My best friend enrolled her pre-teen daughter, who has no dx but mother suspects ADHD and possibly bi-polar, into a neurofeedback program. This info was taken from a site offering this treatment. It sounds like what my friends daughter did:
...place small sensors on the client’s scalp to detect their brain waves.A computer uses these brain waves to run a video game for the client.The game is similar to a video arcade game, except that, instead of the hands controlling the game, the brain does.When the computer detects the kinds of brain waves we want to see, the person begins to win at the game.When the brain falls back into a non-productive pattern, the person starts to lose at the game.Through this non-invasive, non-medication-based technique, our clients quickly train their brains to operate a peak performance levels.
My friend reports that she did not see any great improvement in dd and it was an expensive experiment.
Brain Gym is reported to provide neurofeedback and I do know a few families with AS kids that used it with great success. At the private school Sam attended briefly the children did Brain Gym exercises twice a day. I found a book and it outlined the exercises to do (I think you can find them on-line too) I use some of them ocassionally in Sam's sensory diet at home. I don't know if they in themselves do what the book claims they do for the brain, but the exercises are easy, seem like common sense, good for you anyway kinda stuff.
I'd be skeptical of a neurofeedback clinic like the one my friend used.
mama to Sam 8yrs PDD NOS OCD ODD PPD and Alex 2yrs
What is Neurofeedback?
Neurofeedback is direct training of brain function, by which the brain learns to function more efficiently. We observe the brain in action from moment to moment. We show that information back to the person and we reward the brain for changing its own activity to more appropriate patterns. This is a gradual learning process. It applies to any aspect of brain function that we can measure. Neurofeedback is also called EEG biofeedback, because it is based on electrical brain activity, the electroencephalogram, or EEG. Neurofeedback is training in self-regulation. It is simply biofeedback applied to the brain directly. Self-regulation is a necessary part of good brain function. Self-regulation training allows the system (the central nervous system) to function better.
What is Neurofeedback good for?
Neurofeedback addresses problems of brain disregulation. These happen to be numerous. They include the anxiety-depression spectrum, attention deficts, behavior disorders,various sleep disorders, headaches, migraines, PMS, and emotional disturbances. It is also useful for organic brain conditions such as seizures, the autism spectrum, and cerebral palsy.
The symptoms may go away, so it’s all the same in the end?
Indeed, with neurofeedback the symptoms may be entirely suppressed. A person with diagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder may be able to train the brain to pay attention, so that condition will no longer be diagnosable. A person coming in with migraines may no longer have them. (However, that person may still have a greater "vulnerability" to migraines than the average person on the street.) A person with epilepsy may no longer have seizures. (Although that person still retains a vulnerability to seizures.) A child with severe rages and temper tantrums may not have them again.
How is this done?
We apply electrodes to the scalp to listen in on brainwave activity. We process the signal by computer, and we extract information about certain key brainwave frequencies. (All brainwave frequencies are equal, but some or more equal than others….) We show the ebb and flow of this activity back to the person, who attempts to change the activity level. Some frequencies we wish to promote. Others we wish to diminish. We present this information to the person in the form of a video game. The person is effectively playing the video game with his or her brain. Eventually the brainwave activity is "shaped" toward more desirable, more regulated performance. The frequencies we target, and the specific locations on the scalp where we listen in on the brain, are specific to the conditions we are trying to address, and specific to the individual.
What conditions can be helped?
In our work at the Brian Othmer Foundation, we are especially concerned with the more "intractable" brain-based problems of childhood whose needs are not currently being met. This includes first of all seizures and febrile convulsions. It includes the severely disruptive behavior disorders, such as conduct disorder and bipolar disorder. It includes the autistic spectrum and pervasive developmental delay. It includes cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury and birth trauma. Many children have sleep problems that can be helped: bedwetting, nightmares and night terrors, sleep walking, and teeth grinding. We can also be helpful with many of the problems of adolescence: drug-taking, suicidal behavior, anxiety and depression. And we can also help to maintain good brain function as people get older. The good news is that almost any brain, regardless of its level of function, can be trained to function better.
I picked up a bunch of pamphlets at the Autism Illinois conference I attended on Friday. I just started looking through them and found one for neurofeedback? Has anyone tried this or know anything about it? Is it yet another scam?
I did neurofeedback years ago as part of rehab PT after breaking my leg. I
didn't really follow through with it. But, it did help with pain management.
It's used for many things like anxiety, mood regulation too. I'm interested to
learn how it is used for autism, or symptom alleviation.
i HAVE NOT TRIED IT, SORRY I THOUGHT I HAD ANSWER YOU BEFORE!
I just asked last week if anybody heard or tried it and nobody answered! This site hurts me at times.
I am currently looking into doing this with Chase. I met with a psychologist that has been doing neuro feedback since 1995. My problem is that he has never worked with a child with ASD.
In Columbus (2 hours away) there is a pretty nice sized practice with 30 clinicians that have a lot of experience with ASD. He comes highly recommended to us from friends of the family. From what I hear, he suggests coming 2x a week though at the beginning and I don't think I can do it with everything else we do during the week.
Some people that do this, can actually have it covered by insurance, depending upon how it is billed. The psychologist that I spoke with last week bills it under psycho therapy.
There is little negative side effects that I can find, I really would love to try it just to see if it helps some.
I guess my question is actually what MK said, how is it used with autism? A man I work with said his MIL did it for restless leg syndrome and it worked wonders.
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