• Listening and Learning
  • Listening and Concentration
  • Accelerate your child's potential
• Learning Difficulties / ADHD
  • Auditory processing
  • ADD/ADHD
  • Dyslexia
• Special Needs
  • Speech development
  • Autism/Aspergers
  • Down's syndrome
• For Parents
• Nutrition
• Testimonials

Sound Therapy for Children

Listening is vitally important for the normal development of a child because it is the tool for receiving impressions and communications from parents and peers. It enables a child to receive and respond to instructions and to learn about the world. Dr Tomatis, a Paris ear, nose and throat specialist discovered that listening has very far reaching effects in the development of learning and social abilities. Recent research shows that listening has greater significance than previously thought in relation to a wide range of learning difficulties / ADHD.

Sound Therapy is a program of listening to tapes of stories and music which have been specially recorded to stimulate the ear. The inner ear then becomes receptive to healing sounds in the high frequency range such as the child heard in utero. This enables children to break through emotional resistance which may be impeding their learning.

Listening and concentration

Sound Therapy improves overall hearing and listening abilities, which assist with learning, reading, writing and communication skills. When these areas are addressed, concentration becomes much easier for the child.

Does my child need Sound Therapy?

Sound Therapy may assist in the normal healthy development of a child's ability to listen and process sounds. Because listening is the foundation of so much of our learning, it is vitally important to support our children's development in this area before they reach school age.

It may not be obvious that listening is the cause of your child's problems, but remember that listening is the foundation for most of our communication skills. Poor listening can lead to:

• poor concentration
• bad behaviour
• delayed reading and writing skills
• poor performance at school
• social isolation
• child not achieving up to his/her potential

How to identify a potential listening problem

If several of the points on this list apply to your child then it is very likely that she or he would benefit from Sound Therapy.

• Difficult family history
• History of ear infections
• Difficulty in using language and explaining herself/himself in words
• Short attention span, easily distracted
• A tendency to misinterpret messages or to ask for them to be repeated
• Poor at following instructions
• Slow to develop intelligible speech
• Does not get along well with peers
• A lack of enthusiasm and initiative
• A reluctance to communicate
• Difficulty in reading aloud
• Poor social skills, which may result in withdrawal, hyperactive or aggressive behaviour
• Difficulty in reading and writing which manifests as reversal of letter forms, sound confusion, slowness or messy work
• There may seem to be a higher aptitude in maths than in English
• Child lacks response to human speech yet seems to respond to environmental sounds

Research and Media

Testimonials

Product Information

Why can't my child listen?

"Listening is the road to learning" Dr Tomatis

When a child has difficulty reading, the most obvious cause would appear to be a visual disorder. However, recent research reflects a growing recognition that learning problems are much more frequently related to a listening problem.

Listening is the most basic element of communication and is a pre-requisite for other skills such as speaking, reading, and writing . It is through the ear and our capacity to interpret sound that we develop a relationship with our environment and with those around us. Listening is also the first building block in the process of learning linguistic skills. To read and write a child must be able to accurately hear all the sounds that make up words, identify them quickly and perceive them in the right order. This is called Auditory processing. Interruption in the development of the listening function at an early age can result in emotional withdrawal or maladjustment and may produce severe learning or behavioural problems.

Promoting accurate listening

• On the Sound Therapy tapes the sounds have been altered so that they require the ear to reach outside its restricted range and regain the adaptability required for accurate listening.
• Once the ear is able to focus properly the child is less likely to be distracted by other environmental sounds and will be better able to concentrate on the work at hand.
• Concentration is also promoted by Sound Therapy because the complex harmonies in the music stimulate many parts of the brain and improve brain integration.

Closing the ear

Children may withdraw from communication because of early emotional trauma, repeated ear infections or other unknown causes. They close down their listening ability by involuntarily choosing more indirect brain circuits which makes their processing of sound inefficient. The ears do not have lids the way the eyes do but they have ways of closing off internally to protect the child from disturbing input or loud noise. The immature psyche may shut down as a defence mechanism which then becomes habitual and slows normal development.

How can Sound Therapy help?

Re-opening the ear

Sound Therapy retrains the child's ability to listen and concentrate by working on the motivation to listen as well as improving the ability of the ear to 'tune in' to sound. High frequency sounds (high tones rather than low tones) are emphasised because these sounds stimulate and re-awaken the ear's full hearing capacity. Tomatis discovered that as the embryonic ear develops in the womb, the first sounds which the child hears are high frequency sounds. For this reason, the high frequency sounds of Sound Therapy have a soothing and reassuring effect on the child.

Accelerate your child's potential

Sound Therapy is recommended for all children including highly gifted children, and will assist the development of good learning and study abilities, just as exercise helps to develop balance, strength and muscular co-ordination. The ear and the auditory cortex are vitally important centers for learning, communication and higher brain function. Sound Therapy is an easy way to input a very positive stimulus that will help to maximize your child's potential.

