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Welcome to our Website!
Choosing a Speech,OccupationTherapist or a Neurofeedback Practioner is one of the
most important decisions you can make. You want someone who is caring, accessible and knowledgeable. Someone who is willing
to take the time to go over all of your options and treat you as a person, not just a patient.
At our practice, we pride ourselves on our patient service. We offer a knowledgeable staff, safe and proven procedures,
and the latest in the field of Speech Pathology, Occupational Therapy and the complementary modality Neurofeedback.
We will use our website to introduce you to Speech and Language Therapy, Therapeutic Listening, Occupational
Therapy and an innovative complementary modality that is known as Neurofeedback. The Complementary Modality of Neurofeedback
is also known as EEG Biofeedback, is a drug free, noninvasive, painless, safe complementary modality that has been available
for over 30 years.
Speech-Language Pathology
Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), who are often informally known as speech therapists, are professionals educated
in the study of human communication, its development, and its disorders.
By assessing the speech, language, cognitive-communication,
and swallowing skills of children and adults, speech-language pathologists can determine what types of communication problems
exist and the best way to treat these challenges.
Speech-Language Pathologists typically treat problems in the areas
of articulation; dysfluency; oral-motor, speech, voice; and receptive , expressive language disorders, as well as
swallowing disorders.
Therapeutic Listening
Therapeutic
Listening is a technique of complementary medicine that uses music in a skilled manner. Therapeutic Listening Programs are
designed to help patients overcome physical, emotional, intellectual, and social challenges. Applications range from improving
the well being of geriatric patients in nursing homes to lowering the stress level and pain of women in labor. Music is used
in many settings, including schools, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, hospice, nursing homes, community centers, and sometimes
even in the home.
Occupational Therapy
Occupational
therapists help people of all ages regain, develop, or master everyday skills in order to live independent, productive, and
satisfying lives.
Occupational therapists assess clients with physical and mental challenges in order to develop activities
of daily living (ADL) that work best for those clients. For a client with a physical disability, the first focus is on performing
critical daily routines, such as dressing, grooming, bathing, and eating. Once these skills are mastered, a program is then
built around the skills needed to perform tasks such as participating in education, caring for a home and family, or seeking
and maintaining employment.
Neurofeedback
Neurofeedback
is a painless, non-invasive, learning strategy that enables a person to alter their
brain waves in order to improve attention, reduce impulsivity, and to control hyperactive behaviors. It is
based on the Basic Principles of Operant Conditioning
and Learning Theory .
Neurofeedback is based on electrical brain activity, the EEG or electroencephalogram. The user is provided with realtime feedback on brainwave activity, when the desired brain activity is achieved a positive "reward" feedback is given to the individual, all the while blocking or inhibiting
the undesired brain wave activity.
Like the acquisition any skill this is a gradual learning process. It applies to
any aspect of brain function that we can measure.
How Does Neurofeedback Work?
Brainwave
activity is measured with an electroencephalograph (EEG). The EEG Biofeedback equipment is connected to the individual with
sensors that are placed on the scalp and ears. The sensors are safe, do not prick or penetrate the skin, and are painless.
After adequate connection to the scalp and ears are made, the individual's brainwave activity can be observed on a computer
monitor.
Clients
are then taught to play computerized games using their brainwave activity. Changes in client brainwave activity are fed back
to the individual through visual and/or auditory information by the computer. One example is a game where clients move a figure
through a maze (similar to the popular pac-man game). The figure does not move because of the client's motor activity (e.g.,
pushing a button or moving a stick). Instead, the figure moves whenever the client produces specific brainwave patterns. When
desired levels of brainwave activity occur, the individual is reinforced, because the figure moves through the maze.
By
this method, clients learn to change brainwave activity. Clients also practice maintaining learned brainwave states when engaged
in school- or work-related tasks (e.g., reading, writing). This will help them use what they learned in Neurofeedback in
their daily activities.
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