Disabilities
Perspectives on Parenting©
by Nancy Lambert Davenport
Nancy Davenport's Column:
For Richardson News 1-31-99
Copyright Nancy Lambert Davenport 1999
"Bio Feedback"
Even the most sensible parents of kids with disabilities hold out hope for some amazing treatment that will help normalize their children. I remember when my son was born with Down syndrome we heard about a treatment of special exercises. We were promised that if his body was exercised all day every day for months on end by teams of people taking turns, he could be normal. It was tempting, but we declined for the sake of the lives of our other children. There are also vitamin regimens which promise dramatic results but which did not work out for us.
Because of these experiences, I was skeptical when I heard about EEG biofeedback. Just the name to me sounded fishy. After reading about it though, as well as visiting a treatment site, and observing a treatment session, I think we might be on to something for some people.
Biofeedback seems to help various disabilities involving brainwaves. The disability which is most successfully and widely treated in this way is ADD. Experts discovered that most people with ADD are producing too many beta brain waves of too high a frequency. On the other hand people who are sluggish or depressed are producing too many theta waves. EEG biofeedback attempts to get the brains waves into normal range.
In the session I observed, a clinician glued a wire to the top of the head of the subject. He also clipped wires to the earlobes. There was no discomfort. The wires were hooked up to a computer which showed a very simple game of superman flying along a line. Sometimes he flew above the line and sometimes below. The subject, who was asked to try to keep superman below the line, controlled it by simply thinking it. This effort in turn was teaching the brain to regulate its own wave activity.
Teaching is the key word there. This is a treatment of learning. It most cases once the brain has learned how to keep its beta wave in a certain place it is permanently learned. Most people observe results within a few sessions and complete treatment in twenty to forty sessions. Seldom is continued treatment is required.
To me the greatest advantage to this treatment is that it is so much less intrusive than medication. All of the medications for ADD have serious side effects that have to be monitored closely. This treatment has no known harmful side effect according to researchers.
The cost will range from $1500 to $3000 depending on number of treatments required. In most cases it is not covered by insurance. My experience is that most insurance companies do not acknowledge the existence of ADD anyway, so why would they approve a treatment.
I think this is worth looking into especially if a parent is not satisfied with treatments by way of medication for their child who has ADD. You can call Precision Neurofeedback Centers at 972-422-1297 or check the website neurofeedbackcenters.com for locations. For additional information, there is a good readable article in the May/June 1998 issue of Psychology Today about this subject.
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EMAIL: nancdave@swbell.net
URL: http://www.nancyldavenport.com