Today children need extra support to develop their auditory function because they are affected by many detrimental environmental factors. The world is noisier than ever, so children's ears are bombarded with a lot of loud and damaging sounds before they have fully developed. Environmental toxins also lead to poor immunity, infections and sensitivities which impact on many children's development. Sound Therapy is the perfect brain training program to complement good nutrition, good education and a loving environment. The complex rhythms and harmonies of classical music train the brain to think conceptually and improve intelligence. This effect is augmented by the special filtering used in the recordings.

Research and Media

Testimonials

Product Information

Return to top

Auditory processing

Successful listening and learning depends on good auditory processing. Auditory processing means the ability to translate the stream of vocal speech sounds into words and meaning, and then recreate those sounds as speech.

Effective auditory processing depends first on accurate hearing. A child must be able to see the letter, hear the sound of the letter, say the sound, relate the sound to the written symbol for the letter, register it and store it in the auditory cortex so that in the future they can relate the letter symbol to the sound again and recreate it vocally. Then they need to be able to blend the letter and its sound with all the other letters that form a word. Therefore there is a great deal more than hearing required for successful use of language.

A fractional delay in any stage of this perception and vocalisation can lead to great difficulties when it comes to learning the complex literary skills of reading, writing and spelling. While difficulties in speech may go unnoticed in the early years, they become magnified under the pressure to perform at school and translate spoken into written skills.

Timing is a very crucial aspect of auditory processing, because a slight delay can mean the sounds are heard or perceived or reproduced in the wrong order. Such difficulties with linear sequential processing make it extremely difficult for the student to accomplish note taking and writing. Poor auditory memory may be part of the problem and a person who is otherwise quite intelligent may have enormous difficulties performing academically when these functions are impaired.

How Sound Therapy may help

Right ear dominance

Sound Therapy recordings are made so that the sound is louder in the right ear. This improves the efficiency of the brain in processing language because the right ear connects to the left side of the brain, which is the language centre. The result is an improvement in reading and vocal skills.

Sound Therapy stimulates the brain pathways which enable very fast transmission of information from ear to brain and from brain to vocal apparatus. When the processing speed is increased it is easier for the student to keep up and not be constantly struggling with information which is jumbled and mixed up because of being received in the wrong order.

Research and Media

Testimonials

Product Information

ADD/ADHD

The problem

Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder is a congenital problem which affects 20% of boys and 8% of girls. It is believed to be caused by a deficiency in the transmission system which relays messages between cells in various parts of the brain. The majority of children with ADD/ADHD have auditory reception problems. Although they can hear, they have difficulty making sense of what they hear. They cannot tune out unwanted input and focus on selected sounds. It is this indiscriminate reception of auditory input which leads to the inability to concentrate their attention on a selected topic for any length of time. Poor functioning of the frontal lobe means the child cannot think quickly enough to put the brakes on and control the impulse to act. This impulsiveness and hyperactivity also leads to behavioral problems and poor social skills.

How Sound Therapy may help

By stimulating the frontal lobe, Sound Therapy may restore the child's ability to think quickly and put the brakes on before acting. It may also retrain the listening capacity or the auditory reception process, so that the child can learn to focus on the desired sound and to relay the sound directly to the language centre in the brain. Auditory reception problems are caused, in part, by the shutting down of the ear to certain frequencies of sound. The ear muscles become lazy and unresponsive and must be stimulated in order to regain the capacity to tune into the desired sound. Sound Therapy has been shown to help provide this rehabilitation for the ear and may help to re-organise the auditory transmission in the brain. This process helps to reduce stress and tension in the whole nervous system as the child becomes able to attend to a chosen stimulus instead of being constantly distracted by every sound in the environment.

How to use it

Regular listening to Sound Therapy is essential to receive successful results. The child should listen every day if possible for between 30 and 60 minutes. If it is possible to get the child to listen for longer than this each day, that will be even more beneficial. It may be difficult to persuade a child with ADD to sit still and listen - and although there is nothing wrong with listening on a personal cassette player while moving around, a child which is hyperactive may put the machine at risk! Some parents have found they have more success in getting children with ADD to listen during sleep. If the child is a restless sleeper, the mini phones can be taped in to the ear with surgical tape, or you can use headphones that clip around the back of the ear. Be sure to place the headphone marked R in the right ear. For listening during sleep, the music tapes are most suitable.

There is nothing wrong with offering incentives to get the child to listen. The promise of a reward once the child has done say, 100 hours of listening may prove effective in some cases.

What it achieves

Very dramatic results may be achieved with Sound Therapy for children with ADD. The first change you may observe could be a marked decrease in activity (for overactive children) while under active children may become more energized. As listening discrimination is re-trained, memory and concentration improve so that learning can be achieved with a great deal less effort. Sleep and appetite problems are resolved as the whole system becomes calmer and less erratic. The behavioural difficulties, such as impulsiveness and aggression are now brought down to a manageable level. The child may now be able to pay attention in class, understand and follow instructions and be motivated to communicate and learn.

