The Brain Balance® programme improves attention and classroom behaviour in students with attentional and developmental challenges in a school setting

The Brain Balance (R) (BB) programme has been examined in a centre-based setting, but not yet in a school setting. This pilot study assessed sensorimotor, behavioural and cognitive functioning of students aged 5-15 years with pre-existing developmental and academic challenges who attended three one-hour sessions/week of the BB programme on-site at school (n = 15). Non-participating students served as controls (CTLs; n = 11). Before the programme, BB participants were more likely than CTLs to achieve low scores on at least two of six Cambridge Brain Sciences (CBS) cognitive tests. After the programme, the number of these participants with low scores decreased, compared with CTLs. Following participation, the BB group also demonstrated diminished primitive reflexes and improvement in scores on the Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Teacher Rating Scale (VADTRS), and higher scores on sensorimotor tasks, compared with CTLs. Finally, BB participants tended to improve test accuracy and reaction times on six CBS cognitive tests (non-significant). These preliminary results show the potential efficacy of the BB programme in a school setting. Future studies will assess the programme in larger student populations.