Impact of Coherence Neurofeedback on Reading Delays in Learning Disabled Children: A Randomized Controlled Study

: Learning disabilities are a complex problem facing our society and educational system. Dyslexia, or reading disability, is one of the most common learning disabilities, impacting children and adults adversely in a myriad of ways. Traditional programs designed to teach reading enhancement are largely ineffective or require intensive therapy over long periods of time. Method : Forty-two school-aged participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received qEEG-guided, individuallytailored, two-channel coherence neurofeedback over the left hemisphere. This included two sessions per week for a total of 20 sessions. The control group received typical resource room instruction. All participants received pre- and post-educational measures focused on reading abilities. Results : Following the intervention period, the experimental group enhanced their reading scores, while the control group did not. Coherence neurofeedback led to an average enhancement of 1.2 grade levels in reading scores, but resource room instruction led to no such improvement at all. Conclusion : Coherence-based neurofeedback would appear to show promise and led to significant gains in reading that outpace those of traditional reading programs and most types of neurofeedback studied in the past. Future clinical and research work in this understudied area is recommended.