Research and Media

Testimonials

Product Information

Dyslexia

The problem

Dyslexia, meaning "reading difficulty" was originally called "word blindness" and thought to be a visual problem. One of the earliest writers on the subject, Dr Hinshelwood, was an eye surgeon, which may account for the initial emphasis on visual difficulties. Many more recent studies point to language and auditory problems as the fundamental cause. Listening is the most basic skill required for verbal communication and a weakness in listening ability may hinder the development of a strong language base. Consequently, the child encounters problems when it comes time to approach the more complex linguistic tasks of writing and reading. If the sounds of speech have not been accurately heard, they cannot be accurately conveyed by symbols. The left hemisphere of the brain is the main centre for processing language. In order for speech sounds to reach the brain efficiently the right ear must take a leading role in listening because the right ear communicates most directly with the left hemisphere. Dr Tomatis contends that children with dyslexia have failed to achieve right ear dominance and that therefore the order in which they hear sounds becomes jumbled. If they sometimes use the left and sometimes the right ear as the directing ear, sounds may reach the brain at different speeds, so letters will be jumbled. This accounts for errors of reversal, such as writing "was" as "saw" or pronouncing "spaghetti" as "pisghetti".

How Sound Therapy may help

The balance between the two hemispheres of the brain is of fundamental importance in overcoming dyslexia.

Both hemispheres play a role in processing language, but the roles they play are different. The eye must combine with the power and the quality of the ear to make sense of the written sounds. This co-ordination happens easily when the left hemisphere deals primarily with audition and the right hemisphere deals primarily with vision. In dyslexia, the route which allows for phonic analysis has been damaged. Sound Therapy may help restore the functioning of this route and reduce the cause of the problem. Tomatis says "We read with our ears ... the ear is the organ of language, the pathway to language assimilation, the key that controls it, the receptor regulating its flow." Sound Therapy may help stimulate and exercise the ear, encouraging it to receive and interpret sound in an efficient manner. Music is a highly organised series of sounds that the ear has to analyse. Therefore, listening to music is an excellent way for a child to learn how to perceive sounds in an organised fashion, or in other words, to listen. The higher volume of sound to the right ear, which is built into all Sound Therapy recordings, means that the right ear is encouraged to become the directing ear. When this right ear dominance is achieved, the problem of reversal will likely disappear.

The added benefits of confidence and self esteem

Children with dyslexia often have feelings of inferiority after repeated failure. It is unfair that they must try many times harder than anyone else to achieve only mediocre results. Sound Therapy may offer immediate emotional relief because it is a method of treatment that requires no extra effort from the child. A therapy that does not require the child to struggle with the problem area of language enables him or her to feel let off the hook for once and enjoy a treatment that is not a constant reminder of his or her own inadequacies. The basic cause of the language difficulties may be remedied by Sound Therapy. Once the child is able to receive and interpret sound accurately and easily, his or her ability and motivation to communicate is greatly increased. Thus the problem learner is transformed into a receptive and motivated learner.

How to use it

A child with dyslexia should listen to Sound Therapy every day for 30 to 60 minutes or more if desired. Listening can be done during sleep, play, homework or travel. If the child wishes to listen at school, parents can ask for the consent of the teacher. This will likely be granted as listening in the classroom will often help the child to concentrate and perform better. The reading aloud exercise while holding an imaginary microphone in the right hand has been particularly helpful for children with dyslexia.

Reading aloud exercise

Children who are experiencing difficulty with reading can begin this exercise after the first ten to twenty hours of listening. The child sits in an erect but comfortable posture and reads aloud while holding the right hand near the mouth, as though holding an imaginary microphone. This has the psychological effect of 'switching on' the voice. At the same time it encourages right ear dominance, which is necessary for the successful conversion of visual symbols into sound. This exercise should be done for fifteen minutes each day, and can be continued until the reading problems are resolved. Encourage the child by making it into a fun game. Give your child positive attention while he or she is reading and this will create a positive association with reading aloud.

Research and Media

Testimonials

Product Information

Return to top

Speech development

The problem

Unless there is a deformity in the vocal apparatus, most speech difficulties are caused by some interference or distortion in auditory reception. Although the hearing may test as normal, the relaying of verbal information to the brain may be impaired. Hearing our own voice is a source of constant feedback while we are speaking and if there is any confusion in the sequence of received sounds, it will cause confusion in the output of speech. The results can be substitutions of one sound for another, stumbling over words or a flat and toneless voice.

Most people use the left hemisphere of the brain as the primary integrating centre for language. Some studies have shown that stutterers process language primarily in the right hemisphere or a mixture of the two. The right hemisphere is less efficient for processing auditory information, so this results in problems in the timing of speech output.

Speech difficulties frequently lead to problems in other areas where language is used, such as reading and writing. The element which is the basis for all these skills is the ability to hear and process sound accurately.

How Sound Therapy may help

Dr Tomatis made an important discovery about the relatedness of the ear to the voice. He established that the larynx emits only those harmonics that the ear hears. A lack of tone in the voice indicates a lack of tone in the hearing. Sound Therapy may fine tune the hearing and restore the ability to hear missing frequencies, by exercising the ear muscles and stimulating the receptor cells in the inner ear. It may also correct reversed or mixed laterality, so that the left hemisphere becomes the processing centre for language. Sound Therapy continually plays more sound into the right ear. The right ear connects to the left hemisphere of the brain, so when the right ear becomes dominant, the language function naturally switches to the left hemisphere.

