A SUMMARY OF RECENT RESEARCH & DATA
PERTAINING TO THE EFFICACY OF THE “TOMATIS METHOD”*
3 articles:
The Effects of The Tomatis Method of Auditory Stimulation on Auditory Processing Disorder: A Summary of Findings by Deborah Ross-Swain Ed.D., CCC Speech-Language Pathologist 2005-2006
Early Intervention: A Longitudinal Study of Reading and Reading Related Achievement of Students in Kindergarten Through Second Grade Enrolled in the Alpha Program Prepared by J. Anne Calhoun, Ph. D. Educational PsychologyDepartment of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural StudiesCollege of Education, University of New Mexico 2006
Hillside Health Center Ongoing Study data collected by Maxwell Fraval, D.O. and Harry Armytage, Hillside Health Center, Kambah, Australia 2006
*The Tomatis Method refers to a method of auditory stimulation developed by Dr. Alfred Tomatis. Ron Minson, MD, founder of Dynamic Listening Systems (DLS), was a close friend and student of Dr. Tomatis. After using the Tomatis equipment for a number of years, Dr. Minson worked with U.S. audio engineers to develop a listening system which utilizes the most recent advances in psychoacoustic technology. Theessential method and audio techniques used by DLS, however, are intimately connected to the pioneering work of Dr. Tomatis.
The Effects of The Tomatis Method of Auditory Stimulation on Auditory Processing Disorder: A Summary of Findings
Deborah Ross-Swain Ed.D., CCC Speech-Language Pathologist, Owner/Director of The Swain Center & The Listening Centers
ABSTRACT: The study's purpose is to determine the efficacy of the Tomatis Method of auditory stimulation as a therapeutic intervention for Auditory Processing Disorders (APD). 41 subjects (18 females, 23 males; 4.3 to 19.8 years old) were evaluated for A.P.D.. Performance on standardized tests indicated weaknesses with auditory processing skills. Each subject participated in a 90 hour Tomatis Method protocol and, once completed, was re-evaluated to measure improvement. All subjects demonstrated improvement with skills of immediate auditory memory, auditory sequencing, interpretation of directions, auditory discrimination and auditory cohesion. Pre & post treatment comparison indicated statistically significant differences in the aforementioned skills. These findings suggest that the Tomatis Method of auditory stimulation can be effective as an intervention strategy for A.P.D..
Auditory Discrimination is the process used to discriminate among sounds of different frequency, duration or intensity (e.g. high/low, long/short, loud/soft). It is the ability to automatically notice, think about or manipulate the sounds in language (Torgesen, 1997). It refers generally to the awareness of words, syllables or phonemes. A problem with auditory discrimination can affect following directions, listening understanding, reading, spelling and writing.
These results indicate that prior to treatment overall auditory discrimination skills of the 41 children were placed at the 14.33rd percentile. Following treatment auditory discrimination skills improved to the 68.07th percentile, reflecting an average improvement of 53.74%.
Immediate Auditory Memory refers to the recall of the acoustic signal after it has been labeled, stored and recalled. This skill also requires that one be able to remember and recall various acoustic stimuli of different length and/or number. Auditory sequential memory is the ability to recall the order of a series of details.
These results indicated that prior to treatment overall immediate memory skills for digits forward of the 41 children were placed at the 9.68th percentile. Following the treatment these skills improved to the 46th percentile reflecting an average improvement of 36.32%
Interpretation & Following Directions
These skills are inherently dependent upon skills of auditory discrimination, auditory association and other auditory skills. Directions were presented according to the progression of the difficulty of the directions by chronological age and grade. These skills, while heavily loaded with auditory memory and sequencing skills, focus on one’s ability to comprehend and understand and interpret meaningful auditory information well enough to follow directions.
These results indicate that prior to the treatment, overall ability of the 41 children to interpret and follow directions was at the 31.29th percentile Following the treatment, these skills improved to the 66.54th percentile reflecting an average improvement of 35.25%.
Auditory Cohesion is the ability to interpret, organize and synthesize auditory information on a higher-order level of functioning. These skills are necessary for listening comprehension, organization, semantic and linguistic organization, understanding ambiguous information and abstract reasoning and problem solving.
These results indicate that prior to the treatment, overall auditory cohesion ability of the 41 children was at the 23.15th percentile. Following the treatment, these skills improved to the 56.63rd percentile, reflecting an improvement of 33.48%.
Overall Auditory Processing
Overall Auditory Processing reflects the improvement of all auditory processing skills including immediate auditory memory, auditory discrimination, interpretation following directions, and auditory cohesion.
These results indicate that prior to the treatment overall auditory processing skill ability of the 41 children was at the 8.41st percentile. Following the treatment these skills improved to the 58th percentile reflecting an improvement of 49.93%
Auditory Latency refers to processing delays. This can be a lapse, hesitation, or frank delay in response time when presented with auditory stimuli requiring a response. The following graph reflects a reduction in auditory latency or processing delays as a result of auditory stimulation using the Tomatis Method.
These results indicate that prior to the treatment average delays in processing were present 63% of the time. Following treatment delays were reduced by 24.23%.
Discussion (excerpted):
The Tomatis Method of auditory stimulation is a controversial method of auditory skills training. This study seeks to provide an initial attempt to demonstrate the relationship between the Tomatis Method and improvement of auditory processing skills. The results of these findings do suggest that the Tomatis Method can be an effective auditory stimulation intervention in improving auditory processing skills in some children. Certainly, further more rigid clinical research studies are necessary. Until that occurs, clinicians and professionals would benefit from further study of this methodology and its application to auditory processing disorder and other behavior and/or communication disorders.
