[SeptemberMorn]

Drake Institute of Behavioral Medicine
http://www.drakeinstitute.com/conten...reatment-works

ADD/ADHD, Stress, Autism and Asperger’s are neurological disorders – they are specifically based in the brain’s incapacity to respond to tasks it is given. These disorders show under-activity and/or over-activity in areas of the brain responsible for patient’s symptoms. This condition puts many of our life goals beyond our reach.

[Callista]

Uhm... I don't think that therapy has any actual scientific support.

[-jimi-]

Thanx, but my brain doesn't need healing, nor is it misfiring.

I have a very good brain, TYVM.

[Morghana]

No disrespect meant, but this doesn't seem based on sound science at all. In the first place, stress is called a neurological disorder and is equated with ADD/ADHD, Autism, and Asperger's. I don't pretend to know much about neurology, but I do know that stress is a physical response to environmental stimuli and is not a "disorder." If I'm actually in danger and I get stressed, that means my body is functioning properly. Too much stress is a bad thing and can have negative health effects, but it's not a disorder on its own, and I fail to see how it is connected with ADD or Autism.

Second, this section doesn't really explain what the therapy actually does, and it certainly doesn't explain it in scientific terms. Pathways? Various "parts of the brain" being overstimulated? Practice doing what? It's so vague that I can't help but suspect pseudoscience.

Maybe the therapy is perfectly good, but I'd expect more from an article entitled "How the Treatment Works" including references to scientific journals as well as differentiation between ADD, Autism, and stress, which are three very different "disorders" (I maintain that "stress" is not a disorder). That's my two cents. I should note that I'm not in a position where I have to decide my child's welfare.

[Whisper of help]

Ok, here's the article, copied directly from the page that's linked:

Fundamentally, we apply simple learning principles to provide the brain a greater ability to handle the demands of the patient’s world.

The human brain is one of the most adaptable structures in all of nature. At Drake, we access the brain’s resources and use them to provide our patients with the tools and skills they may have never developed.

Once the brain learns these new abilities, with practice, they can become long-lasting resources available throughout the patient’s lifetime.

ADD/ADHD, Stress, Autism and Asperger’s are neurological disorders – they are specifically based in the brain’s incapacity to respond to tasks it is given. These disorders show under-activity and/or over-activity in areas of the brain responsible for patient’s symptoms. This condition puts many of our life goals beyond our reach.

Letting the Brain Heal Itself through Learning

These disorders have patterns of brain activity that can be monitored by simple Neurofeedback instruments (EEG).

By placing electrodes on the surface areas that are misfiring, the patient can get feedback on what is going on. This enables the learning capacity of the brain to use its special ability to adapt to challenge and perform to its fullest capacity - a chance to heal itself.

This capacity is present in almost all patients (98%). As the brain uses the new pathways it develops to handle the challenges in the patient’s life, it begins to physically strengthen. The underlying secret for long-lasting growth is practice, around which the brain develops.

In most cases, using standard protocols for treating these disorders doesn’t produce optimum results. People are different and some may have unique patterns that must be uncovered. In these cases, additional testing, in the form of Brainmapping will be required to improve the specificity of treatment.

Motivating the Child Patient

Success depends on the patient’s motivation to do well.

Drake monitors the sources of motivation in our child patients by communicating with the parents, siblings, teachers, and others who can impact the child’s motivation.

As the child develops new skills, changes - however subtle - that are recognized and acknowledged by significant others will bolster the child’s motivation. When this occurs, it is highly likely the child will succeed.

All that I'm able to see as far as "how it works" is that the therapy involves monitoring the areas of the brain that differ from a person that isn't stressed out, and also is not affected by ADD/ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorders. After that, the brain will "use its special ability to adapt to challenge and perform to its fullest capacity."

While it's all fine and good for a patient to see his/her brain in a myriad of colors on a screen, the person's brain won't automatically realize that it's misfiring and correct itself. You may as well say that diagnosis is its own cure, because once someone discovers that he or she has some kind of disorder, his or her brain will get the message and fix itself. In math, you can point out exactly where you went wrong in the calculations, change a sign or move a decimal, then get the right answer. However, despite all outward appearances, ADD isn't a math problem

SeptemberMorn, if you can find a more detailed description of this therapy, that gives some more valid scientific backing, by all means please post it. But from what we've all garnered here, it's looking a lot more like pseudoscience than real medical treatment.