Can Neurofeedback Train the ADHD Brain?
Living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) presents daily challenges that often demand innovative solutions. While traditional treatments such as medication have been the go-to for many, a more unique approach called...
Signs Your Child Needs a Psychoeducational Assessment as a form of Learning Check-in
As parents, we're on a constant quest to support our children and ensure they thrive in every aspect of their lives. When challenges arise, it's natural to want to understand how best to help. A form of learning check-in, known as a...
How do Auditory or Visual Processing Disorders Impact Reading Development in Children?
For all children, the acquisition of reading skills plays a crucial role in development. However, for some children, the path to literacy is complicated by challenges stemming from auditory and visual processing disorders. These disorders can...
Can Neurofeedback Help with Insomnia?
Millions of people worldwide grapple with the torment of insomnia, a sleep disorder that can wreak havoc on one's physical and mental health. While there are numerous strategies to tackle this issue, neurofeedback therapy has emerged as an...
How Can I Improve My Sleep?
Sleep is not just a period of rest; it is a fundamental aspect of our overall health and well-being. Yet, many of us find ourselves tossing and turning, unable to drift into a peaceful slumber. The consequences of poor sleep can be profound,...
How Can I Improve My Anxiety?
Anxiety is a common and often debilitating mental health condition that affects millions of individuals worldwide. It can manifest in various forms, from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) to social anxiety, panic disorder, and specific phobias....
How Do I Improve My Executive Functioning?
Executive functioning is a set of mental skills that help us manage time, pay attention, switch focus, plan and organize, remember details, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. These skills are vital for daily life, from school and work to...
Mind Over Matter: Six Actionable Approaches to Battle Cognitive Decline
As we age, our cognitive abilities naturally begin to decline. This can include changes in memory, attention, and processing speed, among other cognitive functions. While some degree of cognitive decline is a normal part of aging, more...
How Does Neurofeedback Therapy Ease Nicotine Withdrawal and Rewire the Brain?
Quitting smoking is a heroic endeavor, but it's not without its challenges. Nicotine, the addictive substance in tobacco, can make the process of quitting an arduous journey, characterized by intense cravings, mood swings, and anxiety. While many...
How Do Executive Functioning Problems Affect Adults?
In the grand tapestry of life, two essential domains often stand out: our careers and our relationships. Success and fulfillment in both these areas hinge not just on talent or hard work, but also on a set of cognitive skills collectively known...
Why is Executive Functioning Development in Children Crucial to Academic Success?
Every parent wants their child to succeed academically. However, success in school isn't solely determined by intelligence or hard work. It's also heavily reliant on a set of cognitive skills known as executive functions. These skills, which...
What is Neuropsychological Testing for Children, and How Can It Help?
In the realm of mental health and education, cognitive assessments play a pivotal role in identifying and addressing challenges faced by children and school-aged students. Neuropsychological testing, in particular, has emerged as a valuable tool...
Standardized Test Prep — How Learning Specialists Can Improve Performance
What are Standardized Tests? Standardized tests are a common requirement for students of all ages, from high school entrance exams to professional licensing exams. For many students, these tests can be a source of anxiety and stress. However,...
Why an Executive Functions Coaching Important for Students Going Back to School
As kids return to school, they face an array of academic and social challenges that require effective cognitive skills to navigate successfully. One critical set of cognitive skills that significantly impacts a child's ability to excel in school...
Back-to-School Checklist — Why You Should Consider a Private Tutor
At Cognitive Solutions L.C., we understand the unique challenges that students with learning disabilities or ADHD face in their academic journeys. We also know that finding the right support system can make all the difference in a student's...
The Impact of a Learning Specialist on a Student with Learning Disabilities
For students with learning disabilities or ADHD, navigating the education system can be challenging. They may struggle with reading, writing, math, focus, executive functioning, or other academic skills that are essential for success in school....
IEP Testing With a Private Evaluator — Why Your Child May Benefit More From a Private Evaluation
As parents, we all want the best for our children. When it comes to their education, we want them to receive the best possible support and accommodations to help them succeed. One way to achieve this is through an Individualized Education Program...
Getting Proper Support for Children in Special Education — Why is it Challenging?
Parents of children with special education needs face a unique set of challenges when it comes to getting the proper support for their children in the education system. Whether it's getting an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan in...
