Children on the Autistic Spectrum have difficulty processing various forms of sensory stimuli.  Often, children with Autism have auditory hypersensitivity or sensory defensiveness because of the difference in the way they perceive sound:  they primarily listen through both skin and bone conduction instead of their ears (air conduction).  These sounds, felt primarily through body and bone, feel like continuous assaults to their systems.  Feeling sound before hearing causes anxiety, frustration, and the tendency to shut down.  They don't have the ability to filter out background noise and "tune in" to what they want to hear.  They may explode into tantrums in an attempt to mask the painful sounds, or repeat words and movements for self soothing.  The ability to filter needs to be restored before a hypersensitive person can attempt to listen, since listening feels painful and irritating.  The reduction of hypersensitivity to sound vibrations felt in the body can enable children to desire to listen and connect with the outside world.

Listening therapy with iLs desensitizes the response of the body (perceived via bone conduction) and enhances the ears' ability to become the main entrance to sound (air conduction).  This enables the ears to effectively filter irrelevant information and protect the system from excessive sound by adjusting the tension of the eardrum when necessary.  This desensitization is done through a vibrating bone conductor built into specialized headphones, while the muscles of the middle ear are simultaneously being retrained to process sound more efficiently.

Listening therapy is not a cure, however it is effective in helping children on the Autistic spectrum feel more comfortable in their bodies and in turn, motivates them to engage more fully with people and the environment.  Listening therapy can also improve the sensory and behavioral issues experienced by some children with Autism.

For additional information regarding Tomatis-based Listening therapy and Autism, please see www.tomatis.com