• Auditory Integration Training: the books that showed the world it worked
• Dr. Wayne J. Kirby, studied the effects of AIT and presents the results to you and offers AIT resources
• What is AIT? How does it work for ADHD children? Who can help you? by Sharda Ramlackhan, MA
• The Myth of the A.D.D Child:50 Ways to Improve Your Child's Behavior and Attention Span Without Drugs, Labels, or Coercion
• Parents' Positive Tips For Dealing With Professionals, by an ADHD Mum
• A strange new toy!

 

Sound of a Miracle : A Childs Triumph over Autism   by Annabel Stehli

I first heard about it when reading the book, "Sound of a Miracle", by Annabelle Stelhi.  Since then another book has come out, "Dancing in the Rain", which contains short stories about children with a variety of disorders treated by  AIT.My question is, have you ever heard of this, and do you have any information regarding this treatment.  I am very interested and would like any input. Thanks Patti "

Dancing in the Rain : Stories of Exceptional Progress by Parents of  Children With Special Needs

AIT was developed in France in the 1960's by Dr  Guy Berard, an ear, nose and throat specialist, in  order to stop his own hearing loss and tinnitus suffered after a bomb explosion. Dr Berard suggests that problem behaviours can be directly related to hearing; that when hearing changes, behaviours can alter as well. The book he  wrote about his therapy is entitled 'Hearing Equals Behaviour' He would also suggest that it is very difficult to produce sounds or language that one cannot hear, or that are heard in a distorted  fashion.

Experimental (AIT) Group: Showed statistically significant improvement in all areas when their pre- and three-month-post-experiment scores were compared with regard to impulsivity, inattention and total errors. The experimental group also showed improved performance when compared to the control group.

I believe that AIT, using appropriately modified classical music, can significantly enhance the educational potential of children with ADHD. I would recommend that future studies include larger groups of experimental and control subjects. I would also recommend studying a larger population of children beginning when they are in the six to seven year old age range, and following them until they are ten or eleven years old. This approach would enable an evaluation of long-term effects of AIT. While there is a good deal of anecdotal evidence that suggests AIT is helpful to adults with ADHD, future double-blind studies are also needed for this population. I believe that the results of this pilot study will provide the groundwork for future research.

The graph on the left shows the improved scores of the experimental group. Note how the median number of total errors decreases from 37 errors before AIT to 5 errors three months following AIT.  About the Author: Dr. Wayne J. Kirby is Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. His research efforts have focused on the effects of sound and music on the human brain. Dr. Kirby holds a bachelor’s degree from The Juilliard School, a master’s degree from Yale University, and a doctorate from New York University.  He has presented and published numerous papers on subjects relating to music technology and music perception, including a recently published paper on AIT entitled “Brain Disorder, Auditory Hyperacusis and the Promise of Music Technology.” Dr. Kirby was personally trained and authorized by Dr. Guy Bérard to teach and certify professionals in the Bérard Method of AIT.

Dr. Kirby also teaches the Kirby Method of AIT on the KAM System, a PC-based AIT delivery system. He maintains a private AIT practice in Asheville with his wife, Pamela Kirby, M.A.Ed., a specialist in early childhood education.

AUDITORY INTEGRATION  TRAINING by Sharda Ramlackhan, M.A

Auditory Integration Training or AIT - is a Behavior Modification Training.   It is a method of correcting the root cause of many learning disabilities. Hypersensitivity, distortions, and delays in the auditory signals contribute to inefficient learning.  AIT is a method of retraining the ear to listen and to process sounds in a more normal manner, without distortions and delays. How we listen and process sounds affects our alertness, attention span, concentration, information processing, and the way we express ourselves, both verbally and in writing.  When the listening process is not working properly, it can interfere with our entire system and its ability to function.

