Therapeutic Listening Guidelines: About
Headsets, CD's And CD Players
by
Michelle Morris
The
question was asked...
"Can't you buy cheaper headphones and CD players
to use with the Therapeutic Listening Programs? I can get them
for $10 or $20 instead of $60 or more..."
Hold on parents... before you run out and waste your
money, I need to tell you something. The companies that
manufacture and sell these prescription CD's, say we MUST use a
particular kind of headphones, and CD player, for a good reason.
The difference in the headphones you can buy at retail stores,
and what you need to get for your kids is this:
Headphones have to meet specific requirements
including an Impedance
of 150 Ohms, and a sensitivity/frequency range of 22,000 or 23,000 HZ
(i.e., 22 or 23 kHZ).
You can look for these high frequency range headphones retail, but make
certain that the frequency range is as high as I just posted, and the
Ohms at 150. If you choose not to use these high range
headphones, don't even bother to do the Listening Therapy.
WHY? Because the
prescription CD's have high and low frequency ranges, clicks and sounds
built into them, it is not just "music". These sounds are only heard,
and transmitted to the brain, through the vestibular canal in the ear,
into the cortex of the brain...
Lower frequency ranges cannot pick up the actual high/low frequency
sounds that are a very helpful part of stimulation of the brain we need
to get stimulated, to bring about changes in sensitivity in the brain.
For instance...why you can't hear a dog whistle. The dog can hear
frequency ranges that humans cannot hear. The same with these
specialized headphones, and the same with the brain. It can pick up and
respond to much higher and lower frequencies than we think, but only if
we have a "transmitter" (headphones) that can hear and send
that broad of a signal range. Make sense?
Really, the Listening Therapy will be of very limited help to your
child, and not worth the trouble with, if you don't get the full
benefit of them. Most headphones, even nice ones sold on the open
market retail, have a frequency range of about 10-11,000. Which means
your child's brain will hear less than half of what is incorporated
into that CD to help your child. Ask when you shop
and price them to make sure you get the right kind!
The CD's themselves? Same deal. You may be able to copy them, but what
are you
copying? Half, in terms of frequency! And it's a legal violation of
rights.
The CD player specifications: This you can buy at
any retail outlet but it must have the following features:
-
random play
-
ability to turn Bass OFF
-
and a hold button to lock down
the volume
The volume should be set and held at 45-55dB
(decibels).
Conversational speech is about 70 decibels, so you can see it needs to
be lower than ordinary speech. Too loud can be harmful, so there is
a need to be able to lock down that volume.
This is a wonderful program, and if your therapist does not
already know these rules, please inform him/her. The cheapest
headphones retail at about $65 from www.vitallinks.net.
You will need to have the course completion number from your Listening
Therapy provider, and contact them directly. You may be able to get them even cheaper on
Ebay, or purchasing them from another parent, or your OT. Some
OT's will take payments.
ASK your OT about a "Lending Library". I started one at our OT
clinic, and it's working well. Each parent only purchases one CD,
and when finished with it, donates it to the clinic, which then allows
the parents to borrow for free all the other CD's they need. Major
savings.
Again, this program is so very beneficial to many children, mine
included, but there are strict guidelines to follow and cautions to
watch out for, when you do it.
And...if you DO find any headphones sold retail that are
of that frequency range and Ohm level, please come back and tell us, so
we know there is another option!!
It's just too important not to tell you the "real deal", and let you
waste your time and money, all the while not actually helping your
child. But know that the Therapeutic Listening Programs can be very
beneficial to our SPD kids.
Clcik here to read more about Listening Therapy
Copyright
© 2005 Michelle Morris.
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