How The Listening
Therapy treats:
AUTISM, including AUTISTIC TENDENCIES, ALLERGYINDUCED AUTISM and ASBERGERS SYNDROME
 Professor Alfred Tomatis, French
physician, neurologist and Ear, Nose and Throat specialist,
has been a prolific pioneer in the study of auditory processing
and language development for the past forty-five years.
The Listening Therapy is a programme of auditory stimulation. The
theory underlying the Therapy is complex and multifaceted.
It states that listening is an active process involving
both a neurophysiological ability and a desire to use that ability.
Furthermore, Tomatis contends that the development of listening,
which is the foundation on which social communication skills and
language acquisition are based, begins as early as the ear becomes
operational at around the fourth month of prenatal life.
Tomatis believes that for a variety of reasons a
"cutting off" of listening may be provoked as early as
the prenatal life. The child may simply lose the desire, and soon
after the ability to use his ear as an instrument which allows him
to stay in communication with his environment . This interruption
of the listening process may provoke later difficulties in language
acquisition, in the ability to pay attention and to concentrate,
or in learning. Tomatis describes autism as exemplifying the most
profound manner in which listening can be "cut off".
Autism, for Tomatis, is the purest form of "
non-listening".
Through sound, the Listening Therapy simulates the
main phases of the child's listening and communication development.
The sounds of music or voice are modified by an electronic machine
called the Electronic Listening Device. The filtered sound is delivered
through headsets in a pulsating fashion which makes it difficult
for even the most reluctant listener to avoid processing it..
During the early phases of the programme the child
hears a recording of the mother's voice filtered ( lower frequencies
removed) to simulate the sound of intrauterine hearing. This phase
is called the prenatal memorisation phase. The music of Mozart filtered
in the same manner is also used. It is during this phase of the programme
that we have observed the following reactions of the autistic child:
At first, the child becomes more emotionally expressive, laughing
and crying often for the first time. The child also shows more affectionate
behaviour, especially toward the mother. He goes to her more often,
kisses her, hugs her and may keep his head on her lap for long periods
of time. However, he may not yet accept her approaching him or accept
her expressions of affection towards him.
For autistic children without language, vocalisation
increases. It often starts in the form of high-pitched and uninterrupted
screams. Later these screams become more modulated, transformed into
a sort of babble. Eye contact increases but remains intermittent.
The child's attention span grows longer. Parents notice he can sit
still for longer periods of time and engage more successfully in
simple tasks or games. Repetitive body movements and self-destructive
behaviour decreases. Fine motor functions are often observed to improve.
Often the child is observed to handle social situations, including
the classroom, better. Instead of isolating himself, the child will
begin to seek other children's attention by touching them, looking
at them or holding their hand. The periods of
"autistic withdrawal" diminish in intensity and duration.
During the second stage language becomes more appropriate.
This stage is reached more quickly by those children who have some
language but do not "communicate " with it. These children
may begin to refer to themselves and to others using more personal
ways by using pronouns ( "I" and "you") or first
names. They are more responsive to attempts to engage them in communication.
The programme consists of 150-200 hours of auditory
stimulation taken at the Listening Therapy Centre over a six to twelve
month period. The rate of improvement varies from child to child.
The signs of progress described have been observed in about 80% of
sample children who have been helped. The results are very encouraging.
This paper has been adapted from: Opening Communication: A new perspective
on Autism by: Tim Gilmour, Ph.D and Paul Madaule, L.Ps
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