If your child has ADHD, you've probably tried a variety of strategies to help them succeed.
Maybe you've worked with teachers to create accommodations. Maybe you've explored tutoring, counseling, executive function coaching, medication, behavioral therapy, or a combination of several approaches.
Many families find these supports helpful. But they often find themselves asking another question:
Can Brain Balance help improve ADHD symptoms?
The Short Answer
Yes. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have found improvements in areas commonly associated with ADHD after participation in the Brain Balance Program, including attention, impulsivity, executive function, emotional regulation, classroom behavior, working memory, and cognitive performance.
One of the strongest ADHD-specific studies was conducted by researchers at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate. Children ages 8 to 14 diagnosed with ADHD who participated in Brain Balance showed significant improvements in inattentive symptoms, hyperactivity, and impulsivity on both parent-rated and clinician-rated ADHD measures. Researchers reported that the magnitude of improvement was comparable to effect sizes reported in published studies of low-dose stimulant medication, and improvements remained evident seven months later.
While every child is different, the growing body of research suggests that strengthening brain connectivity and supporting whole-brain development may help improve many of the challenges commonly associated with ADHD.
ADHD Is About More Than Attention
When most people think about ADHD, they think about focus.
A child who gets distracted.
A student who struggles to sit still.
A teenager who forgets assignments.
But ADHD affects much more than attention alone.
Children with ADHD often experience challenges with:
- Impulse control
- Emotional regulation
- Working memory
- Organization
- Planning
- Task initiation
- Self-monitoring
- Frustration tolerance
- Executive functioning
These challenges can affect not only school performance, but also friendships, confidence, family relationships, and everyday responsibilities.
That is why many experts now view ADHD as a condition that involves multiple interconnected brain systems rather than simply an attention problem.
How Brain Balance Approaches ADHD Differently
Many traditional ADHD interventions focus on managing symptoms. Medication may help improve focus and reduce impulsivity. School accommodations can provide additional support. Behavioral interventions may help improve routines and structure.
These approaches can be valuable and helpful for many families. Brain Balance takes a different approach.
Rather than focusing solely on symptom management, Brain Balance focuses on strengthening the foundational brain systems that support attention, executive function, emotional regulation, learning, sensory processing, coordination, and self-control.
The Brain Balance Program combines:
- Sensory-motor activities
- Cognitive training
- Physical exercise
- Rhythm and timing activities
- Nutritional guidance
- Personalized home activities
The goal is to strengthen communication between brain networks and support improved brain connectivity over time.
What Peer-Reviewed Research Found About ADHD Symptoms
One of the most compelling ADHD studies involving Brain Balance was conducted by researchers at McLean Hospital and published in Psychiatry Research. Researchers evaluated children ages 8 to 14 diagnosed with ADHD who participated in Brain Balance and Interactive Metronome training for 15 weeks.
Researchers found:
- Significant improvements in ADHD symptoms
- Improvements on parent-rated ADHD measures
- Improvements on clinician-rated ADHD measures
- Improvements in inattentive symptoms
- Improvements across hyperactive symptoms
- Improvements across impulsivity measures
- Improvements that were maintained seven months later
Researchers also observed changes in brain connectivity patterns that were consistent with the behavioral improvements reported by parents and clinicians.
Importantly, children with more severe ADHD symptoms at baseline tended to demonstrate greater improvement.
Research Shows Improvements in Executive Function and Cognitive Skills
ADHD is closely linked to executive function challenges.
These are the skills that help children:
- Stay organized
- Follow directions
- Manage time
- Remember information
- Control impulses
- Complete tasks independently
A separate study conducted in collaboration with Cambridge Brain Sciences (now Creyos Health) examined cognitive performance after Brain Balance participation. Researchers found significant improvements across all cognitive tasks measured, with the greatest gains occurring in memory, reasoning, verbal ability, and concentration.
The study is particularly notable because participants did not practice the cognitive tests used to measure outcomes. Researchers concluded that the improvements reflected gains in underlying cognitive abilities rather than simple test familiarity.
Even more interesting, children who completed an average of just 27 days of participation demonstrated improvement on some cognitive measures, suggesting measurable changes may begin occurring relatively early, with broader improvements emerging over the full three-month program.
Improvements Were Also Observed in the Classroom
Parents are not the only people reporting positive changes.
