Healing Young Brains: The Neurofeedback Solution - Softcover

Robert W. Hill; Eduardo Castro

Softcover

ISBN 10: 157174603X ISBN 13: 9781571746030

Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

Neurofeedback is a scientifically proven form of brain-wave feedback that trains the child's brain to overcome slow brain-wave activity, and increase and maintain its speed permanently. Neurofeedback is quick, noninvasive, and cost effective. In fact, 80 percent of the time, neurofeedback is effective without any of the side effects associated with drugs commonly used for such childhood disorders as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, sleep disorders, and emotional problems.

Healing Young Brains examines each disorder separately and explains in lay terms:

* The manifestation of the disorder

* The diagnosis

* The rationale for treating the disorder with brain-wave training

Healing Young Brains is parents' guide to all they need to know about treating their children with neurofeedback as an alternative to drugs.

About this title

About the Author

Robert W. Hill, PhD, founded the Oaks Psychological Service in Abingdon, Virginia. He specialized in health psychology and behavioral medicine.


Eduardo Castro, MD, is the medical director of the Mount Rogers Clinic in Trout Dale, Virginia, one of the leading alternative and complementary medical clinics in the United States.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

HEALING YOUNG BRAINS

DRUG-FREE TREATMENT FOR CHILDHOOD DISORDERS–INCLUDING AUTISM, ADHD, DEPRESSION, AND ANXIETY

By ROBERT W. HILL, EDUARDO CASTRO

Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.

Copyright © 2009 Robert W. Hill, PhD, and Eduardo Castro, MD
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-57174-603-0

Contents

Introduction: The Neurofeedback Solution, 
1. Autism, 
2. Learning Disabilities, 
3. The Labyrinth of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), 
4. You Don't Just Outgrow ADHD, 
5. The Source of the Problem, 
6. Checklists for Assessing Difficulties and Following Progress, 
7. Other Disorders and Checklists, 
8. Headaches, 
9. Temperature Training, 
10. Closed Head Injury, 
11. Addictions, 
12. Obesity, 
13. Peak Performance, 
14. Medications, 
15. The Healing Power of Neurofeedback, 
16. How Neurofeedback Works, 
17. A Typical Neurofeedback Session, 
18. Nutrition: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 
19. Toxicity, 
20. The Box in the Room: How Television May Play a Role in Unwanted Behavior, 
21. More about Aggression and Dysregulation, 
Afterword: The Neurofeedback Solution ... Getting Started, 
Appendix A: Finding a Provider in Your Area, 
Appendix B: Hidden Sources of MSG, 
Appendix C: The Feingold Association of the United States List of Food Additives, 
Appendix D: Laboratory Testing for Heavy Metals, 
Appendix E: Nutritional Recommendations, 
Appendix F: Glycemic Index, 
Appendix G: qEEG and Continuous Performance Tests, 
Endnotes, 
Glossary, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Autism

Shawna doesn't keep up with the debate about vaccinations causing autism. Shedoesn't know whether the vaccinations her children. Sean and Sierra, got hadmercury in them. She isn't certain what they mean by a gluten-free diet; whatwould it matter anyway? She is just so tired. She hasn't slept more than twohours in a row in a year. since Sierra was fifteen months old. She just wishesshe could wake up from this nightmare.

It was hard with Sean. but she managed. His pediatrician told her he hadAsperger's, a form of autism. Her smart beautiful boy is just so detached. He islike a little professor. a grouchy one. She wishes he would look at her andsmile just once. She wishes he would talk to her about anything but Mars. Howcould an eight-year-old know so much about a planet? Why isn't he doing betterin school? She wishes he had friends.

Those first fifteen months with Sierra were heaven. She was so affectionate. soloving. just a delightful chatterbox. Now. it is just over four months sinceSierra has said a single word. She just moans. and rocks. and rubs her foreheadwith her palms. At night, she wakes up every few hours screaming. and isinconsolable. She almost never eats anything but dry puffed rice and peanutbutter on a spoon. She won't let her mother hold her. If Shawna tries. Sierradigs her fingers into her and screams.

