Neurofeedback vs autism

• May 2, 2024

The neurofeedback , a technique that reaches national territory at the end of the nineties, is used by the National Autonomous University of Mexico, (UNAM), as an effective treatment against conditions such as depression , anxiety , lack of concentration, attention deficit and, of course, the autism .

Autism is a condition that has increased its record in children in recent years around the world. Only in Mexico, according to figures from National Institute of Statistic and Geography (INEGI) in 2011, 45 thousand children were registered with this disorder, and in addition, six thousand more are diagnosed each year.

However, although there is still no cure, technological advances contribute to improving the quality of life of patients and have developed new resources in the media to combat this disease, as in the case of neurofeedback .

For example, in many European countries they use touch screen phones, electronic tablets, and computers as a method to encourage communication in children, and they have had very good therapeutic results.

The neurofeedback "Is the monitoring of brain patterns and the recording of their activity by a computerized means, which helps the child to improve his communicative reaction through visual information and exercises stimulants that are issued from a PC ", commented Luz María Álvarez, academic and coordinator of the Research in Psychology of the Faculty of Medicine of the UNAM .

In addition, adds the specialist that in the case of autism, neurofeedback has a great variety of benefits such as improvement in cognitive functions, accelerate the process of language recovery, achieve that the child has a closer connection with the environment, people and objects that surround it, and stimulate neurons to work properly.

Far solution or a reality?

On many occasions, it is thought that treatments such as neurofeedback are only long-term options or are not so easy to find in the country. However, these days in Mexico is a reality and is already at the service of society.

"It has been difficult to maintain projects like this one, since the equipment used for the treatments is high cost and consequently the sessions also; However, nowadays it is easier to find in hospitals, private clinics, or even in universities the possibility of attending them, at a lower cost and with better sanitary conditions ", said the expert.

Similarly, he noted that it is very important, if you are going to subject a minor to this technique, to ensure that it is carried out by doctors specialized in the equipment and materials used, since, in the case of autism and as Regular alternates with medications and psychological therapies, there may be side effects or delays in the development of the results. If you want to know more about this topic, write to bojorge@teletón.org.mx

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Video Medicine: Neurofeedback for Autism and Asperger's (May 2024).