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Children and adolescents

Autism in children and adolescents

An autism diagnosis is made by a child psychiatrist or a specialized pediatrician, and care often combines speech therapy, occupational therapy and psychomotor therapy. I offer neurofeedback alongside, from age 2: your child watches their favorite cartoon, and the sound mixed into the soundtrack follows their brain's activity.

  • Recognized by ASCA and RME: reimbursement possible through your supplementary insurance, depending on your policy.
  • I see patients in French, English and Greek.

★★★★★ 5.0 on Google

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The treatment chair at the practice in Neuchâtel

A session for your child

Your child settles in front of the screen with headphones on, and we choose the cartoon together. A few sensors on their head record their brain's activity. The neurofeedback sound, which follows this activity, is mixed into the cartoon's soundtrack: session after session, their brain learns from this sound.

I choose the method from your child's difficulties, their measurements and the studies on autism. A qEEG assessment can add to these measurements. At every session I record the signals we train and adjust what follows from those measurements.

What the studies show

In a study of 86 autistic children aged 6 to 13, the autism symptom score fell by 40 points with neurofeedback added to exercises suited to the way they learn. It fell by 19 points with the exercises alone. Study

In a study of autistic children, the score for speech and communication difficulties fell by 4 points with frequency-band neurofeedback. It did not change in the children waiting for their turn. Study

In a study of 41 autistic adolescents, difficulties with communication and relating to others, rated by the parents, fell by 21 points with slow cortical potential neurofeedback. They fell by 14 points with the usual consultations. Study

For attention, learning or stomach pain, the ADHD and attention in children page gives more results.

What the training aims for

Neurofeedback

The mu rhythm

Recorded over the areas that control movement, it drops when your child moves and when they watch someone move. Training it aims to strengthen the link between the gestures they see in others and their own, to help them pay attention to others and communicate.

Neurofeedback

Low frequency

It trains the slowest changes in the brain's activity and aims at steadier vigilance and attention.

Neurofeedback

Slow cortical potentials

It helps the brain get ready for a task and then relax, so it moves more easily from one activity to the next.

When autism comes with anxiety or tension, biofeedback helps calm the body's alert signals.

5.0 Google reviews

Viktoria Luisen

★★★★★

I went through the full assessment with Dimitris (qEEG, biofeedback, the discussions). I did several sessions and we looked at my results in depth. After a few weeks I genuinely felt better, and the data showed the change too. A calmer nervous system and steadier focus during the day. It also gave me the courage to put more focus on my creativity again, instead of pushing it down.

It was the first time I've used these methods, and it's pretty astonishing that after e.g. just 3 minutes of training (aligned to my brain waves), your eyes feel tired but your body feels more awake.

Dimitris doesn't guess. He measures, looks at the data, explains what he sees in language you can actually follow, and only then designs the training. The systems-biology background shows that he treats you as a whole system, not a symptom checklist. Every session had a clear rationale, and he was honest about what the data did and didn't show.

The practice itself is calm and professional, and he takes the time. You can feel that he is careful with what he says and makes sure his work is science-based. The most beautiful part: I felt that someone genuinely wants the patient to get better. You can feel the passion for helping others (and for the data ;) ).

Highly recommended. I'm continuing my training sessions with him.

Read the reviews on Google

Book an appointment

One hour at the practice to talk about your child, their diagnosis and their care, then decide together what comes next. On request, I send their pediatrician a short report.

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References (3)
  • Huang MX, Yu Q, Li YY (2024). A prospective randomized controlled study of neurofeedback combined with learning style profile intervention training in children with high-functioning autism (in Chinese). Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics, 26(10), 1066-1071. DOI 10.7499/j.issn.1008-8830.2405054. PMID 39467676.
  • Jarusiewicz B (2002). Efficacy of neurofeedback for children in the autistic spectrum: a pilot study. Journal of Neurotherapy, 6(4), 39-49. DOI 10.1300/J184v06n04_05.
  • Konicar L, Radev S, Prillinger K, Klöbl M, Diehm R, Birbaumer N, et al. (2021). Volitional modification of brain activity in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Bayesian analysis of Slow Cortical Potential neurofeedback. NeuroImage: Clinical, 29:102557. DOI 10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102557. PMID 33486138.