by James Neubrander, MD, Michael Linden, PHD, Jay Gunkelman, QEEGd, and Cynthia Kerson, PHD
QEEG-guided neurofeedback is based on normalizing dysregulated brain regions that relate to specific clinical presentation. With ASD, this means that the approach is specific to each individual’s QEEG subtype patterns and presentation. The goal of neurofeedback with ASD is to correct amplitude abnormalities and balance brain functioning, while coherence neurofeedback aims to improve the connectivity and plasticity between brain regions. This tailored approach has implications that should not be underestimated. . . . Clinicians, including the authors, have had amazing results with ASD, including significant speech and communication improvements, calmer and less aggressive behavior, increased attention, better eye contact, and improved socialization. Many of our patients have been able to reduce or eliminate their medications after completion of QEEG-guided neurofeedback.
Preface by By James Neubrander, MD
Parents of children with autism know me (JN) as a physician who uses various biomedical treatments to help children move toward recovery. Several years ago, I was introduced to the powerful modality of QEEG-guided neurofeedback. This treatment uses EEG biofeedback, also known as neurofeedback, guided by the QEEG, or quantitative electroencephalogram. Neurofeedback has since become an important addition to my practice because it offers therapeutic options that are not possible through biomedical treatments alone.
To date, I have obtained QEEGs on hundreds of children with autism and have watched the neurofeedback process help them take one or more steps forward on their roads to recovery. That is why it pleases me to have been asked by Autism Science Digest to write this article to introduce QEEG and QEEG-guided neurofeedback for children with autism as one more important treatment option for parents to consider.
Although I have prescribed many neurofeedback sessions for my clients, I cannot claim to be an expert in QEEG interpretation. In that regard, I defer to those who evaluate my patients’ EEg tracings and subsequently recommend appropriate neurofeedback protocols that my neurofeedback technicians then implement. My coauthors (Ml, Jg, and Ck), whose biographies speak for themselves, are some of the most respected names in the field of QEEG and QEEG-guided neurofeedback. In this paper, they provide an overview of the science behind the process, a theoretical platform, and an outline of the benefits this treatment can offer to the many children who have attention-deficit or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD), Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), or autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
“I have obtained QEEGs on hundreds of children with autism and have watched the
neurofeedback process help them take one or more steps forward on their roads to recovery.”
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AUTISM SCIENCE DIGEST: THE JOURNAL OF AUTISMONE – ISSUE 03