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Therapeutic Listening
Added to the McCarty Center’s Treatment
Toolbox
( Friday, January 22,
2010) Caryl Hennen, speech-language pathologist,
and Stacy Angermeier, occupational therapist,
at the J. D. McCarty Center for children with
developmental disabilities in Norman have recently
completed a workshop to become certified to
implement a therapeutic listening program. A
third therapist, Candace Munson, occupational
therapist, who joined the McCarty Center staff
recently has been certified for four years.
What is therapeutic listening?
Technically therapeutic listening is an expansion
of sensory integration. It is an auditory intervention
that uses the organized sound patterns inherent
in music to impact all levels of the nervous
system. Auditory information from therapeutic
listening CDs provide direct input to both the
vestibular and the auditory portions of the
vestibular-cochlear continuum. The emphasis
of therapeutic listing is on blending sound
intervention strategies with vestibulo-proprioceptive,
core development and breath activities so as
to sustain grounding and centering of the body
and mind in space and time. Providing these
postural, movement and respiratory activities
as part of the therapeutic listening program
is critical.
Therapeutic listening utilizes
numerous CDs that vary in musical style, types
of filtering and level of complexity. The music
on therapeutic listening CDs is electronically
altered to elicit the orienting response that
sets up the body for sustained attention and
active listening.
More simply stated, “therapeutic
listening helps a child learn to listen,”
explains Hennen. “It tunes their brain
into listening. What happens is this: The patient
is listening to music using headphones. At different
points in the music either high or low frequencies
are filtered out. This triggers the brain to
listen harder, because it has noticed something
is missing. This causes the patient to become
more focused in their listening.”
Therapeutic listening is
good for kids with Autism spectrum disorder,
auditory processing difficulties, attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder and Down’s
syndrome. “It’s a tool to help patients
get ready to listen and learn,” reminded
Hennen. “It’s not a cure all. It’s
just another tool we have available.”
Occupational therapists
work a lot with sensory integration issues in
patients. Listening is a key component to sensory
integration. “Therapeutic listening is
another sensory tool we now have to use,”
said Angermeier. “It’s both auditory
and vestibular. It helps to prepare our patient’s
sensory systems to pay attention and learn.”
Listening is a voluntary,
survival-related, whole brain, whole body process.
“Listening is the process of detecting
sound and then organizing it for use with other
sensory information,” explains Munson.
“It is the key to our overall ability to
orient to people, places and things in everyday
life. Listening is both conscious and unconscious.
We listen all the time. Listening is a part
of our primal survival skills.”
“I’ve been using
therapeutic listening tools for four years,”
said Munson. “I’m passionate about
this tool and the results I’ve seen with
it. Kids with sensory delays lack a background
beat and rhythm that is a key to development.
Therapeutic listening promotes rhythm, movement
and body coordination that in turn improves
higher cognitive levels,” she added.
Changes that might occur
in patients in a therapeutic listening program
might include: increased attention and awareness
of sounds; decreased sound sensitivity; increased
desire to express wants and needs; improved
self regulation; improved coordination; improved
posture and body awareness; improved sleeping
and eating patterns; decrease in ear infections;
improvements in overall affect and mood; improvements
in social skills; and improvements in language.
According to the therapeutic
listening program web site, Vitallincs.net,
Hennen, Angermiere and Munson are three of only
20 certified therapeutic listening therapists
in Oklahoma.
The J. D. McCarty Center
is Oklahoma’s center of excellence in the
care and treatment of children with developmental
disabilities from birth to age 21. Founded in
1946, this pediatric rehab hospital was formed
to provide the physical, occupational, speech
and language therapy these children needed to
reach their highest level of functionality and
independence.
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