Twinmom Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I have three kids who have special needs ranging from a mild brain injury to sensory integration issues to ADHD/drug exposure. All three have received recommendations for neurofeedback in order to address their symptom clusters. Apparently, with the concept of brain plasticity in mind, the provider feels strongly that he can attack the core issues of brain "wiring" for each disorder, strengthening the brain's functioning in the damaged areas and thus relieving stress from other areas of the brain and relieving symptoms across the board. All three kids have tried more traditional therapies such as sensory integration work and medication (in the case of the mild brain injury kid) and though these things have helped, they have not taken us "all the way there." My hope is that with the addition of the neurofeedback treatment, we can get to and address and heal the core of the brain dysfunction and then work on outlying symptoms with greater success. Or, at least that's what the doc says will happen. Before we jump into this with both feet, I'd love to hear if anyone else has used neurofeedback (not to be confused with traditional biofeedback/relaxation training) to help their special needs child. How successful did you feel it was? It is expensive, not covered by insurance and I'd need all three kids in tx soon. We have the income necessary to pay for it but it will require great sacrifices in other areas. Want to choose the best thing here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acat Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 We haven't done it but are thinking about it for a child with Tourette's and sensory issues. My friend, who is in a clinical psych phd program, has tried it for herself and was raving about it. You might try to find out what ages and personality types have the most success. We attempted biofeedback a few years ago with our 8 year old migraine sufferer. Her immaturity and intense way of interacting with the the world made it to difficult to transfer the skills over to real life. Could you try just one child and see how it works? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinmom Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 I could certainly do that but all the kids have a pretty intense level of need at the moment and it is difficult to choose amongst them. Also, DH is going to need it for a different reason (sleep issues)...he is the only one I'd consider waiting on at this point. I've been told that pretty much anyone can benefit from neurofeedback in some form. It is even used for peak performance types in business and in sports, so there really isn't an age or personality type that would most benefit. For BIOfeedback, I could see this being true. I remember having biofeedback in college as a way to learn relaxation skills...compliance, maturity, etc. definitely would figure in. NEUROfeedback is a different ball game altogether, esp. when you are talking about special needs kids. Our doc explains it as a workout for the brain, a workout that can be specifically targeted to address specific deficits in the individual's brain functioning. It improves the neural communication of that specific part of the brain, relieving the deficit. Relieving the deficit takes stress off the other parts of the brain that are compensating for the problem area, thus relieving cluster symptoms like sensory processing disorder, anxiety, depression, etc. It is supposedly wildly successful in treating multiple disorders since the brain operates like a network...hit the right area and there is fallout (in a good way!) all over the brain. I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes and if it is worth the effort. For our kidlet with the brain injury, it is a must. For our ADHD kids, it is supposedly the treatment of choice before meds, etc., esp. because we've done OT for sensory issues and had no real affect on the ADHD. The sensory problems definitely improved, but the ADHD is still there raging along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyinND Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We are in the process of this so we don't know yet if it works. I hope so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandragood1 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We are in the process of neurofeedback for DS's ADHD. DS really thinks it is helping him. I'm not seeing it. I think of three possible reasons for that: First, it takes additional time/practice to transfer the skills learned in-office to academic work. Second, it is summer and I have been letting him work fairly independently so I haven't noticed changes. Third, it isn't helping. I myself am uncertain of how long to proceed. I should mention that we did see an almost immediate improvement in his ability to fall asleep at night. I think we have used melatonin only once since we started this. Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer-72 Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We have done Neurofeedback with my son who has autism. I have nothing but positive things to say! It really helped my son's expressive language, processing speed, emotional control as well as his attention and focus. Our Speech Path asked what I was doing to make such changes in his auditory processing and expressive language - she was unaware of us doing neuro. It was very interesting to see his changes from week to week. We used a Zengar neurofeedback practitioner. HTH Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myboyluvsdinos Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 We started it in May. My provider using qEEG mapping first, to help identify the locations you want to target. (I tried a different guy first who didn't use the mapping, and I'm a believer in the mapping.) I am doing it myself for sleep issues and it definitely does something. The first session I had made me terribly cranky, so we never repeated that protocol again. But since then, I've been making very positive changes (reduction in sleep meds, better sleep). My dyslexic ds is doing it, too. His changes have been more subtle, and his brain mapping was suggestive of more ADHD-like issues (which have been picked up on before by a neuropsych eval). I didn't see any changes in him for about 8 sessions, and again, they are more subtle, but there. I know another child who does it for OCD and she now reducing her meds. I think it really depends on the provider. Some do a 2-options fit all people protocol, while others can really individualize the treatment. My hunch is it can be very beneficial for many issues, but finding the spot and targeting the correct frequency of waves is the challenging part. Keep us posted on how it goes! Carolyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 I personally have not used it, nor have my kids. A close friend however has done it with all 3 of her kids - all adopted with various behavioral issues. If I am not mistaken, their state insurance paid for the treatments. For one child it didn't seem to make much difference. For one however, wow. From the outside looking in, it was huge. He went from being very hyper disruptive to much