Welcome to our Website!
Choosing a Speech Therapist 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 and Neurofeedback.
We will use our temporary website
to introduce you to Speech and Language Therapy, Therapeutic Listening, and an innovative therapy that is known
as Neurofeedback. The Complementary Modality of Neurofeedback is also known as EEG Biofeedback, or Neurotherapy is
a drug free, noninvasive, painless, safe form of therapy 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,
and voice; and receptive and expressive language 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.
Neurofeedback
What is 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 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.
Neurofeedback an Effective Complementary
Modality
Neurofeedback is an effective complementary
modality for addressing such conditions as the Anxiety-Depression Spectrum, Attention Defict Disorder,
Headaches, Migraines, and Relaxation- Stress Management. It is also showing promise for other conditons such
as the Autism Spectrum, Drug Detoxification or as Cognitive Enhancement Training for Optimal Cognitive
Performance in the Boardroom, Classroom or on the Athletic Field.
Who Can Provide Neurofeedback?
According to Biofeedback Certification Insitute of America
BCIA.org the certifying body for Neurofeedback Practioners
Certification in EEG Biofeedback is open to professionals from
clinical health care areas including, but not limited to, Medicine Psychology, Nursing (includes all licensed RNs), Counseling,
and Therapy who hold a Bachelors or Higher degree from a regionally accredited academic institution. "Regionally
accredited academic institution” refers to an Accredited Institution of Postsecondary Education as determined by the
American Council on Education
Surface Electromyography (sEMG)
What is EMG?
The letters EMG represent “electromyography,”
which refers to the measurement of muscle electrical activity.
Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating
and recording physiologic properties of muscles at rest and while contracting. EMG is performed using an instrument called an electromyograph, to produce a record called
an electromyogram. An electromyograph detects the electrical potential generated by muscle cells when these cells contract, and also when the cells are
at rest.
The Muscle
The electrical source is the muscle membrane potential
of about -70mV. Due to the applied method, the resulting measured potentials range between less than 50 μV and 20 to
30 mV.
Typical repetition rate of muscle unit firing
is about 7–20 Hz, depending on the size of the muscle (eye muscles versus seat (gluteal) muscles), previous axonal damage
and other factors. Damage to motor units can be expected at ranges between 450 and 780 mV.Surface
electromyography (sEMG) is a recent development emerging from the field of biofeedback. Biofeedback has been practiced in
one form or another for most of this century, really emerging as a discipline in the late 1960's. One of the principle components
of biofeedback was the use of electrodes to monitor muscle activity. This became known as surface electromyography in order
to distinguish it from needle electromyography as practiced in neurology.
What is the difference between needle EMG and surface
EMG?
Needle EMG is performed with a needle electrode
penetrated through the skin and directly into the muscle. This provides information about a single muscle fiber rather than
information on the overall condition of a muscle. Surface EMG technology allows information regarding the overall muscle function
and condition to be collected from the surface of the skin. This process is non-invasive and non-painful to the patient.
How does Surface EMG
work?
Sensors placed on the skin directly above
the muscles detect the small electric potential, or signal, which comes from active muscles. The strength and pattern of the
signal is displayed on a computer screen and the data is collected in a software program that is able to run various analyses
of the data to create useful reports regarding muscle function in a graphic for interpretation.
Uses of surface EMG
sEMG feedback is used
for general relaxation training and is the primary modality for treatment of pelvic floor muscle re-education (incontinence),
headache, bruxism and temporomandibular joint problems, chronic pain, muscle spasm and partial paralysis, speech disorder
or other muscular dysfunction due to injury, stroke, or congenital disorders. Physical rehabilitation is through neuromuscular
re-education.
Rehabilitation
The Establishment of treatment
goals.
Stress Management
Pain Management (Complicated, Chronic
and Fibromyalgia)
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Help determine where the pain is
and what activities may be causing it.
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Help determine what type of treatment
is appropriate and what muscles should be targeted during the treatment in conjunction with your Physician.
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