Tomatis method is claimed to be beneficial for a number of 'psychological disorders', including autism.
The Berard MethodGuy Berard, a French otolaryngologist, originally trained by Tomatis, disagreed with his teacher in a number of points and developed his own approach to the problem. In contrast to Tomatis, who assumed psychological causes of the disorder, Berard suggested biological causes.
According to Berard, processing problems may occur if a person hears some frequencies better than the others and develops 'auditory peaks' (frequencies to which a person is hypersensitive). Berard developed Auditory Integration Training (AIT) and special AIT device - Audiokinetron.
AIT is based on two assumptions:
- Behavior is a direct result of how well a person hears.
- The hearing mechanism can be retrained. As a result, improved hearing leads to improved behavior.
During the treatment and some time after it some people are reported to exhibit temporary behavioral problems, such as hyperactivity, rapid mood swings and even aggression. It seems that the more severe the side-effects, the more beneficial the treatment is for the person. Typically, these behaviors do not last long (from two days to two months).
Dr. Berard explains his AIT method and summarizes case histories of some of his patients with copies of their hearing tests before and after the treatment, in his book Hearing Equals Behavior (published in France, 1982; the English translation, 1993).
The publication of Stehli's book The Sound of a Miracle: A Child's Triumph over Autism (1991) brought AIT a great attention and interest. Annabel Stehli describes the remarkable results of AIT on her daughter Georgiana who had been diagnosed autistic and spent the first 11 years of her life in special residential schools and institutions. The treatment was so effective for Georgie that she could live independently, graduated from the college with a degree and got married.
Numerous pilot studies of the method demonstrated significant results: a reduction in self-stimulatory behaviors, hyperactivity, anxiety, social withdrawal, distractibility and echolalia; and an increase in attention, comprehension, articulation and auditory memory. There are very few immediate changes after the treatment. Usually positive changes take several months to be noticed. Lower functioning individuals typically show greater improvement. It is not known yet how AIT affects a person's behaviors.
Both methods - the Tomatis Method and Berard's AIT - are used at present. They have been reported to be beneficial in hypersensitive hearing, dyslexia, learning disabilities, ADHD, and autism, though there is still some controversy in the reports.
