration of these symptoms in order to understand how they impact on the person's life and performance in several situations. This information can be used to create an accurate diagnosis.

The DIVA assessment is validated in comparison with other diagnostic tools. It has a high sensitivity compared to CAA-DIDs, WURS-briefs and psychiatrist's assessments. It also has excellent reliability in it comes to assessing ADHD in five areas of daily functioning such as education and work, relationships, home and family social interactions, free time and hobby.

A well-validated DIVA assessment requires participation from the person being evaluated as well as their close family members and close friends. This will help build trust and a therapeutic bond that will be essential to the success of the evaluation.


A psychologist or psychiatrist with experience in the DIVA ADHD assessment can write an in-depth professional report. This report will present the findings of the test and provide a treatment strategy that is based on evidence.

Contact us to make an appointment if you or someone you know might be suffering from ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained in the use of the DIVA ADHD assessments and is able to provide a comprehensive evaluation. She will then make a referral to specialists to design an effective treatment plan. Be aware that the recommended treatment approach is a combination of medication and psychotherapy.