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DIVA ADHD – Improving Adult ADHD Diagnosis DIVA is a semi-structured, structured interview designed to improve ADHD assessments in adults. This study aims at evaluating the validity of the criteria used in DIVA 2.0 as well as its concomitant validity with 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 can affect every aspect of our lives from relationships and career progression to the everyday tasks that make up our lives. That's why it is so important that our ADHD assessments take a holistic approach, looking at how symptoms impact all areas of life. During your assessment, Dr Schilling will begin by collecting details of your symptoms and health background. She will then take the DIVA 5 assessment, a semi-structured interview that is designed to assess the main symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and how those symptoms have impacted your life. The DIVA is an interview tool for diagnosing ADHD. It was created by psychologists and psychiatrists to determine adult ADHD symptoms. It has been shown to have sound sensitivity and a high degree of specificity. It is extremely effective in identifying people suffering from the disorder. It can help raise awareness and help diagnose adult ADHD in Korea because it is the only validated semistructured diagnostic interview available in the country. To perform the DIVA, a trained clinician – often psychologist or psychiatrist will ask questions about the core symptoms of ADHD, including hyperactivity, inattention, and the tendency to be impulsive. The doctor will also dig into the background of the individual and examine their childhood experiences and how those may have affected their current behaviours. The symptoms of ADHD do not appear suddenly. They develop over a period of time from childhood to teenage years and adulthood. The DIVA can detect ADHD because it considers both the DSM-IV ADHD criteria in childhood and in adulthood and how these symptoms have affected the person's daily functioning across five areas – education, employment, family/partner relationships social activities/leisure, as well as confidence and self-esteem. As a contrast, other screening tools like the WURS-brief which was compared with the CAADID and showed low sensitivity and negative predictive values. Diagnosis To diagnose ADHD in adults, it is important that you evaluate the signs and symptoms along with their history. This can be done through a comprehensive interview on childhood symptoms and an assessment of the neurological. It is also essential to assess the impact of the symptoms on the individual's life and work. This can be evaluated conducting a structured interview the DIVA and, in certain cases, asking for information from relatives and friends. The DIVA interview is a semistructured interview originally developed for adults in the Netherlands. It has been refined to be used in other countries including Korea. This study evaluated the validity of the criterion used to determine the Korean version of DIVA (DIVA-5) in an adult clinical sample with ADHD. During the DIVA the doctor will inquire about ADHD symptoms in the early years and in adulthood. They will also inquire about the age at which symptoms first started to manifest symptoms and the level of impairment caused by these symptoms. The doctor also collects a variety of sociodemographic information and inquires about any mental health comorbidity. Patients were screened for psychiatric comorbidity using the MINI-S plus version 5.0.0 as well as 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 structured diagnostic interview to evaluate symptoms in both childhood and adulthood, and to determine the duration of those 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 concordance 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 accuracy of diagnosing ADHD with the DIVA-5 was found to be comparable with that of a clinical diagnosis formulated by two renowned psychiatrists. This was in accordance with the sensitivity and specificity of earlier screening tools such as ASRS and WURS. Treatment Undiagnosed ADHD can have a major impact on your daily life. This could be in a variety of areas, from relationships, work and academic progress to the basic tasks of organising daily living. A diagnosis can help you determine your strengths and weaknesses and offer treatment options to improve your symptoms and provide coping mechanisms. A licensed professional (typically psychiatrists or psychologist) will have a structured discussion with you using the DIVA-5 tool to evaluate your current symptoms. It will ask you standard questions about your levels of hyperactivity, inattention, and impulsivity. It will also delve into your personal history, including childhood experiences, in order to gain a complete understanding of your symptoms and the impact they have on your life. This method is essential to ensure a complete diagnosis of adult ADHD. This will help us better understand your symptoms and inform your treatment. The DIVA assessment is a highly effective way of diagnosing adult ADHD, with high sensitivity and specificity. It has also been demonstrated to be valid as a criterion when compared with self-report rating scales like the Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) and the ADHD-Rating Scale. It has good concurrent validity these scales and has reasonable validity with Sheehan's Dysfunction Inventory. The DIVA evaluation, unlike more traditional methods of assessing ADHD in adulthood, focuses on identifying symptoms that are present in childhood and into adulthood. This increases the accuracy of diagnosis and allows for a more precise comparison of the sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups. The DIVA assessment can also be used to assess the effects of co-existing disorders on the presentation and severity of ADHD symptoms. If your Psychologist is not able to recommend medication, it may be necessary to set up an appointment with a Pediatrician or Psychiatrist to further assess and/or therapy. They will then refer you to a specialist Psychologist to conduct an thorough evaluation of your symptoms and to look for co-occurring diagnoses or differential diagnoses. This includes assessing for comorbid conditions such as anxiety and depression. This will allow your Psychologist to recommend an appropriate treatment plan. Getting Started Being diagnosed with ADHD can have a profound impact on your life, offering explanations for long-standing issues and opening doors to effective treatment options. However, a reliable assessment requires the expertise of experienced healthcare experts. The DIVA ADHD assessment is a standardized and extensive tool that assists to improve the accuracy of an adult ADHD diagnosis by evaluating symptoms across different life stages. It also identifies persistent patterns of behavior and distinguishes between ADHD symptoms and those of other disorders that may present similar symptoms in adults, such as anxiety or depression. In link , a practitioner will conduct a structured interview in order to ask a series questions about the symptoms like hyperactivity, inattention and an impulsiveness. The clinician assesses the frequency, severity and duration of these symptoms in order to understand how they impact an individual's life and how they function in various settings. This information can be used to determine an accurate diagnosis. The DIVA assessment has been validated against other diagnostic tools and exhibits high sensitivity in comparison to the WURS-brief and CAA-DID as well as a psychiatrist's assessment. It also has high reliability when it comes to assessing ADHD symptoms in five areas of daily functioning: education and work as well as relationships, family and home social contact; free time and hobbies. To be able to conduct an accurate DIVA assessment, the person being assessed and their family members and friends must be present. This will help establish trust and a strong therapeutic bond, which is crucial to the success of your assessment. A psychologist or psychiatrist who has expertise in the DIVA ADHD assessment can write a detailed, professional report. This report will outline the findings of the test and provide a treatment strategy that is based on evidence. Contact us to make an appointment if you think you or someone you know might be suffering from ADHD. Our doctor Kate Schilling has been trained to use the DIVA ADHD assessments and can provide a comprehensive evaluation. She can then provide an appointment with a specialist to develop an effective treatment strategy. Be aware that the treatment plan recommended is a combination of medications and psychotherapy.