Comparison of the Effectiveness of Neurofeedback, Ritalin, and Their Combination in Academic Achievement and Symptoms of Attention Deficit – Hyperactivity Disorder in Children

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the problems that afflict a large number of students and may lead to various educational, social, and behavioral impairments. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of neurofeedback, Ritalin and their combination in academic achievement and symptoms of ADHD children in Mashhad.

This study was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test, post-test and follow-up designs. The statistical population of this study was all patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Mashhad in 2016 who referred to psychological and counseling services in Mashhad. Forty-five individuals were selected through convenience sampling and were divided into three groups: combination neurofeedback treatment with Ritalin (15 patients), neurofeedback treatment (15 patients) and Ritalin treatment (15 patients). All three groups were assessed in the pre-test phase by Conners test (parent form) and academic record. Next, the first group received neurofeedback treatment with Ritalin for fifteen weeks. The second group received neurofeedback for forty-five 45-minute therapeutic sessions and the third group was treated with Ritalin alone for fifteen weeks. Data were analyzed using covariance analysis by SPSS-20 software.

The results of the analysis of covariance showed that the combined neurofeedback treatment with Ritalin is more effective than either of these alone. The effectiveness of neurofeedback alone was more than that of Ritalin alone and its stability was also significant (p <0.05).

Neurofeedback combined treatment with Ritalin can be more effective in improving behavioral and educational problems in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder than any of the other methods independently