A 2023 school-based pilot study co-authored with researchers from the University of Iowa examined Brain Balance outcomes delivered during the school day. Teachers used the Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Teacher Rating Scale to evaluate students before and after participation.
Researchers found teacher-reported improvements in:
- Attention
- Combined ADHD symptoms
- Classroom behavior
Students also demonstrated significant improvements across multiple sensorimotor domains linked to learning and attention.
Because these outcomes were reported by teachers rather than parents, the study provides an independent perspective on changes observed in the classroom environment.
Emotional Regulation Matters Too
Many families seek support for ADHD because of emotional challenges just as much as attention challenges.
Frustration, emotional outbursts, mood swings, anxiety, and difficulty managing disappointment are common concerns.
A peer-reviewed study of 4,041 children and adolescents published in Frontiers in Psychology found significant improvements across six developmental domains following Brain Balance participation, including:
- Hyperactive and disruptive behavior
- Negative emotionality
- Academic disengagement
- Reading and writing difficulties
- Social communication challenges
- Motor and coordination problems
The study also found that children who started with the greatest developmental difficulties demonstrated the largest improvements.
What Families Report After Completing Brain Balance
In addition to peer-reviewed research, parent-reported outcomes from more than 2,500 participating families between 2022 and 2025 found:
- 89% reported improvement in at least one area of concern
- 86% reported improvement across the majority of areas measured
- 84% reported lasting improvements up to 18 months after program completion
Parents also reported improvements in areas closely related to ADHD challenges, including:
- Hyperactivity and behavior (80.4%)
- Academic engagement (80.3%)
- Mood and emotional regulation (84.4%)
- Social communication (80.5%)
While individual experiences vary, these outcomes reflect many of the same concerns that lead families to seek support for ADHD-related challenges.
Why Improving Brain Connectivity Matters
Children with ADHD are often bright, creative, and capable.
The challenge is not intelligence.
The challenge is that the brain systems responsible for attention, regulation, executive function, and self-control may not always work together as efficiently as they could.
Brain Balance is designed to strengthen those underlying systems through an integrated, multimodal approach that combines sensory, physical, and cognitive activities.
As brain connectivity improves, many families report that learning becomes easier, focus improves, emotional reactions become more manageable, and confidence grows.
The Bottom Line
Research suggests that Brain Balance may help improve many of the challenges commonly associated with ADHD, including attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, executive functioning, emotional regulation, classroom behavior, and cognitive performance.
Across multiple peer-reviewed studies, researchers have observed improvements in ADHD symptoms, teacher-reported classroom behavior, executive function, working memory, concentration, and emotional functioning after participation in the Brain Balance Program.
While no program works for every child and individual results vary, the growing body of evidence suggests that strengthening brain connectivity may help support meaningful improvements for many children experiencing ADHD-related challenges.
Parents Also Ask
Is Brain Balance a treatment for ADHD?
Brain Balance is not a medical treatment and does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent ADHD. It is a drug-free program designed to strengthen the brain systems that support attention, behavior, emotional regulation, and learning.
Does my child need an ADHD diagnosis to participate?
No. Many participants have a diagnosis, while others simply struggle with focus, impulsivity, executive function, emotional regulation, or learning challenges.
Can Brain Balance be used alongside medication or therapy?
Yes. Many families choose to use Brain Balance alongside school supports, counseling, tutoring, therapy, or medication as part of a broader support plan.
How long does it take to see results?
Every child is different, but some research suggests measurable cognitive changes may begin appearing within the first month of participation, with broader improvements commonly observed after completing the full three-month program.
Sources
- Teicher MH, et al. Psychiatry Research (2023). ADHD symptom improvements following Brain Balance and Interactive Metronome participation.
- Jackson R, Wild CJ. Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research (2021). Cognitive performance improvements measured using Cambridge Brain Sciences (now Creyos Health).
- Jackson R, Jordan JT. Frontiers in Psychology (2023). Developmental outcomes of 4,041 Brain Balance participants.
- Jackson R, Glanz RM. Journal for the Study of Education and Development (2023). Teacher-reported improvements in attention and ADHD symptoms in a school setting.
- Brain Balance Parent Outcomes Survey (2022–2025), n > 2,500 participating families. Results based on parent-reported Multi-Domain Developmental Survey (N=2,585 with baseline concerns, 2022-2025). Improvement defined as ≥0.5 SD change. Individual results may vary.
