Therapeutic Listening

Hi A2 Families! My name is Maddie & I am an Occupational Therapist at A2 Therapy Works. I am excited to share my experience with a course I completed over the summer, Therapeutic Listening: Listening With The Whole Body. This course helped me gain a deeper understanding of sensory integration and the connections the auditory system has throughout our whole body. The course covered topics ranging from neuroanatomy, to which type of music helps sensory kiddos with their coordination and motor planning. I am looking forward to offering Therapeutic Listening evaluations and treatments in the A2 office. Read below to determine if Therapeutic Listening may be a good fit for your family!

What is Therapeutic Listening (TL)?

• TL does not follow a “cookie cutter” approach to treatment. It is a highly individualized, music based tool that activates listening by helping our kiddos “tune in” and respond to their environment. It utilizes high quality music altered specifically to exaggerate parts of sound that naturally capture attention and tap into the parts of the brain involved in regulating bodily functions, relating to others, and organizing behavior. TL, combined with traditional occupational  therapy, can dramatically increase the speed at which changes take place in the child. A cool part about this program is that it can be used with children as young as two years old all the way into adulthood.
• TL utilizes spectral predominance, rhythm, melody, harmonics, instrumentation, and space to address sensory processing, attention, social connection, postural control, body awareness, and more!
• The music selection is broken up into three categories: engagement, interaction, and discrimination. Each of these categories address different areas of sensory processing. Your therapist will help determine which category is the best fit for you child.
• Music ranges from classical, nature sounds, popular children’s songs, pop music, and more!

What can therapeutic listening help with?

• Attention and focus    
• Social interaction or play skills
• Transitions or changes in routine
• Communication (both verbal and nonverbal)
• Sleep, bowel and bladder control, feeding
• Following directions
• Perception and navigation of space
• Motor skills
• Abnormal response to various sensory stimuli such as sounds, touch, taste, and pain

How do I know if Therapeutic Listening is right for my child?

• One of our occupational therapists can complete a TL evaluation during a regularly scheduled session. A functional listening questionnaire, clinical observations of listening, as well as clinical observations of motor skills and sensory processing will be completed to generate a TL profile. The child will try on the special TL headphones and listen to a few different music samples. 
• Following the evaluation, the OT will select music based on the child’s current goals and clinical picture.

How much of a time commitment is Therapeutic listening?

• The child will complete two 30-minute listening sessions per day, using specific headphones. The child will listen to a new album every 2 weeks. Albums can be listened to during any functional activity, such as playing, chores, going on a walk, or during meal time just to name a few. The only time it’s not recommended is during screen time. 
• The length of individual participation varies. It can range from  12 weeks - a year.

Are there any costs associated with using Therapeutic Listening?

• A2 Therapy Works has specific TL headphones to loan out to families. There is a $40 security deposit, which will be refunded upon completion of the program when headphones are returned. If interested in purchasing your own headphones, check out: https://vitalsounds.com/product-category/equipment/hardware-headphones/ 
• Families can download the Free Therapeutic Listening App. From there, families will be able to download the specific album needed for the two week listening span for $10 an album, coming out to $20/month. 

If you are interested to see if Therapeutic Listening would be a good fit for your child, contact us and we would be happy to set up an Therapeutic Listening evaluation!