For parents of children who are diagnosed with various behavioral problems, the search for an effective treatment is frustrating. There are many options, but the outcome of each will vary from child to child. Recently the technique of neurofeedback for ADHD has shown some promise in working to essentially retrain the brain to be more effective and reduce the problems that these children tend to suffer from.
The procedure involves teaching the brain the right way to react in different situations. If you have a child who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, then you know that the child might just react one way today and totally different tomorrow. As the process is worked through, the child will function as a person who does not have the condition.
By teaching the right way to respond the child can gain control over their behaviors and reactions. The outcome is generally dependent on how well the child can control their brainwaves as well. It is a long process but it has shown great success for many people. By mapping the patterns in the brain a person can learn which areas are causing the issues and work specifically on those. Creating a map using an EEG will help to understand the various reactions.
To explain the process more fully, the reaction of an average mind when you sit down to do a task is to create more beta waves to improve concentration. In a child who has attention deficit disorder, theta waves are created instead. Theta waves are known as the daydreaming waves. Therefore the subject drifts off mentally and cannot focus on the task at hand. This is very common in children with attention deficit disorder.
The subject then needs to teach the mind how to decrease the theta waves and increase the beta waves. This is the heart of the process. By increasing concentration you will see a decrease in distracting behavior in the child. The results are compared to the use of stimulants. The difference between this method and the use of medication is that the medication will last only a few hours. This process is a more permanent solution.
When the patient has completed the therapy, the use of medications is usually found to no longer be necessary. Because the medications that are used tend to cause significant side effects, improvements in other areas of life will be very noticeable as well. Reduced anxiety and higher self esteem are two common side effects of this treatment.
Unfortunately for currently diagnosed children, the procedure is normally not covered by insurance. The number of sessions will vary by severity and the ability of the child, but most require around forty sessions before they have mastered the technique. Many people who have a child with this condition are unable to afford the treatment for this reason. Additionally very few clinics currently exist that practice this therapy, making it even more difficult to obtain.
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