How to use it

Children with speech difficulties should listen to Sound Therapy every day for 30 to 60 minutes per day or more if desired. Regular daily listening is essential for the right ear dominance to be achieved. The Let's Recite tape in the Family Kit is good to use for children with speech difficulties as it gives them the opportunity to repeat what is said and integrate their speaking with their new experience of listening. Another good exercise for children with any form of speech difficulty is speaking into a microphone while monitoring their voice through the right ear. This can be done using a personal cassette player with a microphone and wearing only the right headphone. The child can speak, sing, read or make any vocal sounds. A similar effect can be achieved without the equipment by simply closing off the right ear with fingers or an ear plug. This increases the volume of the child's own voice in the right ear. This exercise can be done for some time each day in conjunction with the listening.

Anticipated Results

Dr Tomatis worked with a group of 74 stutterers and discovered that all of them had difficulty hearing from the right ear. When he educated them to use the right ear alone, all of them began to speak correctly. Children with other types of speech difficulties have responded similarly to the treatment. Not only does their speech improve but their behaviour changes. They become more confident, more dynamic and more eager to talk and communicate. Parents also report improvements in reading and the use of written language.

Research and Media

Testimonials

Product Information

Autism/Aspergers

The problem

Autism is a mystifying condition which causes children to become emotionally isolated from the world around them. Asperger's syndrome is higher functioning autism, meaning the symptoms are milder and the child functions well or above average in many areas of life while still having certain abnormalities in their way of relating to others. A definite cause of autism or Asperger's syndrome is not known, but a contributing factor is believed to be distortion in the reception of sensory information. Many children with autism exhibit extreme sensitivity to noise. Some frequencies are actually painful for them to hear. Dr Tomatis suggests that in order to shut out painful sounds or other unwanted stimuli the child closes down the hearing mechanism so that certain sounds cannot penetrate the consciousness. On a physiological level, this closing off of the ear is achieved by a relaxation of the muscles of the middle ear. Over time, these muscles lose their tonicity. Sounds are then imprecisely perceived and as a result, incorrectly analysed. Tomatis believes that the reluctance to communicate in children with autism results from the closing off of their being to auditory input. Although they may understand what is said to them, they have tuned out many of the frequencies in the sound and have thus tuned out the emotional content of the message.

How Sound Therapy may help

Sound Therapy offers a child with autism the opportunity to re-open the listening capacity. The fluctuating sounds produced by the Electronic Ear may gradually exercise and tone the ear muscles, teaching the ear to respond to and recognise the full range of frequencies. As this happens, communication takes on new meanings, and the child may begin to respond in areas where before he or she was unreachable.

Tomatis discovered that because of the way the foetal ear develops the first sounds heard in utero are high frequency sounds. The child hears not only the mother's heartbeat and visceral noises but also her voice. Re-awakening the child's ability to hear high frequencies re-creates this earliest auditory experience and may enable emotional contact to be made with the mother first and then towards others.

Various forms of sensory stimulation, and in particular Sound Therapy, have been found to improve sensory intergration. As sound is one of the most vital systems for brain integration, the use of Sound Therapy may bring about significant change in the child's ability to process and integrate sensory information.

How to use it

The child should be encouraged to listen to the tapes every day for a period of 30 to 60 minutes or more if desired. Both the music and the story tapes are suitable for children with autism or Asperger's. For children who can speak, the Let's Recite tape in the Family Kit has been a useful addition to the listening program, as it gives the child the opportunity to repeat what is said, encouraging participation, and vocal expression of the new range of frequencies being heard.

In a clinical setting the Sound Therapy treatment of children with autism includes playing the mother's voice filtered through the Electronic Ear. This can now be achieved in the home with the Sound Therapy Converter .

What it achieves

Children with autism have responded to Sound Therapy by showing a greater interest in making contact and communicating with the people around them. Interactions with their family members have become more affectionate and appropriate. There is often increased eye contact and the children have a longer attention span. They may initiate contact rather than waiting to be approached. For children without language, vocalisation has increased, initially as screams and then as babbling. Children who can speak may develop a more appropriate use of language, for instance beginning to use more personal pronouns ("I", "you") or first names, and using words to express their feelings. They may begin to laugh and cry at appropriate times. Once children have begun to emerge from their emotional isolation they have shown increasing responsiveness to what they are being taught and to the people who care for them.

Research and Media

Testimonials

Product Information

Down's syndrome

The problem

Seventy five percent of children with Down's syndrome have a hearing impairment. This is most often due to recurrent middle ear infections and wax impaction. Repeated chronic middle ear infections result in fibrous adhesions which limit the movement of the ossicles resulting in progressive hearing loss. Children with Down's Syndrome are significantly affected by sensory deprivation and they need supportive measures if they are to reach their full cognitive potential. A delay in the comprehension of language results in a delay in speaking.

The impairment of language abilities delays learning in all areas and makes the task of education and socialisation more difficult. This results in behaviour problems which could be avoided if the language abilities were improved.