EARLY INTERVENTION: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY
OF READING AND READING RELATED ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH SECOND GRADE
ENROLLED IN THE ALPHA LITERACY PROGRAM
Prepared by J. Anne Calhoun, Ph. D. Educational Psychology
Department of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies
College of Education, University of New Mexico
The following is excerpted from Dr. Calhoun’s preliminary report.
Introduction:
This report is the third in a series that examines outcomes of true longitudinal and cross-sectional cohort research design using an experimental and control group in a pre-test and post-test design at a small elementary school in a small city in the southwest region of the United States.
Students in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade were assessed on a number of measures including receptive vocabulary knowledge, letter name and letter sound knowledge, metalinguistic skill, reading components, motor skills, auditory assessments and “prosocial skills” (those skills which help students to relate in a positive manner to their peers, teachers, and the world).
The experimental groups, cohort one and cohort two, took part in a 12-week intervention that uses auditory sensory integration through music and free play structured through the materials available for manipulation by students. The control group participated in both in-school and after-school programs which addressed academic needs through instruction in specific academic areas.
The goal of the intervention for the experimental group is to allow students to fully develop their senses so as to better be able to attend to instruction and complete work in the classroom. The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between auditory sensory integration and free play in developing a whole child who is prepared to learn fully in the classroom.
Discussion:
This study was designed to examine the effects of one auditory/sensory integration intervention using a longitudinal, cross-cohort time-lag design with two experimental groups and two control groups. Using this design we could compare the effects of the intervention between time one and time two for two cohorts. One cohort of students in the experimental and control groups began in Fall 2005 while the second cohort began at the beginning of the second school semester in Winter 2006. In this way we could examine through replication the effects of the intervention as well as examine both the short-term and long-term effects within the Fall cohort.
It is interesting to note that, at the comparison at time three, the students in the experimental group compared to those in the control group (both cohorts combined) were younger in both grade and age, and that the experimental group was also made up of significantly more boys than the control group. Even with these differences, students in the experimental group retained significantly greater growth in a number of academic areas including phonemic awareness, reading tasks (reading 2nd and 3rd grade words in isolation, reading comprehension, prior knowledge and reading rate, use of miscue corrections).
In addition, these improvements in reading were accompanied by improvements in auditory and motor skill tasks, with students in the experimental group making significant improvements in listening skills, and also improving their integration of body, language, and creativity skills.
In addition students in the total experimental group demonstrated stronger pro-social skills and better mental status than their peers in the control group at the time three testing. The findings that link better prosocial skills with earlier reading acquisition have also been explored by Miles and Stipek (2006).
The most striking findings in this study are the effectiveness of the intervention in raising experimental group students’ reading-related scores. Students in the experimental group have gained on average about two years of reading level while their control group peers have gained, on average, a year or less.
In addition the growth in the experimental group students’ ability to deal with their social world and to develop sound mental attitudes appears to have increased dramatically when compared to their control group peers….The longitudinal descriptions of growth demonstrate that this intervention has had very positive effects on a number of achievement-related and social skill variables.
Hillside Health Center Ongoing Study 2006
Collected by Maxwell Fraval, D.O. and Harry Armytage
The following summary pertains to data taken at Hillside Health Center, (the accompanying Excel worksheet, minus client identification, is available on request). These data are part of an ongoing study involving pre- and post-measurements on Hillside Health Center clients undergoing DLS as their sole intervention. The following summary covers 4 DLS test areas: visual/auditory processing speed, selectivity, auditory digit span, and right-ear dominance.
Processing Speed Thresholds – audio and visual (orange column on data worksheet)
Meditech product BrainBoy* is a device which measures auditory and visual processing speed and scores against a same-age norm, developed with over 500 students.
Data was taken from 31 students who took the BrainBoy test 2 times, once prior to their DLS program and once after. Scoring was in 2 areas: auditory-and-visual processing speed and auditory-only processing speed.
Results: Following treatment, the sample average change was 107% improvement for both auditory and visual processing. The change in audio processing was 81% improvement.
Note: The students did not use BrainBoy as part of their treatment; and were only given the tests twice. The time between the 2 tests ranged from 3 to 8 months.
Selectivity Test – one’s ability to discriminate between sounds of different frequencies
(pink column on data worksheet)
Selectivity (phonetic differentiation) is a precursor to the sound/symbol relationship, and is necessary to break the code for reading/spelling. This test is performed with an audiometer, and measures the ability to identify tones at various frequency levels (pitch).
Results: Data taken from pre- and post-testing of 40 children compares their scores against the norm for their age. The average change following the DLS program was 80% improvement.
Auditory Digit Span – short-term memory (green column on data worksheet)
Auditory Digit Span measures one’s short-term memory ability. Memory practice is not part of the DLS program, and so it is particularly interesting to see change in this area.
Results: Data from 32 children were taken pre- and post-DLS therapy, and measured against age norms. The 3 tests were given twice, once before starting DLS and once after. The time between tests ranged from 3 to 8 months.
In the Number of Digits Scored vs. Ideal Test, the average change was an improvement of 22%.
In the Auditory Digit Span Reverse Test, the average change was an improvement of 18%.
In the Auditory Digit Span Forward Test, the average change was an improvement of 8%.
Cochlear (otoacoustic emissions) Test – measuring right-ear dominance
(tan-colored columns on data worksheet marked “r dom pre” and “r dom post”)
In 95% of the human population the speech center of the brain is in the left hemisphere. Studies (Singer 2004) have shown that right-ear dominant kids have significant advantages in the classroom, including faster processing and better comprehension. One of the core components of the DLS program is to strengthen the right ear listening capability.
Results: Pre and post data from 43 students showed that the average number of frequencies heard with right ear dominance increased by 19% following completion of the DLS program.