Wisdom of Your Mind Blog

By Clare Albright

If someone you love struggles with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADD/ADHD, you will likely be interested in any new breakthroughs in the treatment of these disorders. For years, parents, schools, and doctors have been struggling to find a solution for attention deficit disorder, especially as more children each year are being diagnosed with one of these disorders. In any given classroom of thirty or so students these days, there will typically be at least two or three children with ADD/ADHD. Parents may feel they have very few options for treating their children who have received this diagnosis.

The traditional treatment for the disorder has been medication, Ritalin being one of the first. Since then, drug companies have produced a variety of treatments for ADD/ADHD. These medications may not treat the disorder itself, however, but merely work to curb the symptoms. They also may have many drawbacks, including short-term side effects such as fatigue, appetite loss, and personality alterations, as well as the possibility of long-term effects, some of which may have yet to be discovered.

While there are a few natural treatments available, including dietary and behavioral therapy, many of these treatments have produced limited results, because even these treatments do not truly address the problem at its core. Children and adults with ADD/ADHD have been left with little hope of any permanent resolution, and have had to face the prospect of living with the disorder for the rest of their lives. But that may not be the case for long.

A new therapy called neurofeedback, also known as ‘biofeedback for the brain’, has already dramatically changed the lives of many ADD/ADHD sufferers. In one recent study neurofeedback therapy was able to successfully eliminate all attention deficit symptoms in 80% of the participants. In addition, most of the children involved in the study experienced an increase in IQ.

Some neurofeedback therapists may recommend that ADD/ADHD patients continue with their medications for a time after they begin neurofeedback therapy but when the therapy is complete “usually after about 40 to 60 sessions”some patients should be able to live symptom-free without medication.

Neurofeedback works by helping the brain to learn the correct brain wave patterns to use for different situations. With attention deficit disorder, scientists have not pinpointed the exact cause of the disorder, but they do know that it involves a malfunction within the brain that causes the patient’s actions and thoughts to be erratic, disorganized, and hyperactive. Neurofeedback helps the brain regain normal functioning by retraining it to work within optimal wavelengths.

During the neurofeedback therapy sessions, which most patients experience as very comfortable, and even enjoyable, electrical signals from the brain will be transmitted through an EEG machine that reads brain waves. The patient will then use their brain waves to perform simple activities such as making a spaceship on a computer screen “fly.” The brain enjoys this activity, and will continue using these particular patterns until they become more permanently ingrained.

More and more therapists are seeing the benefits of neurofeedback for their patients, many of whom have been in dire need of such an alternative.

For more information about Neurofeedback, go to http://www.NeurofeedbackBook.com Dr. Clare Albright is a psychologist (CA License PSY11660) and a Neurofeedback practitioner and can be reached at (949)454-0996.