Autism: It is one of those words that strikes fear in the hearts of parents. Itwas a rare diagnosis years ago, and now is a seeming epidemic. Medicalresearchers say no, not an outbreak, just better at diagnosing. This is typicalof controversies that surround autism. The whole topic is filled withcontroversy, disagreement, and debate.

We begin this book with autism because it is so prevalent, so devastating, and,to parents who have not yet been guided to the very real treatment options forautism. so terrifying and hopeless. If there is hope with autism, there is hopefor anything. We state with conviction: There is more than hope.

In this chapter, we discuss major topics: what autism is, what it is not, howneurofeedback can play a central role in its treatment, and other terrifictreatment options.

Autism is a developmental disorder that can disrupt communication,relationships, behavior, and physiology. It strikes seemingly normal infants andtoddlers, usually by age three. It causes lifelong struggles that range frommild to severe. The effects on the lives of the children stricken and on theirfamilies range from difficult and sad to catastrophic and heartbreaking.

Diagnosis

Conventional medicine considers autism a psychosocial disorder, and one that hasa strong genetic component. It is not thought to be curable, so approvedtreatments include drugs and various therapies designed to improve functioning,such as speech therapy and/or behavior modification.

The diagnosis is based on the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manualof Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), published by the AmericanPsychiatric Association. The criteria include various combinations ofimpairments in social interaction, communication, and behavior. Autism isconsidered one of five disorders listed under Pervasive Developmental Disorders(PDD). Because of similarities of symptoms in the five PDDs, this group iscalled the Autistic Spectrum Disorders. When we discuss autism, we includeassociated disorders such as Asperger's and Rett's.

The DSM-IV criteria for autism are a bit like a restaurant menu where you taketwo items from column A, one from column B, and one from column C. as follows:

Autistic Disorder

A. A total of six, or more items from 1, 2, and 3 with at least two from 1, andone each from 2 and 3:

1. Qualitative impairment in social interaction, as manifested by at least twoof the following:

A. Marked impairment in the use of multiple nonverbal behaviors such as eye-to-eyegaze, facial expression, body postures, and gestures to regulate socialinteraction

B. Failure to develop peer relationships appropriate to developmental level

C. A lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievementswith other people (e.g., by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objectsof interest)

D. Lack of social or emotional reciprocity

2. Qualitative impairments in communication as manifested by at least one of thefollowing:

A. Delay in, or total lack of, the development of spoken language

B. In individuals with adequate speech, marked impairment in the ability toinitiate or sustain a conversation with others

C. Stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language

D. Lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play or social imitative playappropriate to developmental level

3. Restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, andactivities, as manifested by at least one of the following:

A. Encompassing preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restrictedpatterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus

B. Apparently inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines orrituals

C. Stereotyped and repetitive motor manners (e.g., hand or finger flapping ortwisting, or complex whole-body movements)

D. Persistent preoccupation with parts of objects

B. Delays or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, withonset prior to age three years:

1. Social interaction,

2. Language as used in social communication, or

3. Symbolic or imaginative play.

Conventional medicine focuses on the genetic component in autism, and this isdocumented in twin studies. Medicine also uses sophisticated brain scans tostudy autism, and has found several common abnormalities that are present in asignificant number of children with autism.

In brief, the conventional medical understanding of autism is:

• Autism is a psychosocial disorder, largely determined by genetics.

• Autism has been generally present in the population for some time, though it isnow better recognized, largely due to changes in the diagnostic criteria.

• Treatment should focus on reducing the severity of symptoms and troublesomebehaviors.

Sierra's pediatrician reassured Shawna that she had not done anything wrong.that she unfortunately carried the genes that cause autism. and that was whyboth of her children were on the autistic spectrum. He also told her not toworry about the vaccinations; it was just a coincidence. for this is the agerange that the children with the gene begin deteriorating. He prescribed theantipsychotic drug Haldol for Sierra to reduce her outbursts. and thetranquilizer Klonopin to help her sleep. Her sleep did not change. but hermuscles became very tight and painful and she started back-arching. Herpediatrician eventually changed the Haldol to Risperdal, which she appeared totolerate better. It reduced her outbursts somewhat, but now she spent more timelying on her side with a blank stare. Her face looked as empty and hopeless asShawna felt.

