Claims of autism cures are misleading as ASD is a complex issue with a wide variety of severity. However, neurofeedback a powerful brain based training can have powerful positive results that can change the course of you or your child’s life. Read some of the research below.
Learn more about neurofeedback here.
Autism Research Review International Neurofeedback therapy reduces autistic symptoms
Efficacy of neurofeedback for children in the autistic spectrum: a pilot study. Betty Jarusiewicz, Journal of Neurotherapy, Vol. 6, No. 4, 2002, 39 – 49
In a test conducted on 24 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), results showed that children who received neurofeedback training reduced their total Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) – rated autism symptoms by 26 percent compared to those who did not receive it.
During the study, 12 children with ASD were subjected to 20 or more sessions of neurofeedback training and consisted of rewarding participants when they produced the desired brainwave patterns. The other 12 served as the control for the test.
Based from the results, children who received neurofeedback training showed signs of improvement in socialization, vocalization, school performance, anxiety levels, tantrums, and sleep patterns.
Science Daily Neurofeedback Helps Those with Autistic Disorders, Study Finds
Research has shown that related symptoms of ASD are the result of brain dysfunction in multiple brain regions. Functional neuro-imaging and electroencephalography (EEG) research have shown this to be related to abnormal neural connectivity problems. The brains of individuals with ASD show areas of both excessively high connectivity and deficient connectivity. In other words, some areas of the brain are chatting excessively with themselves, while failing to communicate normally with other relevant regions.
In one 2006 study using connectivity-guided neurofeedback, pre-post analyses showed a 40 percent reduction in autistic symptoms, enhancement of function between the brain and behavior, and reduction of hyper-connectivity. These results begin to verify the theory that inter-hemispheric, bipolar neurofeedback montages can lead to reduction in hyper-connectivity based on the reward band trained.
Neurofeedback seems capable of re-mediating connectivity disturbances when these data are considered as part of treatment planning. Connectivity-guided neurofeedback is capable of significantly remedying these anomalies and reducing autistic symptoms.
Hyper-connectivity seen in patients with ASD can be remedied with coherence training and other neurofeedback approaches.
Watch a video about what mums have to say about how neurofeedback as an autism therapy helped their child.
Autism Speaks Neurofeedback Training Elicits Behavioral Improvements in Individuals with ASD
Two studies demonstrated improved behavior in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In Study 1, eight high-functioning ASD participants were assigned to placebo or experimental groups before 10 weeks of training. Following training, experimental participants showed increased sustained attention ability, and improved scores on subscales of the ATEC compared to the placebo group. Both groups showed improvement in imitation ability. In Study 2, 19 high-functioning ASD children underwent a similar procedure with verified diagnoses with a modified double-blind protocol. Similar to Study 1, participants showed improvements in sustained attention and in ATEC scores but no improvements in imitation following training.
ATEC is the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist, a questionnaire for parents, physicians and researchers to evaluate treatments for autism, with subscale scores for speech/language communication, sociability, sensory/cognitive awareness and health/physical behavior.
Read more about neurofeedback and autism.
Psychology Today Brainwave Neurofeedback for Autism: Can It Help?
Does it work for autism?
Reports from caregivers of people with autism suggest people have witnessed improvements in a variety of areas including speech and irritability. A few scientific reports have highlighted that a demonstrated increase in social interaction may be seen in child with autism following treatment. One study suggested that parents who noticed an improvement continued to see the benefits for at least a year after neurofeedback. We know from other studies that the brainwaves of children with autism may well be different in many ways to the brainwaves of their non-autistic peers.
The story of neurofeedback and another childhood condition, attention-deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is different. Neurofeedback has been shown to help children with ADHD by improving hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. Interestingly, we know that many children with autism may also have these symptoms. It has been suggested that 1 in 3 children with autism may also have ADHD.
Again let me state that claims of autism cures are misleading, however you can make an enormous difference to yourself or your child. As with any activity, practice is essential to improving performance. Very few side effects to neurofeedback have been identified, and in large part no serious concerns have been seen. Some children have noted headaches and muscular tension.
Discover how you can beat the issues you and/or your child are struggling with using the most powerful and precise form of brain training known as neurofeedback. It’s fun, easy, non-invasive, safe, natural, holistic and the most powerful of all therapies for autism with no adverse side effects. Two clinic locations in Wollongong or home training in the convenience and privacy of your own home, fully supervised by a caring professional with 18 years experience.
Contact me directly and we can discuss how I can help you and your child.
02-42836344