Hearing and listening are two quite different from each other.  You may have excellent hearing acuity (i.e., hearing within normal range), but have an inaccurate perception of what is being said, faulty teaming of the ears occurs when both ears are not working together, this can interfere with the ability to work and play efficiently and comfortably, and may even cause physical discomfort and pain.  This imbalance in hearing between the ears may lead to a host of behavior and learning problems An intense program of sound stimulation varying in pitch and intensity (using music and headphones), activates the middle and inner ear which then transmits sound to the brain via the auditory nerve.  The sound stimulation improves aural flexibility and enhances the transmission of sound to the brain..

In the auditory system, going from the eardrum to the brain cells, concise zones exit corresponding to low-pitched and to high-pitched tones.  These parts are not anatomically similar on the eardrum, on the cochlea, and perhaps in the brain itself.  If one or the other of these areas of the auditory system is stimulated by certain programmed alternating sounds, the same identical result as that obtained by mobilization of the elbow is achieved.

When an individual is hypersensitive to an intensity or frequency, the auditory system can shut down.  The individual avoids certain sounds, places and situations.  This person may cover his/her ears, "tune out," or display unusual or socially inappropriate behavior.  Similarly, individuals who hear poorly at certain frequencies or hear constant ringing in their ears, can begin to display withdrawn, aggressive or different behavior in order to deal with their hearing disorder.
 

These are areas and cells of the brain stimulated by different frequencies and/or intensities.  If these sounds are not entering the system appropriately, the brain cells will not be stimulated properly.  This will affect the processing of sensory input. The same words spoken by someone with a high pitched voice will sound different when spoken in a low pitched voice.  Children, in particular, can become confused, and performance may vary depending on the pitch of the voice.

All of these auditory problems contribute to cognitive fatigue and variable performance that is so common among children with learning disabilities.  These children use much energy trying to decode or translate the scrambled and distorted messages they receive.  The performance will depend upon the amount of energy, interest, and motivation they have at a given time.  Other variables such as voice quality, pitch, and rate of speech delivery of the speaker, background noises, and visual cues also impact the performances of these children.

Because of the strong contribution of hearing to receptive and expressive abilities, those individuals who exhibit language/learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder (ADD), dyslexia, pervasive developmental delays (PDD), autism and tinnitus (ringing in the ears) may be excellent candidates for AIT.

AIT is a technique to enhance the efficiency and normalize the auditory reception system (ear and brain) by reducing hypersensitivity and reducing hearing peaks and troughs as measured on an audiogram.  This will improve the sensory input/output and feedback system.  Indirectly this will also improve listening, attending, cognitive abilities, behavior and social skills.

Sharda Ramlackhan, M.A. is a parent of a 14 year old boy with Autism.  She has been a practitioner in the field for the past 8 years.  Sharda has traveled extensively all over the world administering AIT to the children and helping parents. She is available to visit New Zealand. She has also generously sponsored this month's ADHD ezine and we thank her for her support. If you need further information on AIT, you may reach Sharda.  Visit EARS website: www.web-wisdom.com/ears & www.autismusa.com or write to ShardaEARS@aol.com

Parents' Positive Tips For Dealing With Professionals, by an ADHD Mum, Click here

Conduct Disorder.com featured Bop it Extreme this month.They say,"  "Kids love the original Bop It, an electronic toy that challenges response time to pull, twist, and bop different parts of the toy.The extreme version adds two more tasks, more sounds, and a taunting, smart-aleck announcer who directs the game. As you get better, the game moves faster until you miss a beat and lose, accompanied by a fair amount of noise and ridicule from the toy.  People who don't think they'd ever want to play Extreme Bop It won't be able to put it down; it instills a compulsive need to bop till you drop. It can be played in a group and makes a good party game--even for serious adults."  Ok...We're not sure what is up with this "Bop It," but it has 51 reviews and they are all raving about this little toy! Click here to check it out!

Bop It Extreme

So that's us until next month, when we will again be looking at adult ADHD, If we don't hear from you before then, see you in May
Warm Regards
Tricia and Mike Legg
Editors ADHD ezines

PS. Many thanks to the support from our sponsors, the AIT experts, Dr. Wayne J. Kirby and Sharda Ramlackhan, MA,We would appreciate your visiting their webpages if at all possible and referring others to them as well, who may be helped by AIT.