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Therapeutic Listening
by
Michelle Morris
Listening is a function of the entire brain and goes well beyond
stimulating the auditory system. We listen with our whole body.
In order to fully address listening difficulties one must also attend
to the listening functions of both the hearing ear and the body
ear. One such approach that addresses the multiple facets of
listening is
Therapeutic Listening. [Listening
With the Whole Body ]
The main idea is to emphasize integration of the auditory and
vestibular systems together. Since there is such a close connection
with visual functioning, visual processing also will likely
improve. Particularly spatial awareness, and the concept of time
and space. [Eichelberger, 2002]
When a Therapeutic Listening program is being implemented, as with all
interventions based on the principles of Sensory Integration, a
therapist relies on the client's cues to determine appropriate
strategies [Kimball, 1993]. A child may be very active while
listening, working on suspended equipment, and three-dimensional
surfaces, which further challenge postural organization, motor
planning, and higher-level sensory integration skills. The use of sound
and music is so intimately connected to movement that children on
listening programs are often compelled to move and explore the
environment in new ways [Listening With the Whole Body]
It appears that sound stimulation alone facilitates the process of
listening and social engagement [Porges, 1997]. However, to maintain
and expand on those changes it is critical to engage the child in
functionally and developmentally relevant activities that allows the
changes to become a part of daily life skills [Listening With the Whole
Body].
The equipment required for listening therapy are headphones that meet
specific requirements, a CD player with special features, and CD's that
are electronically altered, based on the ideas and the technology
created by Alfred Tomatis, Guy Beard, and Ingo Steinbach.
Depending on the child's treatment goals, the therapist will
determine which music, modulation, and activities best suit the child.
When used in conjunction with Sensory Integration Therapy, improvement
is usually seen in:
- alertness,
attention, and focus
- receptive and
expressive language, including
articulation
- balance and
motor planning
- affect and
emotional responsivity
- self-motivation
- awareness of
the environment
- postural
security
- spatial awareness
- initiation of
play behavior
- initiation of
verbal interaction
- modulation of
sleeping, eating,
toileting, alertness, emotional
- stability
[Eichelberger]
What does all this mean, you might ask? Sensory Integration Therapy is
enhanced, it works better. The treatment is addressing more issues, and
stimulating more senses. Results are usually seen earlier than without
the listening program.
In my personal experience, with my own boy utilizing Listening Therapy,
I saw almost immediate and dramatic changes. I noticed regulation of
his internal organs. He suddenly had a normal appetite, and began
eating full meals, instead of "picking" through the day. His
bowel movements became regular. He stopped wetting himself. For the
first time in his four and a half years he began sleeping through the
night.
His art became focused and complete, not random scribbles. He began
hearing
letter sounds that he had not heard before. He became calmer,
attentive, and
alert. His balance improved. His thinking and planning increased. He
could plan
a project or task, think it through, and complete it without
frustration.
Typically, a child listens to music for two-thirty minute sessions each
day. This became a wonderful opportunity for us to interact at home. We
worked on projects, letters, writing, building sets, coordination, and
numbers. He loved dancing and singing with the music. I could see that
it enhanced his ongoing therapy.
It was also very helpful to us to use the Therapeutic Listening Home
Program Chart. With a few words written each day we were able to track
his progress, and see changes. Over a period of weeks we could already
see the benefits. Talk to your child's therapist to see if this program
could be of benefit to your child.
©Michelle Morris, 2005
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