Coping with ADD

[shilohisadog]

Wanting something other than med's to treat my son's ADD, we googled, asked around, and so forth, and found a treatment called Neurofeedback. I've just started the process and the results so far are quite amazing. It's basically a process to (re)train your brain processing to either a) minimize the non-productive "noisy" processing in your brain (which is my problem) or b) stimulate the active processing in your brain (my son's problem).

Outside of the med's aspect of treating ADD, but, I thought it was worth mentioning in this thread.

siad

[keikiwai]

[ QUOTE ]
Wanting something other than med's to treat my son's ADD, we googled, asked around, and so forth, and found a treatment called Neurofeedback. I've just started the process and the results so far are quite amazing. It's basically a process to (re)train your brain processing to either a) minimize the non-productive "noisy" processing in your brain (which is my problem) or b) stimulate the active processing in your brain (my son's problem).

Outside of the med's aspect of treating ADD, but, I thought it was worth mentioning in this thread.

siad

[/ QUOTE ]

what are you using to find out about Neurofeedback? A book? A therapist?

[shilohisadog]

kw,

We are going to a Psychologist / Counselor here in No. VA for Neurofeedback "treatment". The treatment is basically watching a computer screen, which is running through a variety of visually oriented games (maze, puzzle, simple stuff), with electrodes attached to your head, measuring brain response to the visual activity on the screen. The system provides auditory cues, which provides the positive feedback to your brain, when you are either minimizing the noise, or maximizing the active processing. The system can be tuned for a variety of other feedback mechanisms as well.

That's a rather feeble attempt at explanation, but here are a couple of links that provide more information:

EEG Spectrum-FAQ
Wiki-Neurofeedback
Paper on Neurofeedback and Sports

I have other links, but on my computer at home. I can dig those up, if interested. Hope that helps.

siad

[keikiwai]

[ QUOTE ]
kw,

We are going to a Psychologist / Counselor here in No. VA for Neurofeedback "treatment". The treatment is basically watching a computer screen, which is running through a variety of visually oriented games (maze, puzzle, simple stuff), with electrodes attached to your head, measuring brain response to the visual activity on the screen. The system provides auditory cues, which provides the positive feedback to your brain, when you are either minimizing the noise, or maximizing the active processing. The system can be tuned for a variety of other feedback mechanisms as well.

That's a rather feeble attempt at explanation, but here are a couple of links that provide more information:

EEG Spectrum-FAQ
Wiki-Neurofeedback
Paper on Neurofeedback and Sports

I have other links, but on my computer at home. I can dig those up, if interested. Hope that helps.

siad

[/ QUOTE ]

thanks, that sounds interesting

[keikiwai]

here's a resource list i'm working through - got it from my therapist

books on ad/hd

Taking Charge of ADHD
Russell Barkley

Thom Harmann's Complete Guide to ADHD
Thom Hartmann

Driven to Distraction (currently reading, seems insightfull and lucid)
Edward Hallowell and John Ratey

ADHD Handbook for Families: Communicating with Professionals
Paul L. Weingartner

ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity in Children and Adults
Paul H. Wender

No More Ritalin: Treating ADHD Without Drugs
Mary Ann Block

Interventions for ADHD
Phyllis Anne Teeter

Healing ADD
Daniel Amen

ADHD-Hyperactivity: A Consumer's Guide
Michael Gordon

The ADD/ADHD Checklist
Sandra Reif

A website:

http://www.help4adhd.org

WWK - what we know - tips

[suzzer99]

I'd say if you can make it through that whole list, either you're cured or never had ADD to begin with.

[Morrek]

[ QUOTE ]
A: A chronic disturbance in which at least fifteen of the following are present:

blabla

[/ QUOTE ]

I counted 14 of those that seem to fit me. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Emperor]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
There are cures for ADD/ADHD/OCD. One doesn't have to "cope" for a lifetime. The cures don't involve drugs. The cures do involve aggressively treating the source of the problem.

(Drugs just treat symptoms)

[/ QUOTE ]

Another person talking out of their ass. "The source of the problem" is a chemical imbalance. The drugs go a long way towards leveling the playing field. I guess you can change your life, but the drugs have been a miracle for me.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm sorry you don't want to educate yourself on the topic. However, the chemical imbalance is a SYMPTOM of the underlying problem, not the source of the problem.

You can treat the chemical imbalance symptom with drugs, but the drugs will not cure you.

I see a lot of people who get emotionally attached to their chemical imbalance, and don't want to be cured, because having the imbalance makes them feel safe/gives them an excuse to medicate/etc.

[rory]

[ QUOTE ]


I'm sorry you don't want to educate yourself on the topic. However, the chemical imbalance is a SYMPTOM of the underlying problem, not the source of the problem.

You can treat the chemical imbalance symptom with drugs, but the drugs will not cure you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay, I'll bite. What is the source of the problem? And, what's the cure?

[keikiwai]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


I'm sorry you don't want to educate yourself on the topic. However, the chemical imbalance is a SYMPTOM of the underlying problem, not the source of the problem.

You can treat the chemical imbalance symptom with drugs, but the drugs will not cure you.

[/ QUOTE ]

Okay, I'll bite. What is the source of the problem? And, what's the cure?

[/ QUOTE ]

the underlying problem is neurological.

it has been shown that the activity in certain parts of the brain of people with ADD is different than those w/o... the metabolism is higher in certain brain cells

the problem is neurological... that is biological. the underlying problem is genetic, but how strong the symptoms are has a nurturing component

you can often treat it w/ drugs and you can treat it w/ other things like creating structure in your environment etc. or both, or neurofeedback, or a combo of the previous

but the problem itself is 100% biological

there are secondary issues that often come up due to the symptoms of ADD, these also have to be dealt with

but the underlying problem is that the brain of people with ADD works different than the brains of people w/o ADD

i may try and look up the article, but it's in a peer reviewed medical journal and it discuss differences in the metabolism of brain cells afaik..... if anyone has the ref. that'd be great, since i'd like to see it



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i think what emperor is saying is that some people use ADD as an excuse for their behavior... this is a stage many people, especially children, go through, and it's very important to not do this

if you have bad eyesight, that doesn't give you the excuse of driving badly.... you have to get eyeglasses

if you have add, that doesn't give you the excuse to not face the consequences of your actions..... you have to deal with your problems