Helping a Young Boy Succeed

John, age 9, was painfully shy and was very quick to get upset and cry. He had difficulty with attention and struggled with reading and writing. He was not doing well in school. John’s mother was very concerned.

His neurofeedback specialist recorded an EEG brain map, which identified 2 key patterns:  1.) excessive theta waves which correlate to an inattention problem and 2.) a lack of connectivity between his left central and parietal areas of the brain. When those areas of the brain aren’t well connected, it strongly correlates with learning problems, including difficulty with reading and writing. He did 20 training sessions targeting those areas.

John’s mother wrote a couple of months later, “John just got his report card yesterday and he got four A’s and two B’s! His teacher showed me a test John had to take for Florida Writes and he wrote almost 3 pages! She also said that he is raising his hand to answer questions and to read out loud.”

Acing the Test – Landing the Job

Megan, age 18, had been on various stimulant medications since she was 7. Though it helped some, she struggled with attention and had a hard time falling asleep before 2 or 3 a.m. She would often get overwhelmed taking tests and do very poorly, even when she felt she knew the information.

After 20 sessions, Megan had a major test she had to take for a new job. Instead of getting panicky, she reported taking the test without feeling any significant stress. She aced it and was one of the few to get selected for the job. She said she’s never been able to take a test like that before. Now, Megan says, “I’ve learned how to be calm.” She has reduced her stimulant medications and seldom needs to take them. She no longer wants to rely on medications to help her pay attention. She’s learned how to do it herself.

Managing Life Again

Mark, age 50, has struggled with severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and migraines for 30 years, along with out-of-control anger. His 82-year-old mother convinced him to try neurofeedback. Until his early 20’s, he was an outstanding achiever and athlete. Though he had obsessive thoughts and migraines when he was younger, they didn’t interfere with his life. These symptoms gradually increased after a car accident 30 years ago.  Before attending neurofeedback, no medical doctor had ever connected those two events. For the last 10 years, the combination of obsessive thoughts and chronic migraines were debilitating. Working as a carpenter, he would repeatedly scrap projects to start again because of little errors, which he couldn’t tolerate. He would get extremely angry at himself and at others.

After a 6-month training series, Mark has been virtually migraine-free for several months, the first time in 30 years. He’s on no medication, and his OCD is now manageable. Mark is working again and being productive, which he was unable to do for a number of years. He says that although he still has some obsessive thoughts, they don’t overwhelm him, and he can easily manage it.