Neurofeedback for ADD/ADHD

Approximately eleven percent of children ages four to seventeen were diagnosed with ADHD, according to a 2011 report from the Center for Disease Control. The common therapy is to medicate these children.

Neurofeedback may be of benefit to these children. It employs electroencephalographic (EEG) feedback. The brain is mapped with how it works in real time. A protocol is developed to address the results.

Training sessions take place twice a week. They usually last about 30 minutes each.

There are four basic brain wave types:

1. Delta - highest when sleeping, very slow brain waves
2. Theta - active for learning, memory and intuition
3. Alpha - active when alert and attentive
4. Beta - active when thinking and problem solving

Individuals with ADHD and ADD tend to have more delta waves than normal when they’re awake. They tend not to be in real time because the brain isn’t working efficiently.

Therapy consists of retraining the brain to focus on a video. The video flickers when attention wanes.

Listen as Dr. Ed Carlton joins Dr. Susanne Bennett to discuss how neurofeedback sessions work to retrain the brain.