中華心理衛生協會

 Purpose: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Neurofeedback training is a promising non-pharmacological treatment based on the specific brainwave patterns of ADHD children. Half of all children with ADHD meet the criteria for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Parent management training is a common treatment for ODD. The purpose of this case study is to explore the treatment effects of simultaneous neurofeedback training and parent management training on a boy with ADHD comorbid ODD and his mother. The treatment practices demonstrated the expected improvement. Method: A 6-year-old boy with ADHD comorbid ODD and his mother participated in the study. The boy received 40 sessions of neurofeedback training, and his mother received 40 sessions of parent management training. Measures to assess changes in the child's symptoms, disruptive behaviors, emotional regulation ability, the mother's emotional education, and parent-child interaction were administered in the pre-training stage, post-training, and six months after training. Results: ADHD symptoms and disruptive behaviors improved significantly after receiving treatment. The child progressed in his ability to regulate anger. ODD symptoms at school also declined. According to the follow-up assessment, not only the child's performance, but also his mother's parenting skills and parent-child interaction continued to improve. Conclusions: This case study demonstrated the effect of neurofeedback combined with parent management training to treat a young child with ADHD comorbid ODD. The combination of the two treatments was an effective therapy that may be considered by researchers and clinical practitioners in treating children with ADHD comorbid ODD.