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The Drake Institute David Velkoff, MD My experience? They are SCOUNDRELS! Irvine, California
Back in 2009 I was struggling at work. Had been diagnosed with ADD just a couple years before that, after graduating from college and working about 20 years. I don't remember how I found out about The Drake Institute. Probably have no one to blame but myself for that part. They appear very diligent in responding to negative criticism, so this post may not be here for long if there is a way for them to remove negative info.
Why am I writing this now, in 2013? Because I just got a 1099-C from Chase Health Advance claiming the portion of the line of credit that I did NOT use to be cancellation of debt. I didn't want to pay in advance for something I knew nothing about. Pay-as-you-go was not an option offered by Drake. The way it must have been set up by Drake Institute was you pay IN ADVANCE or set up financing through Chase Health Advance. What must happen after that is Chase Health Advance pays the Drake Institute in advance (the "Advance" in Chase Health Advance). Then the Drake Institute is out of the picture and the patient is on the hook regardless of whether they continue with the treatment or not.
Anyway - I went to for an initial assessment. They wired my head up did some testing. I even had the foolishness to bring my preteen daughter with Down syndrome in later for the same process. Worse, I signed up for "treatment" that amounted to nothing more than playing a fancy video game that was able to "learn" from my choices. Somehow I was then supposed to learn from playing it.
The price for this "treatment" was estimated by Dr. Velkoff - as far as I could tell - by looking at the clothes I was wearing. I kick myself for not walking out the door when he said something like "the cost of the treatment program will be $3,000" and then, after looking over the business clothes I had on - "no, $8,000." None of which was covered by insurance.
Worse than that, I brought my daughter in for an initial assessment. Why? Because I got a multi-patient discount! I will explain momentarily why I was such a fool.
My daughter may or may not have ADD, I don't know. But I do know that she has Down syndrome. Whatever testing protocol the Drake Institute can point to for justifying the efficacy of its fancy video game, I am confident that protocol did not address individuals with Down syndrome. I would be surprised if it addresses adults with ADD.
After one, maybe two sessions in 2009 I wised up and wrote a letter stating I was discontinuing my treatment. I didn't see how paying thousands of dollars to play video games would be effective at anything except enriching Dr. Velkoff and the Drake Institute.
After that my problems with attention, memory, personal and work relationships, energy, and sleep continued to worsen. I saw a psychologist and then a psychiatrist. In late 2010 my psychiatrist recommended I get an MRI. I did, and it showed I was on the way to an early stroke due to "acquired hydrocephalus", commonly known as water on the brain. I had brain surgery in the spring of 2011 to have a shunt (a drain) installed to reduce the pressure and avoid an early stroke. Dr. Velkoff claims expertise in looking at these neurofeedback evaluations and I have no reason to doubt that. It may even be effective treatment. I don't know yet how the IRS looks at these 1099-Cs for cancellation of debt if it's a line of credit that was never used, but I don't see how that's income to me.
Bottom line? If you have wads of excess cash to spend on your child with ADD go ahead and spend it at the Drake Institute. Just be aware once you're in, you're in. Otherwise try hard to get your child to adopt regular aerobic exercise. That's the reason I didn't know about ADD until my late 40s.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
JH
Irvine,California,
Drake Institute Update - disregard my previous rant
#6Author of original report
Thu, April 25, 2013
I am using this post to apologize, first to Dr. Velkoff, for the language I used. I was angry and my post reflects that fact. I've learned that keeping anger inside leads to depression, and desperately want to avoid sinking into depression again. So instead of keeping it in, I let my anger out, on this website, and that was unfair to Dr. Velkoff and the Drake Institute. I sincerely appreciate Dr. Velkoff reaching out to contact me through this website. As of today (4/23/13) I haven't returned the contact but am thinking about it.
Next I want to apologize to parents at the end of their ADHD rope. Do not let my experience discourage you from trying neurofeedback. The chances of your child being as screwed up as I am/was are slim!
Finally, there is new and promising info about neurofeedback on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurofeedback. It has a summary of research findings that weren't there when I mentioned it in my earlier post. I encourage anyone still reading this and thinking 'what is this guy's problem?' to check the wikipedia link. Here is a summary sentence: "It would appear therefore that more up to date, more extensive, and complete surveys of the field concluded that Neurofeedback for ADD/HD is both an efficacious and specific treatment." That is the kind of conclusion that could someday (soon?) lead to insurance coverage.
