Enduring Effects of Neurofeedback in Children

This chapter demonstrates the benefits of neurofeedback as a treatment for children with developmental disorders. Neurofeedback has shown efficacy for a wide variety of developmental disorders such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, and dyslexia. Preliminary research suggests that neurofeedback is an effective therapy for reducing core symptoms in children with both autism and ADHD. Neuro- feedback is a therapy that teaches clients to regulate their brain activity to work in a new, more efficient way through the use of underlying operant conditioning paradigms. This treatment involves providing a subject with visual and/or auditory "feedback" for particular neural behaviors. Through conditioning, the subject is taught to inhibit EEG frequencies that are excessively generated and augment frequencies that are deficient. With continuous training and coaching, individuals are taught to maintain brainwave patterns concurrent with healthy neural functioning.