Train The Brain: Using Neurofeedback To Treat ADHD : NPR.

The link above references an interesting piece on NPR about how neurofeedback can be used to treat ADD/ADHD:

Even though there are studies now showing that neurofeedback works for ADHD, all of these studies have serious limitations, researchers say. So the approach remains promising but unproved, says David Rabiner, a researcher at Duke University who writes a newsletter about treatments for ADHD…

A team at The Ohio State University has nearly completed a pilot study of neurofeedback for ADHD that was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

The team had hoped to announce results last week at a scientific meeting in New York, but Gene Arnold, one of the scientists in charge of the study, says they had to delay that announcement because “we weren’t able to get the results analyzed in time,” he says.

Learning Breakthrough and the vestibular-cerebellar training approach to ADHD remediation more generally have been considered by the research team at Ohio State University as well. Our interest in the topic stems from the substantial neurofeedback aspect to the Learning Breakthrough Program…as the repetitive nature of LBP’s balance exercises themselves generate what the user in this article calls “constant feedback during a session” through constant motor control monitoring, planning, executive function modulation, and hemispheric integration all in one system. There is much hope that as this research progresses and the pilot study information is collated that LBP will be tested along side on neurofeedback techniques and a control group.

Auditory processing disorder in relation to developmental disorders of language, communication and attention: a review and critique – International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders.

This article describes the vagaries of diagnosis of auditory processing issues and shows how important work is being done to help make proper evaluations and treatment research widely available. It is not definitive but is a useful article for those orienting themselves to CAPD issues.

Background: Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) does not feature in mainstream diagnostic classifications such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV), but is frequently diagnosed in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and is becoming more frequently diagnosed in the United Kingdom.

Aims: To familiarize readers with current controversies surrounding APD, with an emphasis on how APD might be conceptualized in relation to language and reading problems, attentional problems and autistic spectrum disorders.
Methods & Procedures: Different conceptual and diagnostic approaches adopted by audiologists and psychologists can lead to a confusing picture whereby the child who is regarded as having a specific learning disability by one group of experts may be given an APD diagnosis by another. While this could be indicative of co-morbidity, there are concerns that different professional groups are using different labels for the same symptoms.
Conclusions & Implications: APD, as currently diagnosed, is not a coherent category, but that rather than abandoning the construct, we need to develop improved methods for assessment and diagnosis, with a focus on interdisciplinary evaluation.

Misdiagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder – WrongDiagnosis.com.

So much of my reading lately and connections to new users have to do with the misdiagnosis of ADHD. There seems to be no other “disability” that generates more difficulty in accurate diagnosis and more ways to address the symptoms than ADHD. For a rather good look at the topic, a doctor friend sent me the link attached here. The language may be a little loose but the point is that there are many paths to a misdiagnosis and it is something for all of us, therapists, teachers and parents to be aware of that I thought it would be a good share.

10 Revolutionary iPad Apps to Help Autistic Children | Gadgets DNA.

A good piece on iPad Apps for Autistic Children. The benefits that technology is bringing and will bring to children with disabilities is truly remarkable! Information sharing at web speed and the tools that support it are so helpful to all of us.

Use It or Lose It: The Theory and Practice of Brain Exercise and Fitness for Cognitive Health – 1252th Edition | Health Blog.

When we exercise our brains, we put our Neurons and connections between neurons in action.

Given the diversity of functions outlined above, it is clear that different activities are going to activate different brain areas, which scientists now know thanks to neuroimaging techniques. There is no one magic bullet that is best (either crosswords puzzles, or computer-based programs, or physical exercise): we do need a variety of mental stimulation or “brain exercises”.

Publication of the Fifth Edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is scheduled for publication in May 2013. This is an important document, you might even call it hugely important, for a number of reasons. The manual’s effects are such that its revisions can have a rippling impact for decades to come and this extends far beyond the psychiatric community of professionals that oversees its publication.

The DSM-5 is a listing of ALL psychiatric disorders in the USA and effects treatment regimens, how doctors approach diagnoses, how insurance coverage is defined, how health care is delivered, how labels are meted out for those who suffer with a covered diagnosis, and for every constituency in the medical field and many educational fields. Organizations and industries that use the DSM as a basis for their operating guidelines include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), insurance companies, medical companies, pharmaceutical companies, doctors, pyschiatrists, psychologists, learning pathologists, researchers, developmental specialists, clinical administrators, lawyers, judges and any group that interacts with special education and psychiatric disorders in any fashion.

Some of the headlines that are coming out of the proposed changes in this iteration of the DSM are:
•    Asperger’s Syndrome is out – everyone’s going to have an “autistic spectrum disorder” identification instead
•    Personality Disorders are out – kind of. In their place, there’s five Personality Disorder types, each of which you can have to varying degrees, and also six Personality Traits, each of which you can have to varying degrees
•    Hyperactive Sexual Desire Disorder is out, and is to be replaced with a definition of Sexual Interest and Arousal Disorder
•    Binge Eating Disorder, Hypersexuality Disorder, and Gambling Addiction are in

There are more detailed and difficult to interpret things in the DSM that have to do with diagnostic approaches, classifications, assessment standards and structural frameworks for a range of clinical definitions; and many other things that go beyond our simple observations listed here.

There are a few “DSM revision petition” sites out there and the one we are watching is at the SPD Foundation which is working to have sensory processing and sensory integration topics formally included in the DSM for the first time.

Inclusion in the DSM means a lot of things. It would serve as validation of decades of work by skilled sensory development specialists (like Frank Belgau) and open the way for Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) to become formally recognized as a DSM-qualified disorder treatment. This would impact regulation and open the doors for countless people to have their sensory challenges treated with a level of scrutiny and resources that has not existed previously. It means pediatricians and others will have standardized criteria for making a correct diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder. It means treatment opportunities, funding and research priorities will be identified and propelled forward. It also means that children with Sensory Processing Disorder will be more likely to receive school accommodations and public services.  In this context, “hugely important” is probably a very fair characterization.

Just read two articles of some interest. This first article (from the site www.scienceblog.com) describes new research observations on children with Attention Deficit indicating

a disconnection between the center of the brain that allocates attention and the visual processing regions…

One of the core strengths and objectives of Learning Breakthrough is exactly the type of efficient brain integration (from “center of the brain” to visual processing and other sensory areas as well) that is being demonstrated as relevant and missing in certain ADHD clients. Great food for thought and insight into neural activity weaknesses that point to possible treatment approaches.

The second article comes from professors of Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt’s Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. It describes a grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders for the study of Sensory Integration Therapy (SIT). The point is to investigate why, as the article states:

Children with autism have difficulty taking in and integrating sensory information from the outside world, particularly auditory information. The suppression or misinterpretation of auditory information can prevent the development of language.

Both of these are interesting and we look forward to hearing more about their progress.