Listening therapy does not appear to help children with autism learn language.
This study was designed to see if the Tomatis version of listening therapy could help the language of children with autism. The study looked at ability to speak as well as ability to understand. The authors did not find a difference between those children who received listening therapy and those who received a placebo. The study had only 11 children and the children had different levels of language. Therefore, the authors were not able to tell if maybe listening therapy works better for children who have more or less language.
Dr. Gerritsen of San Felipe del Agua, Mexico wrote a letter in response to the study. In the letter she described errors in the research. Dr. Corbett answered that indeed the study was small, but the data from the study suggest that there is no reason to spend more money researching the effect of the Tomatis method.
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Free Sound Therapy Home Programme
Jan 21, 2010 by AnonymousDr. Alfred Tomatis, a French otolaryngologist, is recognised as the modern day originator of sound or music therapy. In the early 1950's he developed an effective therapy method using altered music to treat conditions such as auditory processing disorder, dyslexia, attention deficit disorder and autism. Another French doctor, Dr. Guy Bérard, developed a similar method, Auditory Integration Training (AIT), which has found many followers in the USA. From personal experience I know that many clients report improvements in understanding, speech, balance, behaviour and emotional well-being after just two or three weeks of daily sound therapy.
Sensory Activation Solutions (SAS) is an organisation with Centres in the U.K. and Turkey that provides a unique service for children and adults that face learning or developmental difficulties. When the established educational, psychological or medical services fail to provide adequate support, the SAS methodology often can provide practical solutions that result in noticeable improvements in daily life.
You may be interested to check out their Free Sound Therapy Home Programme. Their Auditory Activation Method builds on the pioneering work of Dr. Tomatis and Dr. Bérard and has been specifically developed with the aim to improve sensory processing, interhemispheric integration and cognitive functioning. It has helped many children and adults with a wide range of difficulties, ranging from dyslexia and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder to sensory processing disorders and autism. It is not a cure or medical intervention, but a structured training programme that can help alleviate some of the debilitating effects that these conditions can have on speech and physical ability, daily behaviour, emotional well-being and educational or work performance.
There is no catch, it's absolutely free and most importantly often effective. Check it out at: http://www.sascentre.com/uk/uk_free.html.