Biofeedback

I wanted to focus this week on some of the alternative therapies that I've come across in my research. I wanted to learn a little bit more about biofeedback. I have no idea what this was, so if you want to learn more as well, you can try this site that I found.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/tc/biofeedback-topic-overview

This therapy involves placing one or more sensors on the scalp and one to each ear. These sensors are then connected to a device which shows the electrical activity of the brain, referred to as brain waves. From the EEG, the therapist helps the client to associate specific mental states with his/her brain waves. Feedback regarding brain activity is presented to the client via a video game in which the brightness and speed of a Pacman like figure corresponds to a preset threshold. The therapist guides the client by telling him/her to make the video game work with his/her brain.

As brain waves in the desirable frequency occur, the video game moves faster, or an alternative reward is given. However if brain waves in the undesirable frequency occur, then the video game is hindered. Since EEG Biofeedback training is a learning process, progress is gradual. For most conditions, initial improvements can be observed within ten sessions. In the case of hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder, training usually is recommended for about forty sessions and more sessions may be needed depending on the severity. Whereas, some symptoms related to head injury such as quality of sleep, fatigue, and chronic pain frequently improve in less than twenty sessions (EEG Spectrum website, 2000). http://www.healing-arts.org/children/ADHD/biofeedback.htm#wethink

I had never heard of this type of therapy before, and I really just brushed over it in my earlier readings. I didn't really understand what this was about. The site said that this therapy has been researched for the past twenty years, so it's not like it's something that they just came up with. Seriously though, this sounds a lot like science fiction to me.However, I don't totally discount this. I've read in the past two years that the video game industry has been working on a type of equipment that you place over your head, and you can control the video game with your mind. If your interested in it, you can read more about it on the site below. http://company.neurosky.com/about-neurosky/

Supposedly I guess doing the biofeedback helps to train your brain to think in a less distracted manner, is what I understand from this. It doesn't sound too bad, and I guess it's helpful.

nature therapy

I was thinking about some of the alternative therapies that they have for ADHD, and I was remembering how in developmental concerns, we talked about nature therapy. I was wondering if they don't have something like that for ADHD. So, I was looking around, and i found the site redcliffascent.com. They help a variety of teenagers from 13-18 that have different problems, and ADHD was listed as one of them. This program is for children a little bit above our age range. I also found talismancamps.com, this is for children 8-12. some of the activities were rock climbing and rafting. I wouldn't mind going to this camp. It was however $2400 for 12 days, so $200 a day for them to sleep in a cabin, and have fun doing these activities. I wouldn't send my kid. This is too pricey. Of course, they'll get to be with other kids like them, and have that feeling of camaraderie, and they might learn some things to help them out during the school year. Seriously though, I'd save the money, and take my whole family on vacation. Maybe I'll search the web, and sprinkle some of the therapy throughout my trip. This camp must be for rich people.

prweb.com has an article about the effects of the wilderness on children with ADHD. They talked about how they felt calmer, they were more able to concentrate, and they were less impulsive. I don't know, I get so irritated when I read stuff like this though. Of course the wilderness has a calming influence on these children. I feel a lot calmer too, when I'm not in school, or being constricted by some sort of schedule, that maps out every area of the day. These children are outside breathing air, not the recycled stuff coming through their air conditioners and heaters. A lot of children live in either apartments in the city, or suburban or urban areas, where they hear traffic all day long, and just all that noise of a thousand people all living together in one tiny area. They never get to see any real nature. 95% of the available land in Cincinnati is developed. Where can you go anywhere in this city and not hear unnatural things? Even when you're in a forest, you can hear the highway just on the other side of it. Most children go home and play video games or watch TV. I don't think a lot of parents let their children go to the park every day, which it seems to be such a benefit for these children. I don't know 'nature therapy'. Do you really even need the second word? Isn't that what nature is? Therapy?

Family Strategies

Today I wanted to focus on what strategies families can use in the home to help with their ADHD child. I found the website livingwithADHD.com, they give some tips about what you can do to manage the behavior. i wasn't really all that impressed with it. the tips they had, you would use with any child. 'Use incentives before punishment to reinforce desired behavior', 'consistently enforce discipline', and 'reduce stress in the family'. If these tools are so helpful, why isn't everyone talking about how great they work, and what miracles they've wrought with these children? This just reinforces my bad opinion of ADHD. Maybe children diagnosed with ADHD, are just the victims of bad parenting. I was also thinking about how diet can be very helpful in dealing with ADHD. I talked a little bit about it in an earlier blog, but I didn't go all that in depth with it.

I was reading on everydayhealth.com, and their advice was to have a diet with complex carbohydrates, magnesium, omega-3s, vitamin C, and B complex vitamins. I'm sorry, but this made me very angry, because I just thought this was incredibly dumb. All they're saying is to have them eat healthy. The diet would be beneficial to anyone who wanted to have a healthy lifestyle. Of course if a child ate a bunch of sugary, fatty food, it would make them hyperactive, and who can pay attention, when they've got all this junk food flowing through their body?

I was also thinking about how ADHD is said to be on the rise, and i wanted to see why that is, so i went onto medicinenet.com and their take was that it was due to greater media interest, heightened consumer awareness, and availability of effective treatments. So, they don't really believe that more people are acquiring ADHD.

Anyways, I'm sorry this blog is a little all over the place, I started with one idea, that made me think of something else. I was trying to focus on strategies for families. i was looking at helpquide.org/mental/ADHD_ADD_teaching_strategies.htm, and this sort of goes along with families. It's about how a teacher can help a student with ADHD. School is a big part of a child and their families life, so these strategies would be helpful at school or home. This first one was, have the child sit somewhere that's not distracting. So, at home, you would want to do homework in a quiet place away from interruptions. Give instructions one at a time, so if you want them to do chores, just tell them the first one, and let them complete that before they do the next one. Work on a difficult task first. so, if you want them to do a variety of things, tell them to the hardest one first. and use charts. I think most families have a chore chart, where they put it up so that their child can work on things around the house. I really thought these were easy things that could be done for the child in the home.