Sound is the fi rst sense to develop fully in the womb. Th e foetus’s ear is ready to perceive sound at four-and-a-half months. Th e baby listens to its mother’s heartbeat, respiration and digestive sounds.
Dr.Tomatis believed that the baby can also hear the mother’s voice and becomes familiar with this sound before birth. Tomatis discovered that all of the sound heard in utero is high frequency (above 8,000 Hz) due to the development of the embryonic ear.
Birth is an often 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
Th e sound of the mother’s voice with its familiar tone and rhythm is what provides continuity between the prenatal and post-natal worlds.
Th e infant is particularly accustomed to the high frequency sounds of the voice as heard in the womb, and therefore is immediately reassured when presented with high frequency sounds fi ltered to a similar level.
When the mother listens to Sound Th erapy during her pregnancy, the benefi ts she receives are passed on to the infant. Th e eff ects of listening for the mother are a soothing of her whole system and a stimulation to the cortex of the brain from the high frequency sound.81 Because of its connection with the vital vagus nerve (the tenth cranial nerve) the ear plays a part in nearly everything we feel, including heartbeat and breathing or sensations like a tickle in the throat or butterfl ies in the stomach.82 Th e positive eff ects of the Sound Th erapy are therefore passed through the mother’s whole body and have an infl uence on the development of the foetus.
81 Whitwell, G. E., ‘The Importance of Prenatal Sound and Music,’ The Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health.
82 Weeks, Bradford, S., ‘The Therapeutic Effect of High Frequency Audition and its Role in Sacred Music,’ See Appendix 2.
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Th e hormonal shift experienced by the mother at birth sometimes causes post-natal depression. Th is can be greatly alleviated by the continued use of Sound Th erapy after giving birth, as well as by herbal treatment to balance the hormones, such as the topical application of wild yam cream.83
Effects for the infant
We have heard of a child born to a mother who had been listening regularly to Sound Th erapy. Straight after birth the headphones were placed on the baby’s ears and it immediately stopped crying, perhaps feeling relieved of the sudden isolation and separateness.84 Babies born of mothers who listened to Sound Th erapy during pregnancy show a distinct lack of tension and anxiety as they grow.85 Th ey have an inner peacefulness and are less reactive, making them easier to manage. Th ey feel secure in their relationship with their mother and will go easily to other people. Th ey also have a natural appreciation for classical music and can continue to benefi t from its healing properties. It is also benefi cial for these children to listen to Sound Th erapy as they grow, in order to facilitate their development of communication and language skills.
Autism
Autism is a brain development disorder which causes children to become emotionally isolated from the world around them. It is often characterised by restricted and repetitive behavior. Some decades ago autism was attributed to a lack of aff ection in the child’s mother. Th ough Dr. Tomatis, being a product of his time, believed in this view, it is no longer considered valid.
Due to a greater research emphasis on genetic factors in recent years, many scientists believe there may be a genetic cause to autism, but more evidence is now pointing to environmental causes such as mercury and other heavy metals, pesticides and chemicals in the
83 Shealy, C. N., Ibid.
84 Private conversation with Patricia Joudry.
85 Private conversation with Francoise Nicolof.
Sound Therapy ~ Music to Recharge Your Brain
home such as fl ame retardants. Many new household items such as mattresses, carpets, cars and furniture are treated with fl ame retardants which give off harmful chemical gases which enter the body via the respiratory system.86
A question has been raised by a number of parents’ groups about a possible link between autism and vaccines, and it is important that this area should be fully researched. At Swinburne University in Melbourne, a 20-year study found favourable comparisons with homoeopathic ‘vaccination.’ Evidence suggests that homoeoprophylaxis (homoeopathic ‘vaccination’) is a valid alternative method and may in fact assist the maturation of the immune system.87
Children with developmental disorders often suff er from food sensitivities and digestive problems, making it harder for them to rid the body of toxins. Th ey also have an imbalance of seratonin and tryptophan, brain chemicals important for aff ecting mood and emotion. Th ese conditions form part of a syndrome of environmentally-related health problems. Research has shown that treatment with pro-biotics (healthy gut fl ora) can make a signifi cant diff erence, helping to improve detoxifi cation and balance brain chemistry.88
Environmental medicine is exploring this area. However this fi eld has received only limited recognition and funding, as it poses a major paradigm shift away from the pre-eminence of pharmaceutical
86 Madsen, Lee, and Olle, ‘Growing Threats: Toxic Flame Retardants and Children’s Health,’ Environment California Research and Policy Center, Mar, 2003. Cited on 24th Aug 09, http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Flame/Children-Flame-RetardantsMar03.
htm
87 Golden, I., ‘Homoeoprophylaxis – a Proven Alternative to Vaccination,’ Nourished Magazine, Dec, 2008.
88 Wakefi eld AJ, et al, ‘Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specifi c colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children,’ Lancet, 351 (9103) Feb 28 1998, pp.637-41.
Parracho, H. et al. ‘Differences between the gut microfl ora of children with autistic spectrum disorders and that of healthy children,’ J Med Microbiol, 54, 2005, pp.987-991.
Hoshino, Y. et al., ‘Blood Serotonin and Free Tryptophan Concentration in Autistic Children,’ Neuropsychobiology, Vol.11, 1984, pp.22-27.
