Dorinne's Comment:
When I first met Patrick, he was eight years old. He had been adopted at birth. Sometimes adopted children have special bonding issues. Patrick's issue went far beyond bonding; he was also diagnosed with autism. Initially, Patrick over-reacted to everything. He was extremely fearful at his initial assessment and seemed fearful of the slightest unknown.

I'll never forget the one special day that Patrick came to the office during his therapy. His mother was so excited to tell me what he had written for his art therapist-that "he felt "like a real, live boy."  I sat back and thought about the child that Patrick had been hiding inside before therapy, simply because he could not process sound appropriately. He now has so much to offer. Can you imagine what it is like to view the world from a stilted perspective, trying in every way possible to fit in, while your body won't let you? Patrick now enjoys living with sound in comfort. He is no longer over-stimulated because his ear is able to stabilize all of his sensory input. What must it have been like to not have a friend, nor know how to be one, until age 9!!

DORINNE S. DAVIS MA, CCC-A, FAAA, RCTC, BARA
Educational and Rehabilitative Audiologist
Leading Sound-Based Therapist
Director of The Davis Center, Mt. Arlington, NJ

Who can benefit from The Tomatis Method?
Children and adults find improvement in the areas of language, communication, learning, listening, or vestibular, oral motor, and emotional growth. This method has helped children with auditory processing weaknesses that lead to disorders which limit learning, listening, verbal, and social capabilities. The method is widely used for children who suffer with autism.

Adults have also used The Tomatis Method for personal growth. Clients have reported less depression, higher levels of energy and motivation, better performance on the job, and greater clarity of mind. Additionally, teachers of foreign language, actors, musicians, and professional speakers have used the method for skill enhancement.

Why does the Tomatis method work?
Listening is the active ability, intention, and desire to focus on the sounds that we want to analyze and to reject the ones we do not want. The Tomatis Method focuses on the functional, social, and psychological factors that bear on listening, communication, language, motor control, learning and health in general. This method works on establishing connections between the ear, the brain, and the body.

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BERARD AUDITORY INTEGRATION TRAINING (AIT)
Berard AIT is based on improving, strengthening, or exercising the acoustic reflex muscle in the middle ear, which, in turn, improves the body's reaction to sensory overload in the brain. Guy Berard learned the Tomatis Method from Alfred Tomatis, and developed his own variation on the theme. His goal was to develop a program that would garner greater results in less time, thus providing families with a more cost-effective treatment protocol. Dr. Berard, a surgeon, returned to medical school to receive his degree as an ENT (ear, nose and throat) surgeon. The two systems may be used in conjunction, depending upon the circumstances of the patient and the treatment protocols preferred by the specialist.

Singers, instrumentalists, and conductors see dramatic results with Tomatis-based work. Attention span lengthens immediately improving short-term memory. The student/artist focuses and understands. Progress is steady, plateaus virtually disappear, and learning becomes an adventure. 

 

Tomatis is no substitute for technique, but it accelerates learning spectacularly. Balance, posture and body scheme improve through the ear-brain connection. Stage fright abates as the body feels grounded, and taking stage direction is easier with calm attention.

Foreign language acquisition is an elegant vehicle for acquiring focus, attention, memory, better pitch, richness and fluidity of sound, grounding, balance, etc. We now have small, inexpensive portables, convenient to use and share, for people who need to fit the program into a busy schedule. This work is more than repair. We see it as a way to accelerate learning, and to get the competitive edge. We have seen enormous gains in all our clients, young and old. All of them go about their lives with more ease, making knowing choices that serve them well.

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Reprinted with permission from Il Giornale della Musica, Italy http://www.IlGiornaledellaMusica.com  ______________________________________

Roberta Prada, contralto, and Francis Keeping, baritone, are classical singers and teachers based in New York City. Together they have written a revised translation of Dr. Tomatis's The Ear and the Voice, Scarecrow Press, 2004 and an expanded version of J. Faure's 1886 vocal manual for the French Conservatory system, The Voice and Singing, published by Vox Mentor, LLC. They administer Tomatis- based foreign language programs and Tomatis-based listening, to musicians and actors, dancers, and others interested in excellence training.

This afternoon, a woman I'll call Ruth was telling me all the reasons she dislikes being around her mother-in-law. "Never once in 25 years has she complimented me," Ruth expressed with frustration. "She always has something negative to say." When I asked, "Have you ever told her how you feel?" Ruth listed all of the reasons she is certain her mother-in-law knows how she feels, and ended by asking, "How could she not?"  

How often do we assume that others know how we feel and distance ourselves when they don't change their behavior or respond to us the way we think they should?  

I told Ruth that, though I don't know her mother-in-law, I am 98% sure that she would not purposely do anything to make people avoid her. After reflecting, Ruth conceded that her mother-in-law enjoys company. She may have no idea how she affects people, and her negative comments could even be an attempt to connect. Ruth said she is willing to have a conversation with her mother-in-law about how she feels.

Ruth's willingness to communicate is a gift. The act of sharing herself authentically will lead to greater self acceptance and more self respect. Part of communicating is listening, and Ruth knows that her mother-in-law could have some things to say that will be uncomfortable to hear. Even so, increased self awareness will be the result.

Ruth realizes that her mother-in-law may or may not change her behavior, even if she is able to hear what Ruth has to say. Either way, she will at least have a choice. If no one ever tells her how her comments are being received, she will never know. She won't understand why her children avoid her. She will feel lonely and try harder to connect, or may even write them off in an attempt to prevent the pain of a broken heart.

Before I hung up the phone, Ruth asked me to promise to tell her if she ever did or said anything that made me want to dodge her presence. We agreed that we would do that for each other.


A Kalyana Mitra is a friend on the noble path, a person or experience that contributes to your well-being in expected and unexpected ways.  Please send your comments, questions, ideas and suggestions to: ideas@wellnesspossibilities.com