New Autism Treatment: Neurofeedback May Provide Hope

Autism is a neuropsychological disorder that has gained widespread recognition in recent years. For many children, the therapeutic benefit of early diagnosis and treatment often leads to a significant improvement in quality of life when compared to children who are not diagnosed with Autism at an early age. With advances in research many autistic children are now experiencing a wide variety of therapy and treatment, including the use of neurofeedback.

While the statistics on the prevalence of autism is highly questionable, many experts believe that one out of every 160 children may suffer from some form of autism. With impairment in communication and social interaction, most children are diagnosed with autism by the time they reach pre-school or kindergarten. While the marked complication of autism involves the presence of atypical speech patterns, there are some autistic children that also exhibit complications involving physical movement and activity.

If your child has been diagnosed as autistic, it is important to become familiar with the latest advancements in treatment and diagnosis. Neurofeedback is the latest in advanced treatment options. For children of grade school age, the use of neurofeedback has been shown to provide some therapeutic and effective benefit to approximately 25 percent of the children.

In neurofeedback, electrodes are placed on the child's health, in strategic positions, to promote neuroregulation and metabolic responses. As a non-invasive procedure, the electrical signals, at very low frequencies are sent to your child's brain based on specific activity exhibited. At the same time, your child is trained in how to read the computer screen so as to watch the change in brain activity with each type of movement. As a feedback method of training, the use of neurofeedback has been shown to improve a child's control and regulation over specific activity.

While the research of neurofeedback in the treatment of autism is ongoing, many therapists find the use of the program does provide some benefit. If your child has been recommended for such a treatment program, it is important to understand what type of neurofeedback will be done and to ask the important questions.

As a parent, you will want to know how the neurofeedback will be focused upon delta, theta, alpha and beta brainwaves and whether the therapist will use a unilateral or bipolar approach. Understanding these aspects of treatment, you can begin to log the outcomes and manage your child's response over the course of several weeks.

As with any new development in the treatment of autism, it is important to understand what the treatment is and how it may improve your child's autistic symptoms. For many children, the use of neurofeedback is providing a sort of therapeutic benefit, providing a change in the neurological regulation of the brain and promoting specific responses while inhibiting others. When considering treatment options, ask your child's physician about the use of neurofeedback as a possible therapeutic option for autism.