An Old Disorder or a New Epidemic?

Has autism been around a long time in steady numbers or have its numbersexploded? The answer is important because it will determine our approach totreatment. If conventional medicine is right and the increased number ofchildren in the autistic spectrum is due to better diagnosing, there should behigh fives all around for getting good, real good, at identifying so many ofthose children who had been missed. And attention will continue to focus ongenetic research, brain imaging, and the development of new drugs.

If the answer is that the autism we see today is a new and frightening outbreak,it is a very different matter because it will direct our full attention toidentifying the recent changes that are causing it. This answer will indicatethat the genetic component is a built-in vulnerability and not a life sentence,and also that the abnormal brain imaging is documenting disease processes. notevidence of defectively designed brains.

For more than thirty years, we have worked in the field that diagnoses andtreats autism. We find it hard to understand how we could have missed seeing somany children whose lives and whose families' lives were so colossally disruptedby the bewildering array of symptoms and behaviors that we routinely see intoday's autistic children. And it is not just the numbers that are different.The autistic child of yesteryear, that sad, rare case we saw every few years,bears little resemblance to today's child. We are seeing not just more innumbers, but also a more severe form.

Young Brains under Assault—Autism Is a Biological Disorder

We also disagree with the conventional medical assertion that autism is apsychosocial disorder primarily determined by genetics. It simply does not fitthe clinical experience of those who do not accept the conventional view.Informed parents and clinicians who have attacked autism as a medical illnesstell a very different story. Parents who have worked tirelessly to optimizetheir children's nutrition and systematically eliminate potentially harmfulsubstances tell about the important progress their children have made. Inclinics that treat these children with methods such as neurofeedback anddetoxification, the progress is often remarkable. It is clear that the. severepsychological problems are the result of treatable physiological disruptions. Insome cases, there is complete cure.

The DSM-IV criteria are useful in organizing our thinking about diagnosingautism, but they do not cover the physiological disturbances commonly seen thatreveal autism to be a medical disorder. These may be deficits in speech andsensory, motor, cognitive, and autonomic nervous system functioning. As aphysician, I cannot explain how a psychosocial disorder could produce, forinstance, deficits such as abnormal reflexes, poor visual skills, and poorcoordination.

We believe it is clear that autism is the result of injury due to toxicity. Thebrain, when subjected to repeated insults, can experience destabilization of itsfine-tuning and sophisticated regulatory mechanisms. Young brains are even morevulnerable since their regulatory mechanisms are in a state of development.Genetics certainly plays a role in determining vulnerability to toxic insults,but playing a role is very different from cause and effect.

The idea that toxicity is the major factor in autism matches the clinicalexperience well. Toxic conditions damage brains, but toxins can be removed andbehaviors changed. Virtually any rational efforts at supporting the brain,gastrointestinal tract, and liver with nutrition and/or detoxifying treatmentsalmost always result in unambiguous clinical improvements in a significantnumber of children. With the addition of neurofeedback, even greaterimprovements are realized. We see these same improvements in most of thechildren who have a stronger genetic vulnerability. The degree of improvementvaries. Some have a noticeable decrease in the severity of symptoms orbehaviors. Others show new and more appropriate behavior and begin to use wordsagain, sleep at night, and/or show affection. Some are cured.

It was easy to decide how to proceed with Sierra; we did what she would allow.She wouldn't let us touch her head. so neurofeedback was initially out of thequestion. Shawna reported that Sierra had experienced several ear infectionstreated with antibiotics. The infections started at seven months of age. so Dr.Castro prescribed antifungal medication. Shawna was able to disguise theantifungal powder in peanut butter. and administered suppositories to her WhenSierra would allow it. she rubbed essential fatly acids. thiaminetetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD), and glutathione into her skin. and sheadded Epsom salts to her bath. Changes were slow at first, and occurredprimarily in eating. She started accepting different foods. and Shawna began towork the nutritional supplements we had discussed into Sierra's diet. Herscreaming fits decreased over the first month, then disappeared in the fifthweek of treatment. Then she abruptly began saying words. sleeping five to sevenhours at a time, and playing with toys, though she still went stiff if Shawnatried to cuddle her.

