Therapeutic listening is a form of intervention that uses music to improve mental state and cognitive skills. While hearing is a passive activity that relies on sound entering the ear canal, listening is an active process. Listening engages many brain centers as sounds entering the ear canal are transmitted to alert, regulate, and organize the brain into action.
Why is listening important? It is through listening that we are able to connect our inner and outer worlds. It is the most basic precursor to interaction, speaking, reading and writing. It relates closely to attention, focus, vigilance, and concentration. Sounds provide information regarding space and time. Sounds also provide us with an ability to categorize and organize perceptions.
A Therapeutic Listening program is not a static program that stays the same forever. The type of music and the frequency with which it is listened to should change as the child begins to change. A common progression is for the child to begin the program with a combination of two to three disks that are listened to for 20 to 30 minutes twice each day. Every two to three weeks, the disks are changed to disks with more sophisticated listening challenges in order to stimulate the “just right” pace of growth and development in the child’s nervous system. A typical protocol calls for use of six or seven disks that are selected for their developmental impact. The disks are used in two week progressions. The program must be overseen by a qualified professional. The disks should be changed every two to three weeks to refine subtle changes emerging within the child’s nervous system. Typical outcomes include improved regulation of sleep/wake cycles; reduction in sensory defensiveness; improved focus and attention; improved postural tone, motor control, articulation, and fine motor skill; improved timing of social interactions, ability to maneuver through space, motor execution skills.