Can Neurofeedback Replace Stimulant Medications Like Adderall?
Neurofeedback is a type of therapy that uses real-time feedback to train the brain to function more efficiently. This form of therapy has been gaining popularity as a non-invasive alternative to stimulant medications like Adderall and Vyvanse,...
Adderall and Vyvanse — Are There Negatives to Taking Stimulant Medications?
Stimulant medications like Adderall and Vyvanse are commonly prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. While they can be effective treatments for these conditions, there are also potential negative side...
Taking Adderall for Focus — Why You Should Consider Alternatives
What is Adderall typically prescribed to treat? Adderall is a prescription medication used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. It is a stimulant that works by increasing the levels of certain...
How Can You Prevent Adderall Withdrawal?
Withdrawal symptoms can occur when an individual stops taking Adderall, which can be uncomfortable and disruptive. In this blog post, we will explore ways to prevent Adderall withdrawal symptoms, including tapering off the medication, managing...
The Importance of IEP and 504 Plans in Special Education
Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 Plans are legal documents that are designed to ensure that students with disabilities receive the necessary accommodations and support to succeed in their education. These plans provide a framework...
Meeting Health Insurance Deductibles: Why You Shouldn’t Wait to Get Services
The Realities of Health Insurance Deductibles In many cases insurance policies align with the calendar year and deductibles renew at the start of every year. The cost of medical care and services can come as a shock to many Americans, and there...
Seasonal Affective Disorder: More than the “Winter Blues”
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Seasonal Affective Disorder also known as its acronym SAD, seasonal depression, or winter depression. According to the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders, (DSM-5), is categorized as a form of depression,...
Private Clinic vs. Public School: What You Should Know About Psychoeducational Evaluations
Education is critical to the development and optimal health outcomes for children. Without access to quality education and educational resources, children are at risk to face barriers to employment and earning potential. Additionally, children...
Exploring the Differences Between Neuropsychological Testing vs. Quantitative Electroencephalogram (qEEG) Testing
Joy Malanyaon began experiencing severe headaches beginning December 2016. The headaches were abnormal and nothing like Joy had experienced before. The pain would start from the back of her head and move down her shoulders into her...
Understanding Your Rights: A Teen’s Guide to Healthcare and Confidentiality
18 years old. This age brings so much change in a teen’s life, even more than the often more coveted, Sweet 16. When a teen reaches the age of 18, they become an adult under state and federal law. This change is huge for most, and the shift...
Too Viral?: Investigating the Effects of Mental Health Content on TikTok
Starting out as an app to pass the time with dance challenges like the Renegade, created by Jalaiah Harmon, or watching animals talk, like “Bunny” the cute sheepadoodle who uses an electronic button system communicate with her owners – TikTok...
Flying Under the Radar: How Unrecognized Traumatic Brain Injury Can Lead to Loss of Life
The time is now to discuss your health and here’s why. - In addition to entering another year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of 2022 came with significant losses to the entertainment industry. From icons Louie Anderson to André Leon...
Brainwaves: What You Need To Know
A lot goes on in our brains. No organ works harder or has as much control over us, and it seems each year, medical science makes new discoveries regarding the relationship between the brain’s properties and its functions. One of these functions...
The Pandemic & Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) occurs when a person has difficulty recovering after experiencing or witnessing a terrifying event and is associated with intense physiological, emotional, and cognitive reactions to a traumatic or stressful...
How The Pandemic Has Shifted The Mental Health Conversation
We’re finally experiencing something we haven’t for the better part of a year: light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. As of April, 2021, more than half of U.S. adults have received at least one COVID-19 dose, and one-third of all adults are...
What’s The Difference Between An IEP And A 504 Plan?
There is a bevy of resources available to students with behavioral and learning deficiencies. These are certainly helpful, as they can make a world of difference for struggling children; however, navigating this complex landscape can be...
What Is The Difference Between A Learning Specialist And A Tutor?
Does this sound familiar? You sit down to help your child with homework or study for a test, and it winds up being an exercise in frustration. It’s been a while since you’ve had to multiply and divide fractions, and you’ve likely erased the...
Executive Functioning When You Have ADHD
People can be flippant about ADHD. How many times have you heard someone who got momentarily distracted casually say, “Oh, it’s my ADHD,” when they don’t actually have that diagnosis? They likely mean no harm, but it shows a lack of...