How Sound Therapy may help

It is very important for children with Down's Syndrome to have their hearing treated in the early years to assist with language development. These children respond well to education in the area of social and emotional adjustment, motor skills and visual comprehension. The greatest area of difficulty in learning is in auditory vocal processing. They often have difficulty learning to manipulate the speech system, coordinating the tongue, lips, jaw and palate. Because they face much greater obstacles in producing speech sounds they need assistance with their hearing more than ever. Dr Tomatis discovered that the voice can only produce what the ear hears. Sound Therapy may stimulate the hearing capacity by exercising the ear, training it in particular to receive high frequency sounds that are lost when hearing is damaged. The sounds of consonants, such as b, d, p, g and t are high frequency sounds and are of course essential for clear comprehension of speech. Before they can begin learning to produce these sounds, children must first be able to hear them.

As Sound Therapy may restore hearing in the full range of frequencies, a greater range of tonality is available to the voice and this is very important for producing intelligible speech.

How to use it

Parents should ensure that their children's ears are checked regularly and that they receive treatment for ear infections or wax impaction. In some cases the recurrence of these problems will decrease with the use of Sound Therapy. The movement and exercise produced in the ear by Sound Therapy often results in a spontaneous expulsion of fluid from the ear and blockages may not recur. It has been helpful for some children with Down's syndrome to listen regularly to Sound Therapy on a long term or permanent basis to protect the ear against its tendency to become easily blocked and to stimulate the full range of hearing. For the first few months of listening, children should listen to Sound Therapy every day for a period of 30 to 60 minutes or longer if desired. If the child wishes to listen for several hours at a time it will do no harm. The auditory stimulation provided by Sound Therapy has a re-charging effect on the brain and children with Down's Syndrome generally respond with enthusiasm.

It is important to continue language education through the life of a person with Down's syndrome. This ongoing learning process may be greatly enhanced for people of any age by listening to Sound Therapy.

Anticipated Results

The protection and enhancement of hearing that may be achieved through Sound Therapy could have significant results for all areas of development of children with Down's syndrome. Improved hearing leads to a greater interest in the environment and what is happening, more liveliness and more willingness to learn. Language comprehension and speech improve significantly, and because the links between learning language and learning about the world are direct, the child's education and performance in all areas will be enhanced.

Research and Media

Testimonials

Product Information

Return to top

Most parents who learn about Sound Therapy also choose to use it for themselves. Parents can use Sound Therapy to improve sleep and energy, reduce stress and deal with the daily demands of parenting. Listening along with your child can be fun and rewarding.

Prenatal Listening and Sound Therapy

In prenatal life, s ound is the first sense to develop fully. The foetus' ear is ready to perceive sound at four and a half months. The baby listens to its mother's heartbeat, respiration and digestive sounds. Dr Tomatis believes that the baby can also hear the mother's voice and becomes familiar with this sound before birth. Tomatis discovered that the first sounds heard in utero are high frequency sounds (above 8,000 Hz) due to the development of the embryonic ear. Birth is often a traumatic event in which the child is pushed from the familiar and protected environment of the womb into a totally unknown world, to begin the process of learning to communicate with others.

The Effect of Sound Therapy

Dr Tomatis says the sound of the mother's voice with its familiar tone and rhythm is what provides continuity between the pre-natal and post-natal worlds. The infant is particularly accustomed to the high frequency sounds of the voice as heard in the womb, and therefore has an immediate response of feeling reassured when presented with high frequency sounds filtered to a similar level. When the mother listens to Sound Therapy during her pregnancy, the benefits which she receives are passed on to the infant.

The effects of listening for the mother are soothing of her whole system and a stimulation to the cortex of the brain from the high frequency sound. Because of its connection with the vital pneumogastric (Vagus) nerve, the ear plays a part in nearly everything we feel including heartbeat and breathing or sensations like a tickle in the throat or butterflies in the stomach. The effects of the Sound Therapy are therefore passed through the mother's whole body and have an influence on the development of the foetus.

How to listen

It is recommended that the mother listens regularly to Sound Therapy throughout her pregnancy. To obtain the full benefits of improved sleep, reduced stress and increased energy, the recommended listening time for an adult is three hours a day. This can be done during other activities however, so does not require the time to be set aside for listening alone.

Effects for the infant

When a child has been born to a mother who has been listening regularly to Sound Therapy, and the headphones are placed on the baby's ears straight after birth, it will immediately stop crying, feeling relieved of the sudden isolation and separateness. Babies who's mothers listened to Sound Therapy during pregnancy show a distinct lack of tension and anxiety as they grow. They have an inner peacefulness about them and are less reactive, making them easy to manage. They feel secure in their relationship with their mother and will go easily to other people. They have a natural appreciation for classical music and can continue to benefit from its healing properties. Studies have shown that children exposed to classical music before birth are more intelligent. It can also be beneficial for these children to listen to Sound Therapy as they grow and this may facilitate their development of communication and languages skills.

The Mother's Voice Technique

Sound Therapy International now offers a miniature Electronic Ear which can be purchased for use in the home. The "Sound Therapy Converter" can be connected to a tape player or stereo and will convert any music or voice tapes into Sound Therapy. Now the child can listen to a tape of its own mother's voice as Sound Therapy through the Converter. This technique offers profound healing and is an important part of the Tomatis program, especially for children with serious problems. A Voice Attachment is also available which allows the child to hear its own voice through the Converter as it is speaking.

