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Q - I have an eight year old and a nine year old boy with high functioning autism. They are scheduled to begin neurotherapy in July. Of course, my boys struggle with social skills and some with anxiety and becoming very emotional. I am wondering (as I read the comments regarding different areas of the brain) if they can be assessed in your office and the therapy provided in the office of the neuropsychologist in our area? Can that ever happen?
I would greatly appreciate your feedback as we want to begin on the right track.
A - We often do the brain assessments and then consult with the neurotherapists
in the clients local area who provides the actual neurotherapeutic
treatment. You must be VERY careful however that the local person who offers
neurotherapy is in fact certified and qualified to offer treatments.
Unfortunately we have many therapists with very poor training who have
purchased franchise like operations who offer one-size-fits-all treatments.
These people are totally unqualified to treat any condition as serious as
ASD and we will not be involved with these unqualified practitioners. If you
let us know where your are located we can often refer you to practitioners
who are qualified and certified to offer neurotherapeutic treatment. In some
cases, you may be in areas where you can have a very qualified person do the
brain assessment as well as the treatment. Again, contact us and we can tell
you if there are qualified practitioners in your area. |
Q - If you are able to, how do you treat toddlers who are likely too young to play the video games? I have in my care a 3 year old who is non-verbal, has autism and probably PTSD.
A - We treat many clients who are not capable of volitional feedback treatment
procedures. This includes very young children, elderly clients with serious
dementias, brain injured clients, and severe autistic and Asperger's
clients. The procedures that we use in such cases are non-volitional and use
light and sound (with adults we also use micro-amperage stimulation, EMF
fields, etc) contingent on brainwave activity to drive the brain toward more
normal functioning ranges. The lights are presented either with light
strobes that are reflected off a page of a book or from light emitting
diodes attached to look-through goggles. The sounds are usually presented
open-air. During these braindriving procedures the child can be engaged in
tasks such as imitative play, looking at picture books, dialogue etc. This
is a very effective procedure because the area of the brain implicated in an
activity (such as reading) is under treatment while the activity is in
progress. We see children as early as 6 months of age. |
Q - I am interested in this treatment for my daughter with autism. I live in the Toronto area, are you aware of any centers in this area that we can access?
A - Fortunately one of the best teams in the world is right in Toronto. Drs. Lynda and
Michael Thompson 905-803-8066. |
Q - Does EFT work on Asperger's patient social skills?
Any caution or limits to watch out.
The kid is 9 years old over a lot of trauma, according to his mom the situation is not sever.
I coud not find anything in Gary's homepage about
Asperger's syndome.
Thank you for your answer.
A - Since EFT generally increases the sensory motor rhythm brainwave, we find it
helpful with a many remediation situations such as social skills training.
The main caution, assuming the child has NO history of seizures, is that the
emotional trauma can be released. Provided you have a skilled therapist
available, EFT in such circumstances can be a valuable adjunct to other
therapies. |
Q - We live in St. John's Newfoundland. We have a 12 year old daughter diagnosed with ASD. She is reasonably high functioning, but has quite a few anxiety issues. We have used ABA therapy since she was about two and a half years old, which has met with success, for the most part. However, as she becomes older, her anxiety and behaviour is becoming more difficult to manage. We have begun to look at other options, including medication. I found this site quite by accident and I am really not sure how it all works. I would guess that we would have to fly to BC for an assessment and so on. I would also guess that it would all be quite costly. Could you give me any idea as to the cost of an assessment, and to the cost of what comes after that? Do treatments continue or is it a one time thing? Thank you in advance for your help.
A - With high functioning ASD clients we usually proceed with the basic intake EEG assessment rather than the full 19 site QEEG. The cost of the basic intake is $180. The cost of treatment averages about $105 per session. The treatments are covered by some extended medical programs and what is not covered is a tax deductible medical expense. Many clients are able to deduct the traveling expenses as well so I would suggest you consult with your tax person to determine if the travel and expenses while receiving treatment may be tax deductible. When coming from long distances people usually come for a period of intensive treatment, two sessions per day, 6 days per week for about two weeks. Often this is adequate but occasionally people return for another series of treatments after 6 to 10 months. The gains that are made in neurotherapy are stable so continued treatment is not required. However, many parents of more severe ASD children come on a weekly basis for an extended period of time because they continue to see progress associated with the neurotherapy. From long distances that is not possible, of course, but we can give you some treatment procedures that you can apply on a continuing basis at home. |
Q - My 25 year old son has had symptoms since childhood that I now know are suggestive of mild Asperger's. It will take a year to get him assessed. He has also had life-long problems with sleep. He is currently in grad school, and having increasing difficulties managing his life. Is your therapy likely to help, and if so, how many sessions are likely to be needed?
A - We see many adults with ASD, many of whom are functioning very well with some minor ASD like behaviors. Your son may have several modest brain dysfunctions that are causing the difficulties. Sleep, for example, can be quite independent of ASD but the poor quality may exacerbate the ASD behaviors. Generally, with Asperger's we find a deficiency in the right prefrontal brain regions that are associated with poor social skills. The treatment of this condition, assuming that the above suppositions are correct, would not require many visits. As part of the treatment, once the frontal brain regions are corrected, we would provide some behavioral therapy to help with social skills acquisition.I would guess that 20-30 sessions would be adequate. However, this is just a guess based on the limited information. We can be far more precise once an intake brain assessment is completed. |
Q - Autism and persecutory paranoia: My daughter is 27 and was originally diagnosed with autism (she had 8 out of 10 classic symptoms as a child). As adulthood approached she became progressively more suspicious of everyone and has now been termed persecutory and delusional. I have never heard of this combination and am wondering if you know anything about it - an autistic person becoming paranoid.
A - People with ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) can develop anxiety, psychological and/or psychotic disorders. The susceptibility depends on many factors including the level of intellectual functioning. Because of the ASD, some of the interpersonal centers are not functioning appropriately so it may be difficult to help the client psychologically. We have found that improving the functioning of these centers neurotherapeutically can often be very helpful in facilitating some psychological/behavioral treatment for the disorder. |
Q - We have 5-year-old autistic son who needs some help on working on his attention and focus difficulties. How can we help him? We look forward to hear your advice in regards to our son's neurofeedback treatment.
A - We treat many children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). The most important issue at present is to determine the exact nature and severity of your son's difficulties. Some ASD's are mild and the major issue for the child is attention and focus, conditions suggestive of ADHD. In these cases we focus the treatment on treating the brain areas associated with these conditions and helping the child with some remedial sessions during the neurotherapy. First step is to schedule a brain assessment to determine the exact nature and severity of the disorder. The treatment strategy can then be determined and reviewed with you in detail. Our success rate with ASD is excellent. |
Q - My son has just been given a mild autism diagnosis (presents like Asperger’s, according to the his psychologist. I’d like to find out how to help him at a “brain level” rather than superficially with OT (Occupational Therapy) or tutoring. He is 9 years old.
A - We see many children with autistic spectrum disorders. The procedure is to do a brain assessment to determine the exact nature and location of the deficiencies in the brain, and then to normalize brain activity in those areas. |
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