Using Music-Based Auditory Stimulation^TM to enhance learning and listening in our children with special needs

Call us at 571-435-3518 to learn how to get started today!

Frequently Asked Questions

1.     What exactly does this listening program do for the brain?

This listening program trains the brain in the various skills known as “auditory processing”. These skills are numerous and include such things as:

·        Auditory attention- the ability to attend, focus or listen to something such as a parent’s request to pick up their toys;

·        Filtering extraneous sound – being able to ‘tune out’ the sound of the air conditioner in the classroom in order to concentrate on the assignment;

·        Sound discrimination – at a more elementary level, being able to distinguish an ‘m’ from an ‘n’; at the more advanced level, being able to distinguish change in voice tone to understand the emotional meaning being con­veyed in language;

·        Temporal processing – to process the basic elements of language (phonemes) one must be able to perceive the timing of rapidly changing sounds;

·        Auditory memory – a fundamental skill essential for learning; the ability to receive, store, process, and recall information in a sequence such as a set of instructions like a homework assignment.

2.     What if my child won’t listen to the music for the required 30 minutes a day?

Listen can be done in 3 different schedules:

·        One (1) 15 minute module daily, five (5) days per week for 20 weeks;

Note: The program is repeated in reverse after 20 weeks for a total of 40 weeks.

·        Two (2) 15 minute modules daily, five (5) days per week for 10 weeks;

Note: The program is repeated in reverse after 10 weeks for a total of 20 weeks.

·        One (1) 30 minute module daily for five (5) days per week for 10 weeks;

Note: The program is repeated in reverse after 10 weeks in reverse for a total of 20 weeks.

3.     How long should listening continue after these initial programs?

It is advised to complete at least 2 schedules of listening as listed in #2 above to achieve and maintain initial listening gains. Research has shown long-term (9-12 months) sustainability of changes. Some amount of continued listening is encouraged not only as a booster to help maintain changes, but to achieve new benefits and as part of an ongoing wellness program. This program is not just a tool to remediate listening problems, but also assists brain development and overall health and well-being. We’d like to see listeners incorporate listening into their daily lives investing in good listening habits and creating change for the long-term.

4.     Where should my child or I listen and what can my child or I do while listening? Should it be quiet time?

Listening can be done anywhere since this system is portable and can be taken anywhere you go. This program allows for such flexibility that a center-based program can’t. You can listen at home, in the car, at therapy sessions, at the office, take it on vacation, take it on a plane, anywhere. Your surroundings don’t have to be completely quiet. Your child can do such things as arts/crafts, painting, drawing/sketching, puzzles, paper dolls, play with baby dolls/trucks, blocks/Legos, Play-Dough, fine motor activities, stuffed animals, bouncing, swinging, jumping, obstacle courses, low impact exercise (walking), adults or older children can knit/crochet, draw/paint, art/crafts, play simple board games (checkers), or just sit and relax and enjoy the beautiful Mozart arrangements, paying attention to what you are hearing and the movement of the music. Taking a nap is also permitted, however for greater benefit, the movement activities create additional stimulation to the inner ear. Activities that are not permitted during listening are: watching TV, listening to the radio/other music, computer or computer games (including hand held games) or eating/chewing gum. Do not listen to headphones while driving a car, truck, boat or any motor vehicle or while riding a bike or motorcycle.

5.     My child doesn’t like anything on his head and won’t wear headphones. How will this work if he doesn’t wear the headphones?

This has to be our #1 question we receive from parents. We can say that none of our children on this therapy has an issue with this like their parents once thought at the onset of their programs. Once the music gets playing and relaxes the listening and starts to entrain the ear, the child will adapt to wearing the headphones and they love the music and listening to the birds that flit around their head. Keeping the headphones on with a headband or bandana also helps. When the child becomes engaged in all of the activities to do while listening, they totally forget about the fact that they have something on their head, something they normally don’t like at all. In fact, many of our clients can’t wait for the day’s listening. In addition, when the bone conduction is applied, it desensitizes the body and helps with the sensory integration issues. The body is not so sensitive to tactile stimulation, or bothered by touch, clothes, hats or even headphones. You’ll be surprised!

6.     How is this music recorded?

All music for this listening program was recorded by award-winning musicians of the Arcangelos Chamber Ensemble specifically for this auditory training method. These players join by invitation and were chosen for their technical merit, expressive qualities, and genuine interest in creating music to help people maximize their potential. This music is recorded in high definition (HD) 24-bit 192 KHz. This program is the first and only method of auditory training to create recordings of this quality. Recording in HD captures more authentic sound, more musical information. It provides a more natural listening experience. The HD recording has low levels of distortions. This provides a more accurate representation of sound waves and imparts a rich, fulfilling listening experience with greater clarity.

7.     How is the music treated to make it therapeutic?

There are many processes that the music goes through to render it therapeutic. Psychoacoustic (how sound affects human beings) and neurosonic (process that modifies sound waves) techniques are used in the production of this music. These processes enhance and strengthen the natural attributes inherent within the musical structure to provide listening training for the ear and brain in order to bring the auditory system into balance.

