The number of options to help your special needs child has grown exponentially in the last decade. Through new understandings of developmental delays, therapists have discovered a variety of behavioral, nutritional, and medical offerings to improve function. While this explosion in choices is wonderful, it can feel overwhelming…and expensive. How do you know what is right for your child’s specific needs?
Since the brain manages a child’s ability to retain focus, handle transitions, or sleep through the night, if any therapy is to be effective, the brain must be positively impacted.
Neurofeedback, a form of brain “exercise,” is a process that speaks directly to the brain. The primary canvas is the child’s physiology, not his psychology. What has been discovered cliniXcally and through research is that
once the physiology changes, behaviors, cognitive abilities, and emotions change as well.
The process is simple and non-invasive; through computer technology, the child’s EEG controls a video game. While the child feels like he is racing a car or navigating a space ship, his brain is getting a workout and in the process is being taught how to shift states. Parents are often surprised to see that within a half-hour session a chronically hyperactive child will show dramatic improvements in his or her ability to be calm.
Although there is research on a variety of learning disabilities, the data for ADHD is especially strong. In collaboration with researchers from Tübingen University (Germany), Radboud University (Nijmegen, the Netherlands), Brainclinics and EEG Resource Institute, a meta-analysis was conducted on all published research about neurofeedback treatment in ADHD. This metaanalysis included 15 studies and 1194 ADHD patients. Based on this analysis published in EEG and Clinical Neuroscience, Neurofeedback is now considered evidence based for ADHD and has large and clinically significant effects on impulsivity and inattention and shows a modest but significant improvement of hyperactivity.
Many parents don’t yet understand how playing a neurofeedback video game can help their child’s brain function better, but family after family has found this to be true and the research results cannot be denied. Neurofeedback can be a powerful–and enjoyable–option to unlock your child’s full potential. To find a clinician in your area and experience the results yourself, visit www.eeginfo.com/directory.
