<p>Hello CC Members,</p>
<p>My name is Patrick I make this post in hopes that it will serve as a resource and guide to anyone who is currently
under medications or has ADD, ADHD or any type of LD. And wants to improve in school.</p>
<p>I know there are a lot of parents on here that have kids that are suffering horrible side effects from pills they have to take and there school life is taking a hit because of it and of course many kids on here as well. I hope this post motivates you and gives you hope and shows you there is an great alternative to nasty meds.</p>
<p>I first want to say a little about myself and also want to say that I am not a Doctor and if you want expert advice Talk to your primary care physician.</p>
<p>A little about me: </p>
<p>I was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD plus bi polar disorder when I was 8 years old. I was put on a bunch of meds all of which had really bad side effects. I became dependent on them to function in school and pretty much anywhere. I don't say this to get a poor me out of you guys just want you to know a little background about me. I looked for a way to get off them safely and naturally because I knew they were not doing me any good. I eventually found neurofeedback which is really a form of biofeedback for the brain.</p>
<p>It worked wonders. My Doctor took me off my meds slowly as Neurofeedback started to make it's changes on my mind. And after 40 sessions of neurofeedback I was able to get off all my meds and stay off them and perform even better then I did when I was on them.</p>
<p>I became more enthusiastic, more motivated, increased brain processing speed, I became very thoughtful and insightful, I was able to read entire books in a day yeah it's that good!
My IQ even increased which should be good if you are in school last time I checked. I get no head aches or nightmares and sleep like a baby.</p>
<p>Now my results were considered pretty average. And not every one will get the same results I did and I am not advocating a magic cure for all mental problems either but I made the above post to show that neurofeedback should be a pretty healthier alternative to medications. Again I am not a doctor just trying to bring more awareness about neurofeedback and I think most parents would make the decision to put there child on neurofeedback instead of meds if they were given the choice and were informed correctly on what neurofeedback was and can do. </p>
<p>Even if you don't have ADD you can still use Neurofeedback to increase and amplify your brains capabilities.</p>
<p>So having talked your ear off about the benefits of neurofeedback let me tell you what neurofeedback is. I don't know if I am able to link to other websites so here is a copy and paste from a resource online:</p>
<p>Definition</p>
<p>Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback that uses electroencephalography or fMRI to provide a signal that can be used by a person to receive feedback about brain activity.</p>
<p>Like other forms of biofeedback, neurofeedback training (NFT) uses monitoring devices to provide moment-to-moment information to an individual on the state of their physiological functioning. The characteristic that distinguishes NFT from other biofeedback is a focus on the central nervous system and the brain. NFT has its foundations in basic and applied neuroscience as well as data-based clinical practice. It takes into account behavioral, cognitive, and subjective aspects as well as brain activity.</p>
<p>During training, sensors are placed on the scalp and then connected to sensitive electronics and computer software that detect, amplify, and record specific brain activity. Resulting information is fed back to the trainee virtually instantaneously with the conceptual understanding that changes in the feedback signal indicate whether or not the trainee's brain activity is within the designated range. Based on this feedback, various principles of learning, and practitioner guidance, changes in brain patterns occur and are associated with positive changes in physical, emotional, and cognitive states. Often the trainee is not consciously aware of the mechanisms by which such changes are accomplished although people routinely acquire a "felt sense" of these positive changes and often are able to access these states outside the feedback session.</p>
<p>NFT does not involve either surgery or medication and is neither painful nor embarrassing. When provided by a licensed professional with appropriate training, generally trainees do not experience negative side-effects. Typically trainees find NFT to be an interesting experience. Neurofeedback operates at a brain functional level and transcends the need to classify using existing diagnostic categories. It modulates the brain activity at the level of the neuronal dynamics of excitation and inhibition which underlie the characteristic effects that are reported.</p>
<p>Research demonstrates that neurofeedback is an effective intervention for ADHD and Epilepsy. Ongoing research is investigating the effectiveness of neurofeedback for other disorders such as Autism, headaches, insomnia,[2] anxiety, substance abuse, TBI [1] and other pain disorders, and is promising.[citation needed]</p>
<p>Hope that was not too much to read and hope it helps. If anyone has any questions feel free to post below. I hope this helps some people who are suffering right now.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>Patrick</p>