Parents’ experience:

Koen is our son of 10 years and a great kid!
Going to school has always been a terrible experience for Koen, since the kindergarten. At primary school he complained every morning about abdominal pain, feeling sick and not wanting to go to school, sometimes even crying. At school he could not concentrate well, so he could do little or even no work, despite good test results. He also found it very difficult to sit still and had a tendency to fiddle with other children all the time. Disagreement with fellow students was usually solved with his fist, which he later felt very bad about and of which he had enormous regrets. He had a negative self-image. In group 4 we once had a parent meeting in which the teacher asked us if Koen was asleep enough. We reacted that he was in bed on time every day, also in the weekends. Afterwards it appeared that Koen was lying still in bed with the lamp off, but that he couldn’t sleep because the ‘cogs in his head’ kept turning, we only found out at the end of group 5, by actually going to see if he was already asleep after half an hour, for example, this turned out not to be the case.
Because Koen had a lot of reading problems as well as behavioural problems, we had Koen psychologically tested at the end of group 5, from which he was diagnosed with ADD and dyslexia. Many pieces of the puzzle fell into place and Koen was very relieved by this result alone. For us, this was the start of the search for specific solutions. Via a GGD employee we heard about Neurofeedback. With the help of the internet we gathered information. Because it appears that Neurofeedback practices like mushrooms are emerging, we went looking for a reliable address. In the end, we went for neuroCare Netherlands because they do research in collaboration with the Radboud Hospital Nijmegen. It is also possible to do tele-Neurofeedback, which in our case is pleasant because of the travel distance to Nijmegen (and it saves not only travel time but also travel and parking costs).

Koen has had about 30 training sessions, 3 times a week. Partly he was allowed to do this during school hours. During this period he was very motivated and worked hard, this was partly because the therapist felt him so good and could work with him fantastic. At the beginning we didn’t notice much difference, despite the fact that the sessions took a lot of energy, but in the end the result was overwhelming! Koen now usually sleeps in 15 minutes, which used to take almost an hour. Probably because of that he doesn’t feel sick anymore in the morning. At school he now (almost) always gets his work completely finished, while before the autumn holidays they were satisfied with half of the material to be made and that was often not feasible either. Koen is able to discuss problem situations much better, so that it is not easy to fight anymore. We now have a son who is self-confident and sincerely happy and who goes to school with much more pleasure. That was worth the time invested and the costs incurred.

Client’s experience:

Hello everyone,
I’m Koen and I’m 10 years old. Since the autumn holidays of 2009 I did Neurofeedback at neuroCare Nederland. I had to go to Nijmegen the first 5 times, then we were in the car for a long time and that is boring. After that we could train twice at home and once a week in Nijmegen. Often I was allowed to leave school earlier, I thought that was great! In the beginning I got very tired of looking at the bar on the screen, but that went better and better. During the sessions I was always happy, because I had to work hard, but we often made jokes. I could earn stickers on a card, after 5 stickers I could choose a present from the pot.

At first I found it very difficult:
– To concentrate and make my work at school.
– To sleep in.
– To tell if I had experienced something boring.

Now I have had Neurofeedback and now I can:
– Getting my work done at school, I’m even ready for ‘finished tasks’, I’m proud of that!
– I can sleep well after reading in the evening.
– I’m good at talking about what happened at school.

Parents’ experience:

Our son had trouble getting to work at school and when he was working it took him a lot of effort to stay to work. Despite this, the results at school remained good. However, he didn’t enjoy it and so it became more and more difficult for him to get started and to stay in business.
The school indicated that maybe we should take a closer look at what was going on with him. We ended up at the GGZ and when it appeared that he had ADHD. However, we did not want to start with medication right away. On the internet we read about Neurofeedback and this really appealed to us. We registered him and a QEEG was taken from him. The diagnosis was confirmed by this, but it was an image that qualified for treatment.

In February we started the treatment. Initially we went to Nijmegen three times a week. In the beginning our son found it very difficult. The idea that sitting still and doing nothing would achieve anything was difficult for him. But by doing so one learns and after a while it all became a bit easier. Especially when we started to see results in his sleep behaviour, he himself got an incentive to continue, that it was not for nothing. At a certain point we switched to two treatments a week. This gave us a little more rest.

At school there are clear changes visible. At the beginning of the school year it was still difficult to start a task and often after five minutes the cake was really finished. Now he gets to work after a clear assignment and is able to work independently for three quarters of an hour. He has gotten more pleasure in schoolwork and even likes to do arithmetic!

Client’s experience:

With Neurofeedback you get stickers with gel on your head and you have to sit quietly in front of a computer screen. In the beginning I found it difficult, because I didn’t know exactly what to do. But after a few times it worked out well. If you do your best, you get a sticker every time. After 5 stickers you can choose a present.

Parents’ experience:

In March 2008 we started Neurofeedback with our son (8 years old). He had trouble to get his thoughts in order, it was always busy in his head. He slept badly and was often desperate. Besides, he had bad fine motor skills and a slight form of dyspraxia. He wrote very poorly readable and dropped the cutlery from his hands 3 – 4 times a meal.

The first 5-10 sessions, apart from the numerical results of the sessions, we saw no response at all. However, we continued to complete all the sessions and the result is now visible.

He himself indicates that it is much more tidy in his head and that he goes to sleep much more relaxed. Often he was awake until 22.00 hrs. now 20.30 hrs. is absolutely an exception. He also rarely drops his cutlery and writes faster and more readable. He even got his yellow band from the judo in the last weeks. Especially in the weeks of the last sessions he made huge jumps. He now also plays soccer with the children of his class and is accepted in the game.
We combined the Neurofeedback sessions with a number of Occupational Therapy sessions so that he could immediately put into practice the right ‘mindset’ and the influence that this has on his physical abilities.
He has had several successful experiences during the sessions and is, like us, convinced that the approach has had a positive influence on his development.

Client’s experience:

Hello.
I did the Neurofeedback sessions at neuroCare Nederland. I laughed a lot with her.
I was also allowed to choose my own puzzle pictures. I trained with puzzles and with Pacman. In the beginning I got angry with the pacman because he didn’t walk fast enough to my liking. At one point I realized that if I counted the snacks it went better. I could break my own records, laugh. The kids in my class thought it was exciting at first that I was going to train with electrodes on my head but later when my mother came to pick me up at school they called me and said: Dirk you have to train with your head…it was quite a laugh. I also felt that it worked because at one point my head felt army on one side. I really tried to fill it up again because at first it didn’t feel good at all. Now I don’t want to go back! I don’t know if it’s because of this but I can play soccer (I better say I can run after a ball without falling over and over again) I write more neatly and the most important thing I have room in my head again. I don’t hear all kinds of things all day long. It used to be much more difficult to disturb me, I just didn’t hear it. So I did wear a lot of them. It was always nice because with the therapist you can work well but also have good fun. I think I’ll miss her when I’m back at school and don’t have to go home to train, it’s all part of the job. Now have fun with your training and I hope it works very well for you too.