The Converter is usually introduced after an initial period of using the tapes. See our Product Catalogue for more details on the Sound Therapy Converter.

Return to top

Food sensitivities, nutrients and learning

Environmental and nutritional support for ADD, Autism and Chemical Sensitivity

The present increase in learning difficulties/ADD and developmental disorders has been linked to the greatly increased chemical pollutants in the environment and household substances in use in the last few decades. Once chemicals build up to a certain level in the population (and the effects can be inter-generational) diseases and brain disorders are inevitable. Any form of remedial treatment is likely to be more effective if combined with measures to reduce the person's exposure to toxic chemicals.

Three points to consider are:

• Food
• Nutrients
• Reduce toxic load

Food and Diet

Fresh fruits and vegetables should make up the major part of the diet. Use organically grown produce wherever possible.

Avoid dairy products, all wheat products and white sugar. Other foods should preferably be gluten free. Processed foods with preservatives, flavourings and colourings need to be reduced as much as possible.

Nutritional Supplements

Today our diet needs to be supplemented to assist the body in dealing with the many toxins in the environment and the lack of nutrients in our food.

Colloidal minerals are a supplement which comes in a liquid form making it more readily absorbed by the body. All the essential minerals and trace elements needed for building good health are contained in this supplement.

Chewable multi vitamin and mineral supplement for children - a chewable product for children up to twelve and an adult formula for those over twelve. This contains the vitamins and important mineral groups to aid in the development of the child.

Reduce Toxic Load

Convert your bathroom to non toxic products. Avoid products with SLS, SLES, Propylene Glycol, Glycerine, MEA, DEA, TEA, in particular. Enquire about our complete range of toxin free products for hair, skin, deodorants, body and dental care. We also have toxin free air fresheners and cleaning products and a special range of toxin free products for babies and children.

Avoid using chemical pesticides for ants, cockroaches, termites and the use of pesticides in the garden.

Commitment

The chemical free regime requires a commitment of at least three months to give adequate time to observe results. These steps, combined with Sound Therapy may enable families to avoid the use of drugs such as Ritalin.

For additional information on diet and supplementation ask for the paper by Rafaele Joudry on ADD, Autism and Chemical Sensitivity.

Return to top

Testimonials

"Our son John is in Grade 6 and showing terrific improvement in reading since beginning on the Sound Therapy tapes two months ago. He says a lot of people don't even know he is dyslexic anymore. His teachers are amazed and thrilled, and even his friends have noticed the change in him. John came home last week and reported that two boys said, 'Boy, John, you're a lot smarter this year. Last year you were so dumb, but this year you're not.' We are so excited, because last year John was in a special program and this year he is in the regular program. He was on medication for his learning disability, but is now off the Ritalin. It makes him especially happy that he doesn't have to take the pills anymore, as they made him sick to his stomach. He loves the baroque music, listening with his Auto-Reverse Walkman all night until the batteries run out. He hated to read before, and now when we have our evening devotions he asks to read and does it very well. It is like a miracle and he improves daily. His grandfather says it's like an alarm went off in his head and he woke up."

"My son Aaron, aged 10, was diagnosed as Attention Deficit Disorder, formally Hyperkinetic Syndrome. In December I read about Sound Therapy and the possibilities of this helping hyperactive children. We purchased the tapes at Easter, and Aaron started therapy. A week and a half later, at a teacher interview, his teacher remarked that he was so much more calm and pleasant. She said "I had my first decent religion class because Aaron didn't butt in and interrupt. Is he on medication or what?" I confessed that Aaron had started Sound Therapy but I didn't think it necessary to tell the teachers. "Whatever it is," she said, "keep it up, because whatever it's doing is helping him." Two weeks later I asked the teacher if Aaron could listen to the tapes during school. Now he takes his Walkman to school and does his three hours in the a.m. All around, Aaron is much more relaxed with himself and with others. Because of his attitude I have been able to introduce new foods into his diet to determine which food groups he is really sensitive to. With Aaron's new positive approach, his life can only get better."

"Our son has been on the Sound Therapy program for two years and it has helped him to overcome his learning disabilities. He started off listening all day and all night to complete his first 300 hours. He is allowed to listen to the tapes in his classes at school. His letter grade at school has increased from a C to where he is now on the B Plus Honour roll. It happened that he was asked to give a testimony in a court case about the experience of having dyslexia, and he ended up telling the Judge all about his experience with Sound Therapy to the great interest of the Judge!"

After a few months of listening to the cassettes on portable cassette players issued by the school: Susan Stroeder:

"I enjoyed this therapy and learned to pay more attention in school. I wake up easier in the morning - my Mom doesn't have to call me anymore. I don't have to ask questions twice, but hear things the first time." Kyle Bauer

"I don't get headaches now and am much more active." Marian Niekamp

"Don't need as much sleep and am not tired in the mornings. My speaking is much clearer." Keith Carroll

"It made me much more calm and relaxed." Lyle Witt

"My right ear seems to bug me when I listen to hard rock now." Debbie Nagy

"I've been listening to the Walkman for over 600 hours. I find it very relaxing. I can sleep a lot better at nights. I wake up more easily in the mornings and find myself in better moods. I don't mind listening to it at school, and on weekends I try to get as many hours as I can. I find I can study a lot better and I'm more prepared for tests. I'm really enjoying the classical music." Carla Gaunt

A brain-damaged, mentally handicapped teenager in Saskatoon, has been doing Sound Therapy for the past three months and loves listening to the tapes. Her parents report that there has been a great improvement in her ability to handle stress; her speech has developed and also her recall of past events.