Certain toxins are implicated in autism, including microbial toxins, metals,synthetic chemicals, and electromagnetic fields. These have been around for sometime, so why has the number of children with autism erupted in the past decade?There is credible evidence that we live in an increasingly toxic world—atmosphere, oceans, rivers, soils, and food supply. We are straining the limitsof tolerability. Recent serious efforts to clean up our planet are just gettingunder way but are lagging at this point.

As many have said, children with autism are the canaries in the coal mine, theunmistakable signal that for those who are most vulnerable, the environment isbecoming unsafe. Other conditions on the rise are sounding the same alarm. Howelse can we explain the rise of so many degenerative and immune-compromiseddiseases in numbers that were not seen a few decades ago? There is thefrightening rise in Alzheimer's, the legions with chronic fatigue, sick buildingsyndrome, and previously unheard of chronic pain syndromes like fibromyalgia. Inaddition, there is an alarming rise in the number of cases of ultra intolerancessuch as multiple chemical sensitivities, marked allergic hypersensitivities, andeasily triggered severe asthma. All fit the toxicity model.

In many ways, autism is the condition that most epitomizes a dysregulationdisorder. Varying toxic loads affect different regulatory mechanisms in thebrain differently. Children with autism may share any of a number of symptoms.but there is no disorder in the DSM-IV that has such an array of differences.Even in identical twins with autism, it is not unusual for them to havedifferent behaviors and neurological deficits. Both have toxic burdens. but thetoxic substances may differ and their tissue uptake in the brain may differ.

Children in the autistic spectrum are more likely to have certain otherdysregulation disorders, such as seizures. Seizure is the first disorder thatthe developer of neurofeedback. Dr. Barry Sterman, treated. He started treatingthe brain's regulatory centers with neurofeedback more than forty years ago, andhis work has been replicated over and over with the same high level of success.

Risk factors for a child developing autism include problems surrounding laborand delivery, such as a breech position or a preterm delivery. These problemsalso increase the risk of other dysregulation disorders, including ADHD andlearning disability.

The disruptions present in the brains of autistic children are in the regulatorycenters. Neuropsychologist Rob Coben has studied the brainwave activity ofautistic children extensively. Dr. Coben's research findings reveal that thebrains of children with autism have areas that have too much electricalconnectivity and other areas that are too loosely connected. Too much leads todecreased resilience and reduced ability to reorganize itself, and too littledecreases the communication necessary to organize by reducing the numbers andintricacies of the interfaces.

What is important about Dr. Coben's work is that it does not only identify howthe brains of autistic children differ from other children's, it also helps usform strategies for how to improve their brains.

After treatment, some of our patients have told us that the experience of theircondition was one of bewildering. unbearable overstimulation. In many children,this is no doubt what produces the avoidance of touch. unresponsiveness,"irrational" fears or inability to exhibit fear, or the need for sameness andmarked difficulty with any changes. In such a state of overwhelming andintolerable stimulation, the behaviors these children exhibit make perfectsense.

Some children are able to focus intensively on a single thing to help reducestimulation. This likely is a reason some children will spin or rock for longperiods of time. Parents and clinicians call this type of repetitive behaviorstimming, for self-stimulation, but the repetitive behaviors may be more foroverall stimulation reduction.

This ability to focus to the exclusion of all else may be productive and canresult in remarkable degrees of knowledge or skills in the area or subject offocus. It appears that when parts of the brain are not functioning, other areasare more likely to develop beyond usual limits. Children with such skills may behighly artistic or musically or mathematically gifted, or have prodigiousmemories in a specific subject, such as trains, seashells, or, like Sean, Mars.They tend to do or think about little else aside from their subject of interest.When these children are treated, the artistic, musical, and mathematicallyskilled continue to develop their talents while becoming increasingly wellrounded in their lives. In the children with a singular interest, theencyclopedic knowledge tends to fade as they develop other interests and makefriends.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from HEALING YOUNG BRAINS by ROBERT W. HILL, EDUARDO CASTRO. Copyright © 2009 Robert W. Hill, PhD, and Eduardo Castro, MD. Excerpted by permission of Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc..
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Edition details

• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 157174603X
• ISBN 13: 9781571746030
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 386