Scientific Claims of DeVos-Backed Company Questioned - Market Brief
President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the federal Education Department is a major backer of a company claiming its neurofeedback technology can “fix” problems such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and has “proven and long-lasting” positive effects on children with autism.
Current scientific evidence does not support such claims, according to the clinical guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics and three leading researchers consulted by Education Week.
“It’s misleading the public to say neurofeedback is effective in treating kids with ADHD and autism,” said Nadine Gaab, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Boston Children’s Hospital and a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
“It’s still an experimental treatment that needs more rigorous research,” she said.
Launched in 2006, Neurocore is based in Grand Rapids, Mich. That’s also the hometown of billionaire school-choice advocate Betsy DeVos, Trump’s pick to become U.S. Secretary of Education.
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