What Is The Link Between Depression And Anxiety?
Depression and anxiety are thick as thieves. Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental illness in the U.S., and almost half of individuals with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. This means they travel well...
Four Reasons Why You Should Consider Neurofeedback
“When you are dealing with depression and anxiety, you feel like you’re lost,” said former Michigan State star offensive lineman and Miami Dolphin, Arthur Ray. A patient receiving the same neurofeedback treatment program offered at Cognitive...
How Neurofeedback Treats Traumatic Brain Injury, Anxiety, Depression, And More
Imagine if you and your therapist could actually see what your mental illness looks like in your brain. What if you had a visual of your brain’s activity–circuitry and brainwaves–that interprets your symptoms? Taking it a step further, how...
The Impact Of COVID-19 On Our Mental Health
The title of this blog post suggests doom and gloom. Yes, we will discuss the negative impacts of COVID on mental health, but we’ll also offer ways to manage and combat them. Let’s address the hard part first. There’s no sugarcoating the...
COVID Cases Are Surging; We Are Ready With Teletherapy
The state had a nice stretch of low and plateaued Coronavirus cases, but unfortunately, as fall has progressed, we’ve seen a troubling uptick. As of this writing, Illinois has reported over six thousand new cases, and the Governor’s office...
How Do I Know I Need a Psychological Evaluation: Executive Functioning (Part 1)
There are several reasons a person might need a psychological evaluation. Psychological evaluations are used to measure the current levels of functioning for a lot of different cognitive domains. In this series, we will explore some of the...
What Makes a Good Psychological Evaluation?
There are many reasons why a person would need a psychological evaluation. Psychological evaluations are used to measure emotional regulation, academic functioning, executive functioning, personality, intelligence, and many other components...
Dr. Goldstein Featured on Voyage Chicago
http://voyagechicago.com/interview/meet-ari-goldstein-cognitive-solutions-learning-center-lincoln-park/
Cognitive Solutions partners with The Chicago Health and Wellness Alliance
Cognitive Solutions is proud to announce our partnership with Dr. Alan Bain of the Chicago Health and Wellness Alliance. Dr. Bain is a medical doctor who specializes in the whole patient approach. His broad views of medical treatment, unique...
What is Anxiety?
Is it Anxiety, a Phobia or just Life in Twenty-first Century? By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is one of the most prevalent mental health issues in the...
Is there such a thing as an ADHD diet?
Is there such a thing as an ADHD diet? Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. “You are what you eat” is an axiom that I’m sure most healthcare and fitness experts would agree with. After all, there is no doubt that good nutrition is crucial for maintaining...
The Challenges of Building a Private Practice
By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. In the course of my twenty years in the education and psychology fields, I have engaged in conversations with hundreds of colleagues and students who are new to private practice work. The question I am asked the most...
Why Do More Children Seem to Have ADHD Today?
Why Do More Children Seem to Have ADHD? By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. According to a study conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 6.4...
The Parents Dilemma – Choosing the Right Therapy When Your Child Has ADHD
The Parents Dilemma – Choosing the Right Therapy When Your Child Has ADHD Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. Educational Psychologist, Chicago Illinois According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) 5 percent of American children have...
Lesser Known Keys to Academic Success: Grit
Guest Blog Lesser Known Keys to Academic Success: Grit There are many factors that go into determining whether a student is successful in school and on standardized tests. In this article, I’ll discuss a “lesser known” factor that parents...
Depression Part III : Modern Therapy
By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. For the past few months, we’ve been discussing the symptoms, causes and various treatment options for depression. Currently, it’s estimated that 13% of men and 21% of women in America will experience some level of...
Depression Part II: Therapeutic Treatment Options
Some say the depression is an affliction that is exasperated, if not caused by our modern life style. Nevertheless, whatever the cause, therapists and physicians now have pharmaceutical options and well as traditional talk therapy to help...
Chicago Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
What is it Like to Have Both Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? Living with either dyslexia or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), let alone both of them, can be hard, unless you really know how to...
Depression: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment Part I
Depression: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment - Part I of III Depression: What’s it all about? By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. Educational Psychologist “I have had issues with depression all my life, and it’s probably true to say...
The History of Neurofeedback: Part III
The History of Neurofeedback: Part III By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. Educational Psychologist, Chicago Illinois Ever since the 1970’s, when scientists like Dr. Barry Sterman and Dr. Joe Kamiya first demonstrated that patients with...
