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An estimated two and a-half million children in the United States are on medications for ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

As the FDA considers requiring warning labels on these drugs, because of side effects, many parents are wondering if there will ever be a chemical-free way to help their children.

The Bowens has found something that they say has worked for them.

Their son, Brody, was diagnosed with ADHD when he was five.

“Whenever I got mad I started throwing stuff around and I got really angry,” he remembers.

“I thought, ADHD – not so bad, I’ll give him a pill, he’ll be fine,” says his mom, Joyce. “We’ll all move forward,”

Over the next year, Brody tried three different medications. All three produced side effects, and none of them really worked.

They decided to try something else: neurofeedback, using video games that teach the brain to focus and concentrate.

In one game, called “glider,” the goal is to keep an eagle on a video screen flying up in the air. As Brody concentrates, the bird flies higher.

But if Brody talks to someone, or looks away and loses focus, the eagle starts to drift down.

Dr. James Sendelbach, who uses neurofeedback in his practice, explains.

“Your brain learns what to do,” he says, “what it is, what it feels like to be concentrating, what it feels like to be focused. And so that’s the skill that get carried out of the laboratory or the home environment – into all the other situations.”

Brody has 40-minute neurofeedback sessions, twice a week. Experts compare the regimen to weight training.

“You just don’t achieve results in one session,” explains Dr. Sendelbach. “You have to develop, over a period of time, some stamina and you have to develop consistency – which is essential. And once you do that, you get results.”

Over the course of nine months, Brody’s behavior and his grades are better. And he no longer needs medication.

“I would never use the word cured,” his mom says, “Does he exhibit the symptoms of ADHD in the continuum that he would be tagged ADHD? No. He’s just better.”

As Dr. Sendelbach explains, “Medication can change it on a temporary basis. What neurofeedback does is change it on a permanent basis.”

What We Need To Know

• As with every disorder, the first step is a diagnosis. If your child has trouble paying attention, trouble listening, fidgets, and/or seems impatient, you may want to have them tested for ADHD. (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
• Treatment with psychiatric medications is a serious matter for parents and children. Make yourself fully aware of any side effects or contraindications that may occur. (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
• Other ways to settle an ADHD child are to keep a healthy diet, limit caffeine and sugar intake, limit TV watching, and set a daily, consistent routine. (American Academy of Family Physicians)

Resources

• International Society for Neuronal Regulation
• The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback
• Children and Adults with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

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