You Can Help Discover How Seizure Alert Dogs Can Sense Seizures

How Do Some Dogs Know Someone is Going to Have a Seizure? - You Can Help Discover How Seizure Alert Dogs Can Sense Seizures

It seems like research efforts in this area have started but stopped due to lack of funding and/or interest. Maybe research stopped due to reasons hidden from the public. The information on this topic is scattered all over the Internet and in various publications. 

Observing and videoing seems like something the public could very well do. 

The research up to now focuses mostly on monitoring the Seizure Alert Dog, while perceiving a person's impending seizure. The average person could video these moments. Admittedly, it would be hard to capture on film, but yet doable. 

Another research tool has been simultaneous EEG monitoring of the patient and monitoring of the dog. This is probably out of the realm of most of the public. Universities and other public institutions might take this on as a learning opportunity for students. 

The findings from the public collaborating on "open research" and "open innovation" could provide valuable insight on this topic. Public research and innovation can proceed with or without funding, simultaneously all around the world. 

The people most interested in this topic could drive this public research and innovation. Interested people could include people who have seizures, service dog trainers, veterinarians, doctors, and the like. 

The goal might be "find out how some dogs can sense an impending seizure". To achieve this goal, here are some proposed action steps.

• Let others know you are interested in finding out how dogs can sense seizures. Social media, such as Facebook and/or YouTube, could spread the word. Maybe even make a wiki to share work in collaboration.
• Show this article to your doctor and enlist their help. They probably have anecdotal experiences and insights to share on the wiki.
• Forward this article to service-dog training organizations. Ask them to add their observations to the wiki. When a dog detects an impending seizure, what do they do? Does the dog perk up its ears? Does the dog sniff the air? Ask them to help in this public project.
• Mail this article to universities, colleges, schools and ask the students to help. Remind them to log their progress on the wiki, for others to follow.
• Add your own comments on the wiki. Encourage collaboration amongst the participants. Recruit participants you think might be helpful. Contact retired or unemployed experts to assist in this topic. They might have the most time.
• Ask your local library to help you find resources on this topic. Read the sources, write a short review, and post it on the wiki. Your local library can help you find networking opportunities too.
• Set up internet alerts, such as Google Alerts, to notify you and the wiki of new findings.
• If you have a Seizure Alert Dog, do your best at videoing your dog sensing an impending seizure. Share the video on the wiki and Internet for others to analyze. Ask for help as needed to accomplish this task.
• Summarize findings and draw conclusions. Let the scientific community know of the results. Consider a press release.
• Your work could very well help find out how some dogs can sense seizures. Think of the possibilities! Training could improve and focus on the exact sensing action. This knowledge could create new products, techniques, and services that could very well save lives. If this is important to you, do not wait for scientists to do this. They might not find this topic sufficiently profitable or prestigious. You go for it!

For more information:

• SEIZURE-ALERT DOGS--JUST THE FACTS, HOLD THE MEDIA HYPE by Jenna Martin - includes list of resources - http://www.epilepsy.com/articles/ar_1084289240
• Seizure response dog - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seizure_response_dog
• Seizure Alert Dogs and Uncontrolled Epilepsy by Erick Dillard - Brigham-Young University Independent Study - http://www.danielsdog.com/dogs.html
• Seizure-alert dogs: a review and preliminary study by DEBORAH J DALZIEL et al., Seizure - Volume 12, Issue 2, March 2003, Pages 115-120 - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S105913110200225X
• Seizure response dogs: Evaluation of a formal training program by Kirton, A. et al., Epilepsy & Behavior; Oct2008, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p499-504, 6p
• epilepsy.com Wiki - http://www.epilepsy.com/wiki
• Open research - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_research
• Open innovation - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Innovation

Disclaimer - Article is for information only and is not medical advice.

Using Biofeedback With Art Therapy

Using Biofeedback With Art Therapy

Combining Biofeedback and Art Therapy Might Be Particularly Helpful to Those With PTSD, Autism, And/or Epilepsy

Could Art Therapy be enhanced by using Biofeedback? Could Biofeedback quantify the effectiveness of Art Therapy? Could Biofeedback help hone in on the most helpful method of Art Therapy?

 
These were questions I asked at a recent Symposium on Art Therapy. At least one person thought Biofeedback might help with Art Therapy. Therefore, I thought I'd write this article to stimulate discussion and innovation in this area.

Art Therapy has proven to be a very helpful adjunct to psychotherapy, especially when cognitive approaches have been unsuccessful. Biofeedback combined with psychotherapy could be viewed as a form of Polygraphy, revealing the inner emotions of the patient.

Biofeedback might provide relief from those suffering from PTSD, according to an article from PubMed. In addition, Art Therapy could be helpful those with PTSD, according to another article from PubMed. Therefore, it makes sense to me to combine Biofeedback with Art Therapy, especially for those with PTSD. I'm not a health care professional, in any sense, but I thought I'd at least propose this new concept to the public in this article.

Some ideas on how Biofeedback could be helpful are listed below. 

1.  Emotional triggers (stressors) could be identified for those with PTSD, Autism, Epilepsy, etc.
2.  A patient's stressor profile could be determined.
3.  Using Art, Music, Sculpture, etc. a patient could learn how to deal with difficult emotions, thoughts, etc., using standard Biofeedback Therapy techniques.
4.  The Art Therapist could have a visual readout of the emotional state of the patient, thereby regulating the amount of trigger stimulation.
5.  The emotional state of non-communicative patients could be determined.
6.  The therapist could determine if the patient is "playing her", giving the "expected response or reply".

I couldn't find much previous work in this area. Perhaps the following might give others clues, however, on how this concept might be implemented. I used this search string - ("art therapy" (biofeedback OR polygraphy OR lie-detector))

1.  "Medical Art Therapy with Children", by Cathy A. Malchiodi, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1999 - Page 201
2.  "Confirming the Efficacy of Art Therapy with College Students Through Biofeedback", by Shubha Chatterjee, Emporia State University, 2010
3.  "Music Therapy & Biofeedback" by Eric B.Miller Ph.D. CMT-BC BCIAC

Some Biofeedback Tools available to the public: 

1.  Mindplace Thoughtstream USB Personal Biofeedback
2.  GSR2 Home Biofeedback Unit 
3.  CalmLink Biofeedback Software 

Takeaways - 

1.  Art Therapy can be helpful to those with PTSD and other emotional disorders.
2.  Biofeedback can also be helpful to those with PTSD and other emotional disorders.
3.  Perhaps, Biofeedback could be combined with Art Therapy, to especially help those with PTSD and other emotional disorders.

Disclaimer - Article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.