Part 3: Chapter 4 ~ Children, Sound and Learning
solutions. Th e increasing incidence of autism in recent decades certainly points to environmental toxins as the cause.
Autism rates have increased signifi cantly in recent years, from one in 500 ten years ago, up to one in 150 children born today.
It has become the fastest growing developmental disability and is increasing at 10 to 17% per year.89
Without pinpointing the cause, there is widespread agreement that one of the factors in autism is a 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 suggested 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, and the brain pathways intended for auditory reception do not develop properly. Sounds are then imprecisely perceived and as a result incorrectly analysed.
Sensory integration is a fascinating fi eld which examines the ability of the conscious mind to integrate information from the various senses such as hearing and sight and touch. Anomalies or diff erences in this process mean that some people with autism may be highly literate, and able to write, yet unable to look you in the eye or have even the most basic conversation.
Although they may understand what is said to them, they are unable to process and have tuned out many of the frequencies in the sound, and have thus tuned out the emotional content of the message.
89 ‘Investigating the Environmental Origins of Autism,’ July 8, 2008, see:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=investigating-environmental-origins-of-autism
Sound Therapy ~ Music to Recharge Your Brain
Why Sound Therapy helps
Sound Th erapy off ers a child with autism the opportunity to re-open the listening capacity. Th e fl uctuating sounds produced by the Electronic Ear provide stimulation which, according to Tomatis’s theory, will gradually exercise and tone the ear muscles, teaching the ear to respond to and recognise the full range of frequencies. Th is in turn assists with building integration in the brain between sounds and other sensory inputs. As this happens, communication takes on new meanings and the child begins to respond, where before he or she was unreachable.90
Tomatis explains that Sound Th erapy recreates the pre-birth experience of audition and enables emotional contact to be made fi rst with the mother and then with other people.91
Th ere have been some fascinating books about individual experiences of recovery from autism using a type of sound therapy. One was Th e Sound of a Miracle by Annabel Stehli, about her daughter Georgie’s signifi cant recovery from autism using Dr. Berard’s adaptation of the Tomatis method in the 1980s.92
Th e other, Lucy’s Story by Lucy Blackman, is by a young woman who, though unable to develop any verbal communication skills, was able with the help of assisted communication and Sound Th erapy to write her own story. Her lucid description of how she experienced the world and how sound therapy helped to integrate her senses is very enlightening.93
She writes: “the most wonderful thing had happened, though. I could not speak myself, but for the fi rst time I now could understand what speech was. ... Th e phenomenon of speech as a human attribute
90 Gilmor, T. ‘The Effi cacy of the Tomatis Method for Children with Learning and Communication disorders; A Meta Analysis,’ Ibid, pp.12-23.
91 Tomatis, A.A., The Conscious Ear, Ibid.
92 Stehli, A., The Sound of a Miracle: A Child’s Triumph over Autism, New York, Doubleday, 1991.
93 Blackman, L., Lucy’s Story: Autism and Other Adventures, Book In Hand, Brisbane, 1999.
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suddenly became explicable, in the way that swimming may make the phenomenon of gravity explicable.”
Th ere have also been many, many accounts of improvement in children on the autism spectrum using the Tomatis method and the portable, Joudry, adaptation.94, 95
How to use Sound Therapy with autism
Many children with autism instinctively love the Sound Th erapy program and will listen to it readily, even being willing to wear headphones which they might otherwise reject. In other cases ingenuity may be needed to get the child to wear headphones, but it is well worth the eff ort. Th e self-help method has the advantage of enabling regular, long-term listening over a period of several months. For children with autism a long-term treatment program may be necessary.
To support the changes being introduced by Sound Th erapy it may be important to also introduce dietary changes and nutritional supplements. Because toxic accumulation and digestive problems are common in children with autism, this multi-pronged approach can be very important. Discuss your choice of pro-biotics with your Sound Th erapy consultant to ensure you fi nd an eff ective one.
What it achieves
Sound Th erapy has the potential to make a child’s perception of sound more accurate and normal,96 so that they can begin to experience the world and other people the way the rest of us do. Children with autism generally respond to Sound Th erapy by showing a greater interest in making contact and communicating with the people around them. Interactions with their family members become more aff ectionate and appropriate. Th ere is often increased eye contact and the children have a longer attention span. Th ey will initiate
94 Gilmor, T. M. and Madaule, P. ‘Opening Communication: a New Perspective on Autism,’
in About the Tomatis Method, edited by Gilmor, T. M., Madaule, P. and Thompson, B., The Listening Centre Press, Toronto, 1989.
95 Joudry, R., Ibid.
96 Tomatis, A. A. The Ear and Language, Ibid.
Sound Therapy ~ Music to Recharge Your Brain
contact rather than waiting to be approached. For children without language, vocalisation often increases, initially as screams and then as babbling. Children who can speak develop a more appropriate use of language, for instance, beginning to use more personal pronouns (“I”, “you”) or fi rst names, and using words to express their feelings. Th ey begin to laugh and cry at appropriate times.
Once children begin to emerge from their emotional isolation they will show increasing responsiveness to what they are being taught, and to the people who care for them.97