Fw: Chiropractic and Autism? /On The Track with Neurofeedback /E. Bay California

[Guest guest]

Chiropractic and Autism? /On The Track with Neurofeedback /E. Bay

California

> FEAT DAILY NEWSLETTER Sacramento, California http://www.feat.org

> " Healing Autism: No Finer a Cause on the Planet "

> _____________________________________________________

> NEWS EDITOR: FEAT@... NEWS SEARCH:

http://www.feat.org/search/news.asp

> LETTERS: FEATBackegroups DIALOGS: FEATBack-subscribeegroups

> June 11, 2000

>

> Chiropractic and Autism? /On The Track with Neurofeedback /E. Bay

California

>

> [Organizational press release from the American Chiropractic

> Association

> Chiropractic Neurologists.]

> http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/000612/va_jrnl_ch.html

>

> Managing Patients' Autism, Stroke, Other Disorders, According to Journal

of

> the American Chiropractic Association (JACA)

>

> PRNewswire - Chiropractic neurologists are gaining respect for their

> treatment of patients suffering from hyperactivity, attention deficit

> disorder, autism and other disorders as recent clinical findings suggest

> that problems in central nervous system function could be a source of many

> of these conditions.

> An article in the June 2000 issue of the Journal of the American

> Chiropractic Association (JACA) reports on the growing specialty of

> chiropractic neurology and new research in the neurological sciences that

> points to chiropractic as a possible non-drug treatment for a host of

> baffling disorders.

> “Chiropractic is neurology,” says Dr. Gail Henry. “That's what we

> do -- affect the central nervous system. We affect segmental spinal cord

> reflexes. That has an immediate segmental response back to a muscle, a

> joint, out into the periphery, and into the central nervous system.”

> For example, chiropractic neurologists have successfully treated

> attention deficit disorders (ADD/ADHD) without drugs, according to the

JACA

> article. Doctors isolate aspects of the brain that are not developing or

> functioning properly and determine the appropriate therapeutic approach.

> “We use modalities to effect either a calming or an activation and

> increase of stimulation of a part of the brain that controls mood,

> attention, problem-solving qualities and thought processing,” Dr. Henry

> explains. “These children do wonderfully. They usually respond very

quickly,

> especially in the absence of any brain damage. We are usually simply

dealing

> with developmental patterns and the development of the brain. Some respond

> well to music, but of course, the treatment is very individualized.”

> Chiropractic neurology is also addressing autism. “Many children may

> be autistic as a result of compromised cerebral and thalamic integration,”

> explains Dr. Hall. “A chiropractic neurologist may be able to

> provide additional clinical insight and clinical procedures to improve

brain

> function through manipulation and non-manipulative procedures. The

research

> is still in its infancy, but clinical results are promising with regard to

> brain-based clinical disorders.”

> In keeping with its mission to treat the whole body, chiropractic

> neurology is also proving helpful in the management of injuries from

> whiplash accidents, traumatic brain injuries, stroke, weight problems,

sleep

> apnea, and many other clinical disorders, according to the JACA article.

> Currently, there are 525 board-certified chiropractic neurologists

> worldwide recognized by the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). The

> specialty has enjoyed an increased popularity over the past 15 years,

> according to Dr. Frederick Carrick, a distinguished post graduate

professor

> of clinical neurology at Logan College of Chiropractic and president of

the

> ACA Council on Neurology. “While neurology has always been the basis of

> chiropractic, advanced training in the discipline allows the practitioner

to

> serve patients at a higher level.”

>

> Take the Mystery out of Autism

> ** SUBSCRIBE

> Emailed to you Daily no cost:

> http://www.feat.org/FEATNews

> * * *

>

> To Parents of Sacramento and East Bay California:

>

> Our new local discussion list for the Sacramento region has been up

> for a few weeks now and it going great-guns. If you’d like to check it

out,

> go to http://www.feat.org/FEATSac

>

> East Bay List

> We are also exploring a new list for the East Bay California region.

> This is a great opportunity for residents to put their computers to use to

> pull together support and resources for one another. To join send an email

> to FEATEBay-subscribeegroups. It’s ok to be a member of both lists.

> * * *

>

> On The Track with Neurofeedback

>

> [While we’re on the subject of offbeat treatments: There’s a new one

> which may help with problems from ADD to depression, sleep disorders and

> epilepsy. By Jim Robbins in Newsweek, June 19, 2000.]

