HRV Biofeedback Training for Children with Behavioural Disorders in New Zealand: Three Case Studies

Although treatments exist for children with behavioural disorders, they often require significant time and are costly. The current pilot study aimed to conduct a preliminary investigation to examine the feasibility of a brief heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback intervention for children with behavioural disorders in New Zealand (NZ). Participants included 10 children aged between 6 and 11 years who were referred to secondary mental healthcare services in NZ to treat non compliant and aggressive behaviours. Participants included in the study had at least one diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) or Anxiety Disorder (AD). Participants took part in 2 baseline HRV biofeedback sessions to understand how the HRV biofeedback tool HeartMath worked. After these baseline sessions, participants completed between 1 and 10 sessions of the biofeedback tool. We describe in detail case reviews of 3 participants with varied responses. Data is comprised of HeartMath performance and coherence scores, SDQ scores pre-and post-intervention, and clinical observations. Participants' achievement and coherence scores displayed meaningful patterns that seemed to demonstrate that learning was taking place, but SDQ scores did not indicate improvement patterns in socio-emotional or life impact factors. Participants found the biofeedback tool easy to use, and the intervention was easy to implement across environments. Given the need for low cost and accessible interventions, HRV biofeedback training may be a feasible and promising approach to support children with behavioural disorders in developing key self-regulation skills within the NZ context. However, more research is required to explore the potential of biofeedback interventions.