Neurofeedback Therapy for Learning Disorders and ADHD

Research has shown that neurofeedback therapy for learning disorders and ADHD/ADD is an effective therapeutic option that results in improvements in a child’s ability to focus, learn, and achieve better performance in school. I have personally witnessed the success not only within my practice but also within my own family.

In the United States alone the NCLD (National Center for Learning Disabilities) reports that 1 in 5 children have been diagnosed with a learning disorder. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 6.1 million school-age children have been diagnosed with ADHD/ADD. These two diagnoses often occur together and create high levels of disappointment, anxiety, and stress for young students. This type of stress then leads to outbursts, anger, social difficulties, and an even greater lack of focus and concentration.

As parents of school-age children diagnosed with learning disorders or ADHD/ADD we often experience heartache and frustration when we see our children struggling. We want to help our children by providing the best treatments, tools, and resources available, to help them succeed and thrive academically. Neurofeedback is a drug-free, non-invasive therapy that helps “retrain” the brain so that it can perform optimally and more efficiently, improving focus and concentration. I’ll explain more just how neurofeedback therapy works and who it can help in this article.

What is Neurofeedback?

Neurofeedback, also called Neurotherapy, is a type of biofeedback that presents brain activity in visual form, helping the patient to learn to reinforce healthy brainwave activity through conditioning for the desired outcome. It’s been around for over 50 years but has only recently become more widely available to those seeking holistic therapeutic alternatives instead of pharmaceuticals that are often hard to manage and can cause side effects.

Learning disabilities and ADHD are neurological disorders. Simply put there is a disorder in the brain activity that causes difficulty learning, focusing, and concentrating. The goal of neurofeedback is to identify the dysfunction so that those areas can be retrained to function better. Much like an athlete may need to focus training on a weaker muscle so that they can perform more optimally as a whole.

In my practice, I use the BrainCore Neurofeedback system. I prefer this system for neurofeedback therapy, especially for kids, as it provides biofeedback in the form of puzzles, games, and movies. Nothing to be scared of and sessions are fun while being effective.

Types of Learning Disorders that Can Benefit from Neurofeedback

• Dyslexia (Reading difficulty)
• Dyscalculia (Math difficulty)
• Dysgraphia (Writing difficulty)
• Language Processing Disorder
• Auditory Processing Disorder
• Non-Verbal Learning Disorders
• ADHD/ADD

How does Brain Neurofeedback Work?

Unlike many traditional methods of teaching children diagnosed with a learning disorder to compensate or work around their difficulties and symptoms, Braincore Neurofeedback therapy seeks to correct the issue in the root of the brain for lasting, lifelong change.

What to expect:

1. First, we perform a qEEG brain map. This identifies the areas of the brain where brainwave activity is to fast or to slow and the frequencies are underperforming or overperforming.

2. If irregularities are found a protocol is developed to target those specific areas and restore balance so that all areas of the brain are more synchronized. Regular “training” sessions are then scheduled, typically a schedule of 20-30 sessions.

3. At each session, sensors are placed on the patient’s scalp which provides continuous readings and visual feedback of brainwave activities on a computer screen. These sensors are painless and non-invasive, they do not prick, pinch or stick. The Braincore Therapy system presents visual feedback through movies, games, and puzzles. As the brainwaves become more normalized, the movie grows brighter, the game advances, or the puzzle is solved. This method of visual feedback is what makes the Braincore system easier for children to adapt to than more conventional neurofeedback systems. Sessions are fun and rewarding which amplifies the success rate. 

Braincore Neurofeedback helps improve a child’s learning skills by addressing the areas of the brain integral to learning and executive functions such as visual and auditory processing and math and reading skills through the development of new neural pathways.

Neurofeedback has been shown to help all areas of the brain communicate more efficiently making learning new tasks easier. Neurofeedback therapy is safe for children of all ages, and we encourage open communication with a child’s pediatrician and therapists during the Braincore Training program for the best results.

If you would like to learn more about Braincore Neurofeedback Therapy and how it can help improve your child’s attention, academic performance and ability to learn more easily, schedule a free consultation with Dr. Will. You can message us on our website or call (845) 592-2237.