Auditory Integration Training

Hearing within normal hearing limits does not mean you have good hearing. Even a slight hearing loss can effect a child form more than an adult. As children, we are learning about our environment and gain skills through hearing.   Children need a fully functional hearing system that delivers clear sounds for this learning process. If there is a problem with the ear’s decoding process when it receives the sounds, the message may become distorted and the meaning misinterpreted. Sometimes a child’s hearing can be so dysfunctional that sounds that do not bother most children can be extremely uncomfortable. A child with an auditory processing disorder will have to work extremely hard to “fill in the gaps” in class or in social situations. These children tend to give up and let their minds wander often being labeled immature, lazy, or naughty.

Auditory Integration Training therapy is one of the most enduring approaches in the reduction of sound sensitivity and sound processing difficulties. AIT is a technique that, through earphones, children listen to electronically altered music which stimulates the brain’s neural pathways to assist the hearing mechanism and transmit sound more efficiently. AIT was developed in the 1960’s and uses a machine called an audiokinetron which randomizes sound frequencies and tones.

Some signs that your child might benefit from AIT:

  • Learning problems
  • Low concentration levels
  • Over-active/ Impulsive
  • Trouble with spelling, reading, writing, math
  • Does not follow instructions properly
  • Forgetful
  • Seem hearing impaired

 

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