calmer. He is still hyper and has difficulty focusing but not nearly as much as before. We can actually talk to him and redirect him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 (edited) Before we jump into this with both feet, I'd love to hear if anyone else has used neurofeedback (not to be confused with traditional biofeedback/relaxation training) to help their special needs child. How successful did you feel it was? Two of my kids received neurofeedback, one for two years and one for one year. Lucky for us, it was paid for with county-provided post-adoption funds. I don't think it did a darn thing for either of my kids. I read a bunch of glowing testimonials about it, but I didn't witness anything miraculous or even noteworthy in my kids. Anti-depressants worked magic for one kid; nothing has worked (yet) for the other. Tara Edited July 18, 2011 by TaraTheLiberator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myboyluvsdinos Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 "I don't think it did a darn thing for either of my kids. I read a bunch of glowing testimonials about it, but I didn't witness anything miraculous or even noteworthy in my kids. Anti-depressants worked magic for one kid; nothing has worked (yet) for the other." Tara, I was wondering what kept you hanging in there for so long (I think you said you did it for one year with one child and two years with the other?), if you didn't think it was helping? I'm just curious, as the changes that I THINK I'm seeing in my son are very subtle, and sometimes I wonder if it's my imagination, and that I'll look back and think it didn't do anything. Is that what happened to you? Thanks! Carolyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinmom Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 We started it in May. My provider using qEEG mapping first, to help identify the locations you want to target. (I tried a different guy first who didn't use the mapping, and I'm a believer in the mapping.) .... I think it really depends on the provider. Some do a 2-options fit all people protocol, while others can really individualize the treatment. My hunch is it can be very beneficial for many issues, but finding the spot and targeting the correct frequency of waves is the challenging part. I agree, Carolyn. We started with a qEEG for my DD11, with the plan not being neurofeedback but rather CogMed or FastForWord. Our doctor felt that neurofeedback could be a much more targeted approach to dealing with what turned out to be a minor brain injury in the area of her working memory and auditory processing. Without the qEEG, we'd not have figured out the core of the problem and rather been just treating the cluster symptoms. Hopefully, we've got it nailed this time and the specific brain waves can be targeted effectively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Tara, I was wondering what kept you hanging in there for so long (I think you said you did it for one year with one child and two years with the other?), if you didn't think it was helping? Two reasons: 1) It was part of an overall package of post-adoption counseling, and while one child was meeting with the therapists, one was getting neurofeedback, and then they switched. 2) The woman who administered the neurofeedback kept giving me glowing reports about changes she was seeing in their brain function, so I figured I must be daft not to notice any change in their behavior/attitude. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myboyluvsdinos Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Two reasons: 2) The woman who administered the neurofeedback kept giving me glowing reports about changes she was seeing in their brain function, so I figured I must be daft not to notice any change in their behavior/attitude. Tara Ah. Yes -- I can relate. I try to be as objective as possible, but it's hard. I admit that I WANT to see results, and therefore I may not be as partial. While I'm not seeing huge changes with my ds, I'm willing to experiment a bit because my current provider is just starting out and is dirt cheap! (He's also board certified, very ethical, honest, blah, blah, blah :)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinmom Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) That's sort of my fear as well...that it will be just an expensive panacea and I'll fool myself into seeing results. That said, however, our provider is one of the top guys in the field and has been written about in a few books, etc. I'm hopeful that going with the big guns here will give me solid answers and a good experience. He has already made it clear that neurofeedback will improve the brain function in the damaged area and relieve stress on the brain but that it will take time and possible therapy to unlearn the behaviors/compensating strategies that beget some of the cluster symptoms. For example, in our case the problem is with "absences" in the working memory/auditory part of the brain, which causes the other side of the brain to overcompensate by becoming hypervigilant with frequent meltdowns. By eliminating the working memory "absences," there will be no more physical need for the brain to over-compensate on the other side and it becomes more of a behavioral issue that can be worked out rather than a necessary neurological strategy with bad side effects. Make sense? I'll let you all know how it goes... Edited July 19, 2011 by Twinmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 My two oldest did neurofeedback several years ago. Oldest has numerous dx (NVLD, SID, ADD, anxiety....). dd was a having some ADD impulse like behavior issues that started around the time she began taking meds for seizure activity. She was on the meds for about year and a half. About of year of that time probably with no seizures. It was determined that she has celiac and the siezures stopped when she went gluten free. Couldn't stop the meds until I found a neurologist willing to taper down. Seizure free and off meds she still had impulse control issues, but she was nothing like the mix of issues presented by her older brother. I expected neurofeedback to be a big deal for oldest. I wasn't sure what would happen with dd. Reality. Neurofeedback was amazing for dd, within 2 treatments her impulsivity issues were gone. It was worth every penny for dd. For oldest, I saw some behavior improvement, but not a lot. The marginal improvement was not worth the cost. I think part of the problem is when you have multiple problems each treatment is like peeling the skin of an onion-there's always another layer. So, the treatment may help, but at the same time it may make another problem more prominent. I feel like that's what happened with oldest for a lot of things we did. We tried a lot of therapy. Everything seemed to help a little, but no one thing was great. It's really hard to say how to value any of the things we did compared to our financial investment. But we had to try and we keep researching and trying to help him. With dd, I believe her problems probably emanated from a single source and neurofeedback targeted the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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