Starting June 27th 4 week program, Monday - Thursday Handwriting Without Tears is a proven curriculum designed to make legible and fluent handwriting an automatic skill for all students. The program uses fun and educationally sound instruction methods to improve self confidence and body awareness. It targets proper pencil grip and letter formation, orientation, placement, sizing, and spacing. Call 805-650-6290 for additional information or to sign up.

The Listening Program (TLP) is a music-based auditory stimulation method which can be provided by:

• Occupational therapists
• Speech and language pathologists
• Other medical and educational professionals

The method can be utilized by:

• Children and adults that have auditory processing difficulties that can be present secondary to an illness, an injury, or a developmental disability.

Sound travels through the three different parts of the ear as a vibratory energy. Once this vibratory energy reaches the inner ear, it is then converted into an electrochemical message which travels to the brain on a neurological pathway that is designated to auditory information. When the information reaches the brain, it then perceives and interprets the messages as sound. The process of perceiving sound is complex and requires a number of skills in order for the information to be interpreted clearly. When there is a disruption during this process, the information becomes disorganized, which impacts the brain’s ability to understand the sound. Auditory processing difficulties can lead to difficulties with:

• Academic skills
• Emotions
• Cognitive skills
• Social skills

Research that has been conducted in the field of neuroscience and within other fields has indicated that difficulties with auditory processing can be improved because of the brain’s plasticity or its ability to change and adapt itself. This change has been found to occur when the brain is provided with specific sensory stimulation that is given:

• Frequently
• With a certain degree of intensity
• Over a sufficient period of time.

The brain has been found to have some degree of plasticity throughout a lifespan; however, the brain has its greatest plasticity during early childhood development. Alfred Tomatis was an ear, nose, throat physician that conducted a variety of research that identified the relationship between certain sound frequencies and their effect on functions of the mind and body. He found that certain zones of sound frequencies affected different abilities. When the music is structured, it enables the brain to better receive, process, store, and utilize auditory information. The TLP has developed psychoacoustic modified music to exercise the different functions of the auditory processing system, which was based on Alfred Tomatis’s research. The TLP music is separated into the following three zones:

• Zone 1: the listener processes lower frequency sounds, which assists with sensory integration i.e. body awareness, muscle tone, balance, rhythm etc.
• Zone 2: the listener processes mid to high frequency sounds which plays a part in the development of speech and language skills i.e. memory, language, speech etc.
• Zone 3: the listener processes high frequency sounds which helps process information for ideas, creativity, and energy etc.

The provider of the TLP would:

• Determine if a client is appropriate for the listening modality
• Expose the client to preparatory music to assess if the person would participate in the program.
• Set the client up on a listening schedule
• Monitor and make changes to their programs as they move through the cycle of music.
• Collect data to assess the effectiveness of the music on the person’s overall functioning.
• Continue to monitor the client until the therapeutic goals are achieved.

Here at Abbott and Burkhart Therapy, two clinicians are trained in this modality. This program can be set up for the home or school environment. The clinic also has equipment that can be utilized on site. This modality is found to be complimentary with other sensory integration techniques as well as other treatments that are utilized within therapy sessions. Submitted by: Michaela E. Gordon, OTR/L, MS