Your son didn’t become a star basketball player overnight, nor did your daughter become a prima ballerina after her very first dance recital.  Through regular classes and practices, their bodies were trained to achieve the physical capability to hit that home run, ride horseback, and turn a cartwheel.  Just as we train our bodies in the pursuit of physical challenges, we can now help our kids train their brains to better handle mental processes. 

    Appropriately dubbed “Brain Training", neurofeedback or EEG biofeedback is essentially a mental workout: it’s the brain exercising its ability to regulate itself.  Brain Training refers to the human capability to transform the way our brain functions in response to feedback regarding our own personal brain wave activity.  During Brain Training sessions, the brain is talking to itself…about itself.

    Much like a runner adopts the proper nutrition and workout regimen to make their body perform at its best, neurofeedback teaches kids how to exercise their own brain wave activity to become more efficient when dealing with everyday tasks, from homework to bedtime routines.  Children’s brains can be disorganized and/or  fixed at either a  underaroused or overaroused state, causing the child or teens performance to be suboptimal or low level.  The good news is that the brain has what we call “plasticity,” and when certain parts of the brain are stimulated through neurofeedback, it can learn to change, improve, and heal itself.   Because of that fact, Brain Training can complement — and at times, even replace — medications and other more traditional treatment approaches.

    These Brain Training sessions will open you and your child up to a wealth of information you’ve never had before, from subtleties like the number of breaths they’re taking to areas of muscle tension. Once they have that knowledge at their fingertips, kids can learn a whole lot more about how their bodies are reacting and, whether consciously or subconsciously, alter or control the functions that lead to less-than-desirable behaviors.
 

How Does it Work?

    A child is invited to engage in a series of games while their EEG (electroencephalogram) data is read by sensors placed on their scalp and next to their ears.  Neurofeedback is a painless, non-invasive procedure that monitors brain waves with the help of an EEG monitor, amplifier, and computer-based instrument to process the signal and provide real-time feedback. Thanks to these miniscule amounts of electrical energy, our neurofeedback computer system is able to provide instantaneous information about your child’s brain wave activity. 

    Where the electrode sensors are placed will vary, but in any patient, the brain frequencies that lead to positive behavioral changes will be rewarded.  From session to session, the neurofeedback therapist will hone in on the most comfortable and effective reward frequency for your child.  This helps dictate where the sensors should be placed and what it takes to encourage certain parts of a kid’s brain to become more or less activated.  Much like you may reward your older daughter with a trip to the zoo in exchange for tidying up her bedroom, the positive brain behavior begets a positive reward…and this happens again and again and again.  Ultimately, the child’s brain learns to become more  flexible and function more efficiently.

    It’s a win-win:  Ashley is engaged in what appear to be video games, while you’re watching her learn how to control the impulses that lead to her Tourette Syndrome tics or ADHD impulses.  The therapist sees wave patterns on a computer screen, but kids are seeing their results as visual graphics, like rocket ships.  If a child is asked to make the rocket ship accelerate, their brain recognizes the exhaust as a reward and learns precisely how to make that happen…even if they’re not quite sure how they did it.  They’ll hear beeping sounds when their brain behaves as desired, which stimulates cooperation and enhances their results. When the brain does veer off into the wrong direction, the rocket ship slows down, indicating that to the child, who is then prompted to return to a more healthy brain function.

    After a series of sessions, the brain has been successfully trained (operant conditioning) to function in a healthy range.  This computerized feedback has directed the brain to heighten the frequencies that are helpful for improved function, all the while decreasing those that interfere with good functioning.  The child starts to rely on healthy brain activity in their daily lives, and the brain gradually develops the ability to maintain that behavior on its own. 

    Unlike what happens to your body when you trade in vegetables and daily workouts for Chinese take out and movie marathons, the brain never loses that capability to perform at a higher level.  It’s an organ that collaborates with every vital system in our bodies, from the immune system to the cardiac, endocrine, and digestive systems, and by making positive adjustments to this brain-body network, you’ll see results in your child that you never thought possible.

 How Long Does it Take?

    Every child will have a different experience with neurofeedback.  You’ll first start noticing a difference in your child’s behavior and overall level of functioning anywhere within the first 12-15 sessions -- in most cases.  The ultimate goal is to complete enough training to ensure long-lasting and consistent results. 

    The KidsBrain program includes 25 to 40 Brain Training sessions.  Sessions will take place twice a week for 30 minutes each. 

    For more information, please call our office at 973-659-9991.