"I thought I would take this opportunity to thank you both for your time and effort. It is rare these days to find a business that is so prompt, giving it kind.

My son Jason, has benefited greatly from the use of the Sound Therapy tapes and the nutritional supplements for his ADHD. Jason listens to the tapes mainly at night and has never complained or not wanted to listen to them. He settles a lot easier and quicker within 10mins. Then there is the 'miracle of the supplements for the ear and brain. I say miracle because Jason's behaviour was of great concern and stress for our family. If I had not seen the differences in my child, I would have thought that this was a gimmick. However, it's not. My son is less aggressive, calmer, less fidgety, able to concentrate better and more centred.

His behaviour in the school classroom has improved immensely and his schoolwork is steadily improving along with his self-esteem and confidence.

It is evident through the positive changes my son has experienced that even after a short period of using the tapes and natural ADHD remedy (2months) it is beneficial.

My husband and I send you a heartfelt thankyou for all your help and time. Words cannot express the relief and gratitude we feel with finally finding a natural solution for our son."

"It has been almost 4 years now since you sent us your Sound Therapy kit (for my autistic son, Ramon Victorino.) Although we can hardly quantify the results brought about by this Sound Therapy, my son who is now 9 years old is beginning to read. Again, thank you so much. Know that your help will always be remembered."

9 yo girl: "I can play handball better now. I can read properly. It helps me think properly. I feel free inside. My stomach's not tied up in knots any more. Julia, Julia, I can tell the time now!"

9 yo girl: "It doesn't sound like I'm under water all the time anymore."

10 yo girl: "It reduces anxiety and stress before swimming carnivals and overnight excursions."

10 yo girl: Feels much more confident. Participated in talent quest for the first time.

12 yo boy: Settled him down. He had had some nightmares since his grandmother passed away a few months earlier. After a few weeks was able to talk about his grandmother. It was a great relief.

"My son Jamie was diagnosed, at age three, as having "Severe Speech Dyspraxia." This disorder, I was told, would mean years of intensive speech therapy. I started Jamie on Sound Therapy and found after a short time his progress with his speech therapy increased. Jamie used Sound Therapy for three months and continued speech therapy for another year. I firmly believe that without the Sound Therapy his progress would have been much slower."

"I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for ever to my Mum, my sister, Lesley Best (Sound Therapy Distributor) and friends for your countless hours of listening, offering advice, and amazing gift of caring. I love and thank you all.

I am married with two children, Sarah age 11 and Cayden age 7. When Sarah was 6 yrs old, she was diagnosed with ADHD. At this time, I had no knowledge of any other children with ADHD and felt very alone in our journey. My husband and I began to work with teachers, search for HELP regarding diet info, natural products and counselling. We have had a bumpy 4 years together, and at times almost not together (If you know what I mean). One and a half years later after trying several herbal products including omega 3 oils, we decided to trial Ritalin. While Ritalin has helped Sarah to have the ability to concentrate, learn in the school environment, and achieve above average reading, readable writing and above average maths, I have never been at ease with it. The guilt of having your beautiful, fun loving, creative daughter on psychiatric drugs daily has been heavy on our hearts and minds. I am not against Ritalin; I'm not saying that it's wrong; I'm saying that it's hard. I have been longing for the right solution, for us. I must say that we have also tried dietary changes and are now focusing mainly on synthetic sugars, colour, dairy and preservatives. A naturopath helped us the most with this. I know this sounds impossible however I find small steps best, so we do our best to keep all of these things at an absolute minimum. I now know that Sarah is an Indigo child and her vibrant personality and creativity are some of her unique strengths and she will achieve her own goals.

Sarah is 11 now and about two months ago Lesley told me about Sound Therapy. Like everything we have tried, I spoke to Sarah about it and we decided together that she would try it. WOW!!!!! Sarah listens to her tapes at bedtime and falls asleep listening to them. We noticed within weeks that her hyper times had become less and she was a much more pleasant person to be around in the mornings and evenings (outside Ritalin hours). Now that Sarah had listened for at least 100 hours, we took her off her Ritalin. Before sound therapy, 5 days without Ritalin would make for an explosive, stressful and upsetting household for all. Sarah would become excessively emotional and at times uncontrollable. Well, it's been 10 days and Sarah is 90% better. She has very "normal" moments of conflict and upset. She is eating more and I am enjoying her bubbly personality more frequently. I say to you, if you are looking for information, guidance and help with any of your family or yourself, I'm here to tell you first hand that this has worked for us."

"I have noticed a remarkable change in my child's speech. The results were tremendous. The child is speaking in longer sentences, with more detail in speech. I am convinced that Sound Therapy really WORKS!"

