Biofeedback

[catatonic]

Has anyone tried biofeedback? Does anyone have any thoughts to share on biofeedback?

I've done some reading up on it and it sounds promising enough that I thought it might be worth looking into further. Of course, it's considered "unproven" by medical insurance, who won't pay for it. Research on biofeedback is not the best and most seems to have been carried out by individuals who are running biofeedback clinics, but there have been a couple of interesting finding.

Check out these links and see what you think:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12737092&dopt=Abstract
This article, from the March 2003 issue of Applied Psychophysiological Biofeedback, concluded that biofeedback rivalled Ritalin in relieving symptoms of ADHD (based on Conners behavioral ratings).

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12557451&dopt=Abstract
Very interesting for a number of reasons. The researchers found that biofeedback combined with stimulant medications allowed the children to retain behavioral gains after medication was withdrawn. On medication alone, when it was withdrawn they regressed to their "pre" behavior. Also interesting...the conclusion that parenting style has a significant impact on behavior at home but doesn't carry over to the school setting.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10457815&dopt=Abstract
This study found biofeedback not only improved behavior, but caused IQ scores to rise an average of 12 points. Of patients who entered the study on Ritalin, 80% of them were able to give it up by the time they had completed the 40 sessions.

Here's a link to a biofeedback-at-home outfit. Cuts the cost of treatment by about 90%...but does it work??? I have absolutely no idea:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10457815&dopt=Abstract

The overall most informative site for information on neurofeedback is this one:
www.eegspectrum.com/
It is a neurofeedback research and training institute and includes a provider directory, tons of information, lots of good stuff.

[AustinsMom]

Catatonic, We have explored the issue of neurofeedback and found that it seemed promising. One of my husband's professional aquaintances does it, and I talked to him at length about it. We ended up not doing it because we felt that Austin was at an age where he might not fully cooperate.

On a related note, I have an OT friend (who is a grown up ADD) who worked to become certified on the Interactive Metronome program. She had some difficulty with this and worked most of the summer on it. Then when school resumed in the fall (she worked in a school setting) she noticed she was able to focus on her note writing in her hectic office setting much easier than previously, and felt it must be related to the Metronome work.

So I'm thinking there is something worth exploring in this area. Our problem is we have so many things we are doing right now...going off meds, adding supplements, and trying to get "nutritionally stabilized", including going to the Pfeiffer Tx. Center in January. We also have continuously to work on the LD issues with reading specialists, tutoring, etc. I would be interested to hear how it goes if you try it. You may have guessed that I have a "leave no stone unturned" philosophy in dealing with the ADHD/LD stuff, so sooner or later I'm sure we'll be trying it.