8.     Can this therapy help hearing loss?

No. This listening program can help our brains perceive the full spectrum of frequencies, but it cannot restore actual hearing loss.

9.     What is filtering and why is the music filtered?

Filtration is the process in which selected frequencies are removed from full spectrum sound (natural sound with nothing taken away). Certain frequencies are removed from full spectrum sound to hone in on the remaining frequencies to train the brain to perceive these sounds and become consciously aware of them. This allows the listener to discriminate sounds they may otherwise miss. Filtering allows the brain cells to respond to their characteristic frequencies which results in the listeners ability to process sounds without distortion.

10. What are distortions in hearing?

Distortions can be described as not perceiving certain sounds so that the brain misses the auditory signal (hypoauditory) or perceives some sounds too well so that the listener is uncomfortable or in pain when they hear them (hyperauditory). One function of this listening program is to balance this perception to normal so that sound is perceived accurately and without stress which results in a sense of well-being.

11.  How is this home listening program different from going to a center to  receive therapy?

Saves Time and Money: There is no traveling involved with this home listening program. This significantly cuts down on the time factor as well as costs to travel to the center and often lodge for weeks at a time for those who are far away from a center. This system is purchased and is yours to keep. All the therapy you need is contained in these systems for years to come. With this system, there is no need to pay for additional boosters of therapy like you would have to do with a center-based program. You do as much as you want for the purchase price.

Portability: The fact that this system can fit nicely in a back-pack and be placed on the back of the listener allows for freedom of movement and enables the listener to not be confined while listening. They can go for a walk, swing on the playground, run around the house, go to Grandma’s house, play with the dog, or take this therapy to their school, their sibling’s ball game or for adults, to the office, and listen there. It’s simple and easy to use and is keeping up with today’s technology and today’s busy schedules that each one of us has. 

Production quality of the music: The music of this listening program has been arranged and carefully engineered with many post-production enhancements to it. The listener actually hears the music come alive with individual instruments being accented at certain times instead of all instruments blending together. The listener will feel as if they are in the middle of an orchestra with movement of the instruments in a 360 degree sound field; quite different from center-based listening therapy that only provides listening in stereo; from left and right. In addition the recording of the music in high definition (HD) greatly adds to the experience as the listener is capturing true authentic sound as it sounded when it was recorded – quite clear and revealing the true “voice” of each instrument.  In addition, within this program is a technology that exercises the ear muscles like that of any workout program with a “warm-up”, “intense training” and “cool-down”. This way the ear is relaxed and prepared for the intense training to come, is then put through a high intensity workout, and then brought back to relaxation and recovery. These features greatly enhance the auditory stimulation and the listener’s perception of all the varied frequencies of sound thereby training the ear and brain to listen better and process sound better affecting various brain and body functions.

Listening Time Shortened: This program requires listening from 15 minutes to 30 minutes a day depending on the ability of the listener. Center-based therapy requires listening for up to 2 hours each treatment which can be time-consuming and constraining for a small child to listen for that long. Due to the high quality processing of this music, it is only necessary to train the ear with this program for 30 minutes a day.

12.  What if I have questions at any time during this therapy? Who do I contact? Your Certified Provider will train you and monitor your 20 week program carefully. They are available longer if you wish to consult with them on a continuous basis. They will answer your questions and guide you on all aspects of this listening training and make recommendations for listening schedules. You will also have weekly conference calls with your Provider to check-in and discuss the progress of the program or to make modifications to the program.  You will always be in constant communication with your Provider.

13.  What if my child or I miss a day of listening? What do we do?

Over the span of this program it is inevitable that some listening may be missed.  In the event that this happens and depending on how much time has been missed, your Provider will advise you on where to pick up with listening. Sometimes you only need to repeat a day’s worth, other times, if too much time has elapsed since the last time you listened, you may need to begin the program again.  For best results with this program, you need frequency (how often), intensity (how much) and duration (how long). These three together will promote changes in the listening.

14. Can this program be done in conjunction with my child’s other therapies?

Yes. This therapy complements educational, therapeutic and behavioral interventions. In fact, clinical experience has shown that this listening program, when used concurrently with other interventions, accelerates the child’s rate of progress.

15.  How is progress measured with this program?

At the beginning of the program, a detailed history is taken from the client as well as listening screening tools are used to identify areas of weakness related to auditory functions. Information on receptive and expressive language, sensory integration, fine/gross motor skills, behavior, social adjustment, and energy level are gathered to get to know the needs of the listener and how he/she can best be helped by this program. Listening goals are also provided by the parent or adult listener to indicate what they wish the child (or themselves) to accomplish during the auditory training.  Every day of the listening program, observation forms are completed by the parent/teacher/therapist who is administering the listening (or adult listener) to document the changes seen during the program and assess overall progress. Also, the stated goals provided at the beginning of the program are compared to the progress seen after the 20 week program to further evaluate the experience in listening, identify areas that still need addressing and to fine-tune goals for further listening.

For further questions that haven’t been addressed here, please don’t hesitate to call us at 571-435-3518. We want you to feel comfortable with this system and will explain all the facets of this listening program to you so that you fully understand how this system works and the changes our clients are seeing in their children.

     Copyright© All Rights Reserved 2008