7 Easy Secrets To Totally Intoxicating Your Diva ADHD Assessment

DIVA ADHD - Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis

DIVA is a semi-structured interview that has been developed to enhance ADHD assessments in adults. This study aims to evaluate the criterion validity of DIVA 2.0 and its concomitant validity in comparison with Conners Adult ADHD Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV (CAADID) 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

ADD/ADHD symptoms impact all aspects of our lives from relationships to career advancement and the everyday tasks we have to perform. That's why it is so important that our ADHD assessments adopt a holistic approach, looking at how symptoms impact all areas of life. Dr Schilling will begin by evaluating your symptoms and medical history. She will then conduct the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview designed to evaluate the primary symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and how those symptoms have impacted your life.

The DIVA is an interview tool developed by psychotherapists and psychiatrists to assess symptoms of adult ADHD. It has been demonstrated to have high sensitivity and a high degree of specificity. It is highly effective at identifying those who have the disorder. It can help raise awareness and diagnose adult ADHD in Korea since it is the only validated semistructured diagnostic test available in the country.

To conduct the DIVA, a trained clinician typically psychologists or psychiatrists will inquire about the primary symptoms of ADHD which include inattention, hyperactivity, and the tendency to be impulsive. The psychologist will also look into the individual's history, looking at their childhood experiences and how they may have affected their current behaviours. This is because the symptoms of ADHD aren't something that just happens to appear at a moment's notice, they are developed through the teenage years, and through adulthood.

The DIVA is able to effectively identify those with ADHD by taking into consideration both the DSM-IV criteria for ADHD in childhood and adulthood, and how those symptoms have impacted the individual's daily functioning in five distinct areas of life: education work, family/partner relationships, family, social activities/leisure time, and self-esteem and self-confidence. Other screening tools, for instance the WURS brief that was compared with the CAADID showed poor sensitivity, and negative predictive value.

Diagnosis

In order to diagnose ADHD in adults, it is important to assess the symptoms and their causes. This can be done through an extensive interview about childhood symptoms and a neurological examination. It is also essential to look at the effects of the symptoms the person's life and work. This can be assessed by conducting a structured interview, the DIVA and, in some cases, asking for information from family members and friends.

The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview originally designed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been refined for use in other countries including Korea. This study looked at the criteria 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 time at which the symptoms begin to manifest, and the extent of impairment resulting from those symptoms. The doctor will also collect various sociodemographic data and inquire about any psychiatric co-morbidity.

The MINI-S plus Version 5.0.0 The MINI-S plus Version 5.0.0, the Brief Alcohol Related Neuropsychological Impaired Screening Instrument (BEARNI), as well as the Frontal Assessment Battery were used to screen for psychiatric co-morbidity. A clinical diagnosis of ADHD was determined by two psychiatrists with years of experience who used the DIVA-5, a structured diagnostic interview, to evaluate symptoms in both the early years and in 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. This diagnostic tool has good concurrent validity when compared to the WURS scale and has fair validity when compared with three self-report ratings instruments that include the ASRS (self-report rating), FAB (self-report rating), 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 accuracy of the DIVA-5's diagnostics was found to be comparable to the accuracy of clinical diagnoses given by two psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the sensitivity as well as specificity of earlier screening tools, such ASRS and WURS.

Treatment

If you have an undiagnosed ADHD it can greatly impact your life. This can be in many aspects, from relationships to academic and work progress to the simple task of organising your day-to-day life. A diagnosis can help identify your strengths and weaknesses, and also provide treatment options to improve your symptoms and cope mechanisms.

A trained clinician, usually psychologist or psychiatrist, will conduct an in-depth interview with you about your symptoms currently using the DIVA-5 assessment tool. It will ask you standard questions about your levels hyperactivity, inattention and the tendency to be impulsive. It will also look into your personal history including your childhood experiences to create the full picture of your symptoms.

This 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 can be used to determine adult ADHD with high specificity and sensitivity. It has also been proven to be valid as a criterion when compared with self-report scales, such as the Wender Utah Rating Scales (WURS) or the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good consistency with these scales, and has reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory.

Contrary to the more conventional methods for assessing ADHD in adults, the DIVA assessment focuses on identifying and discussing symptoms that are present in both childhood and in adulthood, thus increasing the accuracy of the diagnosis and enabling an accurate comparison between sociodemographic traits of the two groups. The DIVA evaluation also gives an opportunity to think about the effects of co-occurring conditions on the appearance of ADHD symptoms.

If your Psychologist is unable to recommend medication, it may be necessary to set up an appointment with a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist to further assess and/or therapy. You may be referred to a specialist psychologist for a thorough assessment of your symptoms and to determine if there is any co-occurring or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing any comorbid disorders, such as depression or anxiety.  how do you get assessed for adhd  will allow your Psychologist to recommend an appropriate treatment plan.

Getting Started

A diagnosis of ADHD can change your life. It provides answers to long-standing problems and opens the door to effective treatment options. A successful evaluation requires the expert knowledge of qualified healthcare professionals. The DIVA ADHD assessment, a structured and comprehensive tool, can help to improve adult ADHD diagnosis accuracy by evaluating symptoms at different life stages. It also detects patterns of behavior that persist and assists in determining the difference between ADHD symptoms and other conditions like anxiety or depression.

In an DIVA ADHD assessment, a clinician conducts a structured interview to ask several questions regarding symptoms of hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The doctor evaluates the intensity, frequency and duration of symptoms to determine how they affect the individual in different settings. This information can be used to determine an accurate diagnosis.

The DIVA assessment has been validated against other diagnostic tools and has shown high sensitivity in comparison to the WURS-brief and CAA-DID as well as a psychiatrist's assessment. It also has high accuracy when assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships, home and family social contact; leisure time and hobbies.

For a valid DIVA assessment, the individual being assessed and their family members and friends must be present. This will help establish trust and a strong therapeutic bond, which will be crucial to the success of your assessment.

A psychologist or psychiatrist with experience with the DIVA ADHD assessment can give an in-depth professional report. The report will detail the results of the assessment and recommend a treatment plan that is based on the evidence.

If you suspect that you or a loved one might have ADHD, please contact us for an appointment. Our doctor Kate Schilling is trained in the DIVA ADHD assessment and is able to provide an evaluation. She will then make a referral to a specialist to develop an effective treatment strategy. Please be aware that the recommended treatment approach is a combination of medications and psychotherapy.