Therapeutic Listening at SMILE

Contributed by SMILE OT, Jayme Petronchak. Thanks Jayme!

Sensory integration is one of the main focuses at The SMILE Center where we help our kiddos organize sensory information from both their body and the environment and use this information to adapt and complete tasks across environments. The auditory system is a critical link in sensory integration, connecting our body to the environment through the sounds we hear. Hearing is passive, happening mindlessly throughout our day, however, listening is an active process that requires active attention and encompasses the whole brain and body.  Listening is a continuous process involving engagement (what is that sound?), interaction (what does that sound mean to me?), and discrimination (should I listen more closely or move away from that sound?).

Many of our SMILE OTs are trained in Therapeutic Listening (TL). This program involves listening to specially recorded and enhanced music, on headphones, in OT sessions, and in a home program, created between the family and the child’s therapist. The music through the TL headphones gives the listener controlled sensory information which influences engagement, attention and activates arousal levels and body movement. The music selection varies from familiar children’s songs to Baroque Era orchestrations to sounds found in nature.  The program is individually structured to the specific needs of the child through the therapist’s choice of music, type of modulation, listening time, and activities done during the listening. We even offer an equipment loaning program so that the child’s family has access to this program at home and across environments to optimize the child’s progress.

Therapeutic Listening, paired with sensory integration work, has shown positive results in a child’s attention, motor planning, motor control, regulation, language development, social skills, postural control, bilateral coordination and more. Talk to one of our SMILE OTs to learn more!!

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