Dr. David Velkoff
Irvine,California,
Response to John
#6REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, April 17, 2013
Dear John,
Your blog was brought to my attention recently and it left me perplexed and concerned. Not knowing who you are, I was not able to contact you and discuss your concerns. However, using the limited information you mentioned, I had my office contact Chase Health Advance to find out what a 1099-C was. Chase said that if a client does not pay off their loan to Chase Health Advance then they eventually send out a 1099-C for the portion that wasn't paid off. If you paid for some treatment sessions through a Chase loan that you did not undergo because you discontinued treatment, and made no contact or request for compensation of unused treatment sessions, then you need to contact our office directly so it can be resolved. No one knew of this circumstance.
Please contact me confidentially (949-653-2020) so I can review your file and see what happened. Before a patient is accepted for treatment, he or she is shown an educational video that explains the treatment process and an "Informed Consent" is completed before a patient is evaluated or
treated.
Down's Syndrome patients can have symptoms that are seen in ADHD. Neurofeedback training/treatment improves cognitive functioning in children and adolescents with Down's syndrome, and there is published scientific research in The National Library of Medicine confirming neurofeedback helping patients with mental retardation. It can improve attention span and impulsive behavior. We have helped patients over the years with Down's Syndrome, enabling them to have a better quality of life. There are other clinicians as well who have also helped Down's Syndrome patients, utilizing neurofeedback. I am sorry that we did not have an opportunity to help your daughter. I hope she is well.
Adults with ADHD can have anywhere from mild to extensive abnormalities on a quantitative EEG that we use in our evaluations. If over the course of a treatment program, if ever the patient's symptoms were to worsen, then a referral to a neurologist would be made.
I would appreciate it if you could call me and let me know how you are currently doing.
Sincerely,
David Velkoff,M.D.,M.A.
(949) 653-2020
JH
Irvine,California,
Buyer beware
#6Author of original report
Sat, April 06, 2013
This happy mom would happily tell anyone, anywhere that the science behind neurofeedback is solid. It works for almost everyone.
Well, despite Dr. Lauras praise this isnt the case. These folks sell neurofeedback as the holy grail of ADD treatment, and they sell it hard.
I dont mean to criticize neurofeedback or slam Dr. V, just want to encourage anyone considering neurofeedback to do the homework I failed to do.
Especially if you might be, say,
- beyond elementary school
- not keen on paying for a costly treatment regimen not covered by typical medical insurance plans
- potentially dealing with other complicating medical conditions
Here are some links I found after the fact with actual information about neurofeedback, not just advertising.
http://sharpbrains.com/blog/2012/01/17/new-review-of-neurofeedback-treatment-for-adhd-current-state-of-the-science/
http://help4adhd.org/en/treatment/complementary/WWK6A
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurofeedback
Mother of ADHD
Drake Institute Changed our Lives
#6Consumer Comment
Fri, April 05, 2013
The person who wrote this report against Drake admits to having WATER ON THE BRAIN! Their problems were outside the norm and Drake should not be penalized for that. We have a 5 yr old little boy, whose A.D.D. was ruining our lives ( and his) , and now he is totally fine!
Dr. Laura thankfully is always talking about this place and we knew drugs were not an option. We went in skeptical. It is not cheap. But guess what, we did all 32 sessions and our son is a changed person. This is science with testing and proof. It is not quackery as this uninformed person is stating.
I insisted on speaking to several parents who had their kids go thru the program, and once you hear a happy mom tell you it worked and their kid is now FINE, you tend to think you could have the same results. And we did! I would happily tell anyone, anywhere that the science behind neurofeedback is solid. It works for almost everyone.
This negative person had a medical problem! NO wonder their issues had been worsening!
It is a terrible thing to bring any negative focus to this place that can CURE people. They do not even like to use that word, but that is what happened for my child. PLEASE if you have doubts, go meet Dr V!
JH
Irvine,California,
USA
Here's what I forgot to say
#6Author of original report
Mon, February 11, 2013
Just read what I submitted originally. It seems confusing at the end so I want to add this: The reason I listed all the other brain problems I was having besides attention, and my eventual brain surgery in 2011, is because it seems someone with Dr. Velkoff's claimed expertise would realize from my initial brain evaluation that my brain had bigger problems than ADD. Not necessarily that he would have recognized hydrocephalus, but that the patterns would indicate it was much more than just ADD.
If that is not the case it just makes me doubt that much more that there is any value to the brain evaluation conducted at the Drake Inst.
Similarly, it also seems Dr. Velkoff has some obligation under whatever code of professional ethics physicians operate under to advise me that the fancy video game he wanted my daughter also to play hadn't been tested on individuals with Down syndrome.
In my layman's opinion these are both inexcusable omissions. I paid, eventually, for all the services actually provided by the Drake Institute (brain evaluations of me and my daughter and the one or two video game sessions I had). But as for the rest, the only party that could have gained income from the cancellation of the remainder of the line of credit that I had not used is the Drake Institute. This 1099-C is requiring me to pay the Drake Institute's income taxes!