Neurofeedback improves autism spectrum disorders

In two recent 2009 editions of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, a group of researchers from The Netherlands reported on the effectiveness of neurofeedback in improving executive functioning in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and its long-term positive effects.

Seven autistic children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders received a neurofeedback treatment that aimed to improve their level of executive control. After 40 training sessions, the children's executive capacities were found to have improved greatly relative to pre-treatment assessment on a range of executive function tasks. Additional improvements were found in the children's social, communicative and typical behavior, relative to a waiting list control group. These findings suggest a basic executive function impairment in ASD that can be alleviated through specific neurofeedback treatment. A 12-month followup showed that the improvement of executive functions and social behavior were maintained.