The Houston Chronicle reports that a biofeedback pilot program in area schools have become enormously popular.

Parents have heard other parents' stories about how the program helped struggling third-graders improve their focus. Behavior problems declined in schools with this program, and students made double-digit gains on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills after participating in the nonprofit Neurotherapy Center of Houston's program. According to the Chronicle:

"It has changed the path of their lives," [Helms Elementary Principal Theresa] Campos said.

"If they can't focus — no matter how good of a teacher you are, no matter how good the program is out of the box — it can't help," said neurotherapist Steven Cochran.

Many Helms students started the program only capable of focusing for a few minutes.

Often combating attention and anxiety problems, they worked to sustain focus for at least 20 minutes. In the ideal state, the brain's theta waves drop and sensory motor rhythms increase.

Biofeedback is used to treat attention, anxiety and sleep problems, as well as some physical and emotional conditions. The self regulation produces the same type of results as prescription medicines used to treat ADHD, Cochran said.

Houston mother Virginia Ramirez raves about the progress her 11-year-old daughter Hallie made because of the biofeedback program.

Ramirez said she would have never realized her daughter had an attention disorder without a glimpse at her brain waves.

Hallie, then a second-grader, wasn't reading and was convinced that she was stupid when she started the training. Now, she's a strong student at Hamilton Middle School.

"I give a lot of credit to the school district and the school for being open to looking at something that's really an alternative," she said. "It was a godsend for us. No matter how much money we threw at this, I don't think we would have figured it out."