Rick Gunn/Nevada Appeal Mark Neddenriep, 14, sits before a computer monitor that provides feedback to his brain. The wires attached to his head measure brainwaves, which are monitored by a neurotherapy doctor, like Jerry Cinani, who stands behind.
The treatment for attention-deficit disorder at Sierra Counseling and Neurotherapy looks simply like a child sitting in front of a video game.
Except in this game, there are no controls, there are no buttons, there are no joysticks. The only thing being modified are brainwaves deep in the child's head.
"ADD permeates all of the dimensions of a child's life - academic, social and family," said Dr. Jerry Cinani, who works at the office. "If you can reduce or eliminate it, with treatment at about the cost of braces, you can make enormous changes for a family."
According to the American College of Behavioral Science, ADD is the inability to control behavior due to the brain's difficulty in processing stimuli. Symptoms can include a short attention span, difficulty completing tasks, careless mistakes, shyness and high levels of irritability.
Cinani and Dr. William Jenkins of Sierra Counseling and Neurotherapy began working together in the early 1990s in Carson City. They changed their business name three years ago when they added neurotherapy to the practice.
Neurotherapy works like this: While looking at a computer monitor, clients see video game-like characters moving about at speeds that vary as a function of the person's brainwave activity, which is monitored by a therapist. The "games" include titles like "Mazes," "Chompers," "Space Race" and "Island.
"The interaction is directly between the feedback and the brain," Cinani said. "The task for the client is simply to maintain their attention and to not do anything to interfere with looking at the monitor."
By digesting the information it sees, the nonconscious brain does all the work. Objectives in neurotherapy might be to reach a high score or cause certain sounds to beep. These are different than the objectives in traditional biofeedback, in which a client might learn how to regulate his or her body's responses.
The results Cinani and Jenkins have seen in ADD clients include increased interaction with teachers, an improvement in grades, better sleep, a decrease in hyperactivity, improved relationships with parents and improved attention and focus.
The treatment cost of $4,000 includes 40 sessions of a mix of neurotherapy, family counseling and behavioral modification geared to the individual. Generally, a child or student being treated for ADD visits the office three times a week, with the treatment period extending over four months. Health insurance does not generally cover costs, but in some cases may cover portions, Cinani said.
Between 3 to 7 percent of children have ADD, according to the American College of Behavioral Science. About 70 percent of the cases persist through adulthood, although the hyperactivity will decrease.
"I don't think that the prevalence of ADD means that it doesn't really exist and that people are just diagnosing away problems," said Cinani. "I do think you have to evaluate each condition. There are times when you are not dealing with ADD. There are a variety of different conditions that affect attention."
n Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.
What: Sierra Counseling and Neurotheraphy
Where: Eagle Medical Center, 2875 N. Carson St., Ste. 215
Contact: 885-7717
When can neurotherapy start?
Students can begin neurotheraphy for ADD as early as age 6 at Sierra Counseling.
What else is it used for?
Neurotheraphy is used to treat conditions other than ADD, including anxiety, depression, panic disorder, agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, to name a few. Neurotherapy has also been used to treat autism and Asperger's syndrome.
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