> http://newsweek.com/nw-srv/issue/25_00a/focus/he/fohe0225_1.htm

>

> I used to think of bio-feedback as a relic of the flaky 1970s. That

> was before I met Jake Flaherty. Born in 1990, Jake was an infant in

crisis:

> he arrived more than three months before his due date and weighed just

over

> a pound. At 3 days he required open-heart surgery. He spent the first two

> months of his life in intensive care. He survived, but with serious damage

> to his brain. At the age of 7, when I met him, he was taking Depakote and

> Tegretol to control his epileptic seizures and lacked the coordination to

> tie his shoes. He had speech and attention problems, ground his teeth

> incessantly and often woke up 10 or 11 times during the night.

> Three years ago Jake's parents sought out a clinic offering

> neurofeedback, a form of biofeedback that involves displaying a person's

> brain waves on a computer screen and helping him control them. Jake would

> sit at a monitor with a sensor on his scalp, and whenever his brain

achieved

> the calm, steady rhythms that normally eluded him, a Pac-Man would start

> gobbling black dots and beeping. Soon he was controlling the screen action

> at will, by recognizing the way it feels when the Pac-Man goes to workand

> his brain was growing more stable. " It took care of his teeth grinding in

> two sessions, " says his mother. " It took care of his sleep problems right

> away. " Within a week Jake was using scissors and developing a range of

other

> fine motor skills. The number of seizures dropped. His schoolwork improved

> dramatically. Several years later he still has some problems, but his

> parents say he has gained far more than they dared to dream.

> Though biofeedback is best known as a stress-reduction exercise,

> researchers in private clinics, universities and even NASA are now working

> to refine the type that deals with brain waves. The technology is still in

> its infancy, but it's emerging as a tool to treat everything from epilepsy

> and attention-deficit disorder to migraines, anxiety, depression, head

> injuries, sleep disorders and even addiction. In the last few years,

> neurofeedback has made its way into the offices of hundreds of reputable

> doctors, psychologists and counselors. No one knows exactly how the

> technique helps people, but recent research shows the brain is far more

> " plastic, " or changeable, than previously imagined. Some experts believe

> that regular brain-wave training improves blood flow to particular brain

> regions, fostering stronger connections between cells. And after 20 or 30

> sessions, the changes seem to last.

> Some health experts dismiss the treatment as a fad, suspecting it's

> just a high-tech placebo. They question the wisdom of spending thousands

of

> dollars to try something so unproven. " Parents need to be fully informed

> about the lack of research, " says Barkley, a researcher at the

> University of Massachusetts Medical School and a leading expert on

> attention-deficit disorder. " Basically, it's buyer beware. " Proponents

> counter that since neurofeedback carries no risksand has been used

> successfully by thousands of peoplethere is no reason to suppress it until

> costly clinical trials can be performed. Lubar, a University of

> Tennessee psychologist who has spent three decades studying ADD and

treating

> it with neurofeedback, claims that more than 90 percent of his patients

have

> benefited. Combined with family therapy and a supportive school

environment,

> the technique has reduced and in many cases eliminated the need for

> medications such as Ritalin.

> Though neurofeedback appears to be very safe, it isn't cheap;

> evaluation and 20 or more sessions can cost anywhere from $2,000 to

$5,000.

> And while that's about the same as several years of medication, insurance

> reimbursement is spotty. As schools begin to offer the technique to

> students, and the cost of the equipment comes down, the cost should

decline.

> The systems are simple to use, and a few practitioners lease units to

> patients, who can, with an office visit and phone counseling, take them

home

> and do the training at a fraction of the usual cost. But for now, the

> challenge is to find a practitioner who is well trained and experienced.

> Start your search with a licensed professional, such as a psychologist or

> pediatrician, who is familiar with the technique and can give you a

> referral. If you find a practitioner by some other route, ask the

> practitioner for references from doctors or psychologists. You should also

> find out how long the person has been in business. And search the Web.

> Lubar's site, brainwavebiofeedback.org, is a good place to start. EEG

> Spectrum (eegspectrum.com), a company that makes neurofeedback equipment

and

> trains people to use it, has several hundred affiliates around the

country.

> And ct-ed.com and biofeedbacksolutions.com offer state-of-the-art

brain-wave

> training for learning disabilities and brain injuries.

> Understanding neurofeedback, and maximizing its benefits, will

require

> years of research, but the future looks bright. " I feel like someone has

> given us a piano and we've learned to play a couple of keys, " says Sue

> Othmer, executive director of EEG Spectrum. For people like Jake, those

few

> keys are already a symphony.

> ______________________________________________________

>

> Editor: Lenny Schafer | Eastern Editor: | News Wire: Ron Sleith

> schafer@... | PhD | News: Kay Stammers

>

>

>