The History of Neurofeedback: Part II
The History of Neurofeedback: Part II Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. Educational Psychologist For far too long, neurofeedback has been viewed as a therapy based more on wishful thinking than science. Perhaps this is because early in its history – in the...
The History of Neurofeedback: Part I
How does Neurofeedback work? Why is it so effective in treating brain conditions as varied as ADHD, traumatic brain injury, seizures and learning disabilities? And so on. In the interest of answering these and other questions, we thought we’d...
Summer Classes Forming Now
Cognitive Solutions offers one on one and group programs in the summer aimed at developing students' processing abilities, executive functions, and academic weaknesses. Our programs are highly individualized, and designed to help our students...
The Screen Time Debate
Screen Time: How Much Is Too Much? Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. Look around in any waiting room, restaurant, or public space filled with children who are required to wait for a period of time. What percentage of those children are engaged in...
What Exactly Is A Learning Specialist?
Learning Specialist - Isn’t that just a tutor? By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. Tutors have existed for as long as man. Elders helping the younger generation learn the skill sets necessary to survive in their environment. Of course, early tutoring...
Neurofeedback: Science or Shamanistic Ritual?
Neurofeedback: Science or Shamanistic Ritual? By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. The human brain is a fascinating organ that constantly seeks to improve itself. The capacity of the brain to grow and develop in response to environmental stimuli is...
HELPING CHILDREN AND ADULTS REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.
We help individuals with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD), Learning Disabilities (Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia), Autism, Anxiety, and Depression in Chicago, IL. Our programs include neurofeedback, educational therapy, psychotherapy, and...
GET IN TOUCH
Our Chicago office is located at: 2409 N. Clybourn Ave. Chicago, IL 60614 (773) 755-1775 info@helpforld.com Read More...
ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER (ADD/ADHD) AND LEARNING DISABILITY TESTING
- Neuropsychological Testing - Psychoeducational Testing - Dyslexia Testing - ADD/ADHD screenings - Standardized Examination Accommodations Testing
TREATMENT AND THERAPY PROGRAMS FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES, ADD/ADHD, EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSION
Our programs are designed to help you reach your full potential! At CSLC we take careful measures to assess your needs and apply them to one of our unique programs. – Neurofeedback – Educational Therapy and tutoring – Executive Functions...
ABOUT LEARNING DISABILITIES AND ADD/ADHD
A learning disability, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia, is defined as a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language, which may manifest itself in an...
Natural Treatment For Attention Deficit Disorders Without Medication
When I was growing up in the 1970’s, there were always boys who were hyper. They couldn’t control their behaviors, responded impulsively to everything placed in front of them, and acted as if driven by little motors constantly running full speed...
Thoughts on Executive Functioning Skills
Thoughts on Executive Functioning Skills By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. When I first began teaching special education in the early 1990’s, the term executive functioning was unheard of. As a young teacher, I very quickly saw the importance of...
Exercise for Depression
“Mens sana in corpore sano” Exercise to Treat Depression and Improve Overall Life Satisfaction “Mens sana in corpore sano” is well known Latin quote meaning “a sound mind in a healthy body”. Here at Cognitive Solutions, we see patients...
Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD or ADHD) manifests itself through two main characteristics: inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. These symptoms, as well as the others that often accompany them, can cause numerous...
Neurofeedback For Dyslexia
EEG Neurofeedback For Dyslexia Our previous blog discussed adult dyslexia, its symptoms, and how the proper testing and diagnosis is important for treatment planning. Along with the proper testing and diagnosis for a learning disability such as...
Adult Dyslexia Help in Chicago
Adult Dyslexia Cognitive Solutions Learning Center-Chicago, Il. Dyslexia is a language based learning disability whose symptoms can cause an array of difficulties. The primary difficulty experienced by those with dyslexia is word recognition....
Attention Deficit Disorder ADD and ADHD Treatment in Chicago: Neurofeedback and Executive Functioning Training
By Ari Goldstein, Ph.D. Most psychologists and doctors in Chicago have limited tools available for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD and ADHD). Frequently, behavioral modifications and prescription medication are...
Treating ADHD Without Medication
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This disorder is common amongst children and young adults around the world, and can present with difficulties regulating focus, bodily movement, and impulsivity. Contrary to modern...