"My five year old son, Quannah, has always been very hyperactive with an energy that just bounces off the walls. He also showed a lot of anger. I obtained the Sound Therapy story tapes, and let him listen to these for an hour or so each day - letting him feel it was a privilege, and in no way forcing the therapy on him. In about two weeks there was a noticeable change in his behaviour. He became very quiet and calm, and somehow mellow - and he also seemed much happier. When he contracted the measles, I let him have the Walkman and the stories to listen to in bed, and there was great improvement in his sleep pattern. Some time later, when he caught an ear infection at a public swimming pool, and was in a lot of pain and distress, I again played the story tapes for him, and the pain went out of his ears. I'm sure the Sound Therapy was responsible for his rapid healing."

"My son, Marty, was diagnosed as dyslexic and has had special education since Grade 1. He started using the Sound Therapy tapes during Grade 8. School authorities, counsellors and special education teachers, on evaluating Marty after the first Grade 8 term, were all of the opinion that he would be unable to complete the grade because of his problems (lack of reading comprehension, inattention, short-term memory difficulties). However, we were able to persuade them to keep him in his present school and to give the tapes a chance to work. Marty used the tapes overnight, every night for nine months, and he himself reported improved hearing and concentration after about three weeks. The best news of all came after six weeks when he came home from school very excitedly and said, "you know, those tapes are making me smarter! I was half way through an essay this morning and realised that I had actually heard and understood the teacher. I knew the answers and it was easy to write them down!" From then on, even though Marty never became a scholar, his previously strained expression grew happy and relaxed. His ability to deal with Math and English improved greatly. He left school after Grade 10, and is now working at a full-time job and has no trouble at all with the math and language skills he needs. I should add that our other son, David, also used the tapes, for improved concentration and memory. After a few weeks we noticed that his very bent back had straightened right up - and has stayed that way."

"Our eleven year old son reports that he "never slept better in his whole life." He had been troubled with terrible nightmares. He now will not part with, nor go to bed without Tape # 1 in your program. Thank you so much."

"Our daughter had a bicycle accident last spring, smashed her head on the pavement, and had two fractures to the head as well as brain concussion. The diagnosis was that she would never speak, walk, or have a memory. A friend sent her the first four Sound Therapy tapes, and she gradually learned to listen to them. She enjoys the music, as she is a pianist, and at the end of five weeks she could play the piano and read music, though she couldn't yet read a book. I read the Sound Therapy book to her. Now six months later, she can read slowly, and can do everything except communicate fully. I am sending for another tape, as they have done so much for her. We thank you for all the help you have given our daughter."

"Our son, Mitch, is going to St. Peter's Pre Vocational Centre in Muenster. He has been listening to Sound Therapy tapes on an Auto-Reverse Walkman in school since he started there in Sept. of 84, and we've had them at home since our purchase in April 85, two months ago. Sister Miriam, one of Mitch's teachers and also principal of the school, said she has noticed a real change in Mitch in the final two months of the school year. My husband and I have noticed a real difference as well. His posture has improved. He used to walk really slouched. We're not reminding him to stand straight nearly as often. He is more relaxed; he speaks out more clearly and more often. He used to speak so softly and did not articulate his words clearly. He feels that he has much better sleep, listening to the tapes. And last but not least he has developed a real appreciation of classical music."

"Larissa Amy was diagnosed with ADD and Higher Functioning Autism. This is her response to Sound Therapy in her own words at age 13.

"My pain is not as sharp and my sleep is less. The colours are beautiful. They stand out heaps and are richer and brighter. Reading - there are more gaps in between the letters. They stand out even more. This has helped a lot for me. Life is so much easier now. But of course I feel like a new person. The world has changed a lot."

"The children's poetry tape has been a Godsend for my hearing impaired students. They love it! Their attention spans have increased dramatically since they have been listening regularly to the tape. My one very hyperactive youngster has settled down to her schoolwork because she knows she can listen to the tape as soon as she's finished. The tape has become a reward!

It's amazing to me that for the 35 years that I have been teaching hearing impaired children, this is the first auditory training tape that uses only speech to which the children can listen comfortably. Patricia's speech is articulate and soothing. You have chosen the poems carefully so that they are amusing and hold the children's interest as well."

"The psychiatrist told me, "Your daughter is a schizophrenic and always will be." At the age of sixteen she underwent a complete personality change as a result of a severe hypoglycaemic attack, and a fall in which she struck her forehead on a file cabinet. From being active and popular, with a wonderful sense of humour, she became irritable and suspicious, dropped her friends and became a regular recluse. She would not talk on the phone nor eat at the table, but took her meals to her room to eat behind closed doors. Her co-ordination was poor, very mechanical, like a doll. She became unable to sleep and would go days without even an hour's sleep. That was ten years ago. She has been doing Sound Therapy for six months and is better in so many ways I hardly know where to begin. She will initiate conversations again, and occasionally I hear her deep joyous laughter that I have missed so much these past years. She is calmer, and has obtained her driver's licence, she has started work on her education, with the assistance of a tutor provided through a special program, and she wears a Walkman to class. The Walkman is worn from the time she gets up until bedtime every day. She has come so far that I really cannot say enough about this wonderful therapy."

Return to top