I have a 9yo old son with adhd. Things are much better since we started medication (Stattera), but not great either. He still has many of the problems associated with ADHD. Right now I worry about not performing up to potential in school, some anger control problems, poor self esteem, insomnia and so on. I could try another medication, but the Stattera has helped so much I am happy with it for the most part.
What I would like to try is some other possible treatment systems, and I have been looking at Neurotherapy. In paper it is interesting, however much of the result evaluation is anecdotal in nature, and frankly some of it is quacky. The frankly quacky is for the low price units, the more interesting stuff seems better backed ie some research, used in some schools.
I was thinking about Smartbrain games, a feedback system that is played on a standard tv using PS2 games. Looks more interesting to the kids than other programs.
or;
Playattention, they say they are used in 450 schools, but the games look a bit boring.
Both are expensive, 700 for the Smartbrain games and 1700 for Playattention. If they work they are worth the money, if they don't, way too much money to waste.
I am not familiar with these games that you are talking about but any computer game tends to occupy my son. He loves the Jumpstart games and has learned foreign languages, history, and math, reading with these programs. I bought them reasonably on e-bay!
The point of these games is basically since ADHD children have brainwaves that differ from the general population, the way to treat it is the do things that enhance "normal" brain activity. So these games work in conjunction with EEG monitors. The child is attatched to an EEG helmet and the controllers for the video game are attached to these EEG sensors. When the child concentrates correctly the controllers respond by moving the game in the right manner, when they don't concentrate then the game will not respond.
Interesting, my questions are, how do you know this has applications to the the real world, and if it causes permanant changes?
we've been doing neurotherapy (NT) for about 1.5 years now, with good results. son is not being medicated at the moment, has an IEP in school, and we take advantage of all of the services the school provides (assessments, community based learning, social skills training, etc.). our health insurance covers 24 visits/year since our practitioner is on the list of providers.
she uses the computer designed for practitioners, but there's also a "home version" called brainmaster. we can buy the home unit which is around 00, but we liked going to her office for treatments. for her visits, we fill out a form before the patient begins his session. we evaluate his week in terms of his school, home, mood, sleep, and eating, and medication activity. after she checks it, she adjusts the electrodes accordingly on his scalp. if everything is fine, she keeps the same configuration on his head as last week.
her brochures list over 20 conditions that NT treats (ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, eating disorders). patients who use medication report whether more/less medication was needed that week.
read the book "ADD The 20 Hour Solution" by Steinberg and Othmer. it lists neurofeedback practitioners by state and city. if you PM me and tell me your city, i can give you the name of the practitioner closest to you. you could try one session and then determine if you'd be interested in getting a home unit.
gettingclear39175.5714236111i meant to say that the games in her office are really fun-looking. not as 3D as PS2 games, but more like how Atari/Nintendo was back in the 90's. she has at least 12 games. one looks like pac-man, there's a couple of different space ship ones, there's leap frog, etc.
she also gives prizes depending on how many points they earned. my son banks his points so that he can get a bigger prize. helps teach him deferred gratification.
each session with her runs about 50 minutes (sometimes she'll do 2, 25-min sessions, adjusting the wires between. i spoke with the receptionist and asked her what it's like to use the machine, and she says she does a session when she feels stressed or anxious. i asked if she noticed a difference, and she said "....yah...." so i think it helps, but for big "issues" you need more than one session
gettingclear39175.5755208333I am interested in the Play attention too since there is a place near my home that does it. My dh doesn't think it will work. I have a co worker who's son had very bad migrain headaches and he did biofeedback before they had the computer programs for it. She said it helped him control his migrains.
I will be watching for more info,
L.
[QUOTE=lganio]Sorry for being so behind the 8 ball on this, but honestly I hadn't heard of them.[/QUOTE]i am not a scientist or teacher, but i think if you read that book i mentioned, it does explain how it works. i found the book in our public library and amazon carries it. i bet if you did some searches on the net you might be able to find more "legit" programs that practitioners use.
p.s. - what foreign language software did your son use? i want to learn french.
The thing I am most interested in is if it really produces long term changes? The Smartbrain people are coming to an educational expo in Richmond VA, and I think I will drive down and see it. Sorry for being so behind the 8 ball on this, but honestly I hadn't heard of them. I have done some research on these programs today and they sound great. The one says it has a91% success rate. They sound helpful for focus and concentration, but any results on the Hyperactivity component? Don't mean to sound so nieve, just learning about these but I think they would be a good thing for my classroom.[QUOTE=itzme]The thing I am most interested in is if it really produces long term changes? The Smartbrain people are coming to an educational expo in Richmond VA, and I think I will drive down and see it. [/QUOTE] neurofeedback is something "relatively" new, meaning maybe the last 15 years, so it's hard to determine whether "permanent" changes can be seen.
for that matter, even meds don't have long term effects - correct me if i'm wrong, but people in adulthood require ADHD medication.
to me, the only condition that produces long term changes is maturity.