The purpose of this study is to determine if the Tomatis® Method of auditory stimulation can be an effective therapeutic intervention when treating Auditory Processing Disorders(APD) in children. This retrospective study studied the results of auditory stimulation on 41 randomly selected cases. The subjects in this study (18 females, 23 males) were initially seen and evaluated for suspected auditory processing disorder. The subjects ranged in age from 4.3 years to 19.8 years (mean age of 12.06). Following the initial evaluation each subject participated in a 90 hour Tomatis® Method protocol of auditory stimulation. All of the subjects presented with symptoms of auditory processing disorder. The results of administration of standardized test batteries for assessment of auditory processing disorder indicated weaknesses with various auditory processing skills. At the completion of the auditory stimulation protocol each subject was re-evaluated to document and quantify improvement in auditory processing skills. The findings indicated that all subjects demonstrated improvement with skills of immediate auditory memory, auditory sequencing, interpretation and following directions, auditory discrimination and auditory cohesion. Reductions in auditory latency were noted. A t-test comparison of pre & post treatment was used for statistical analysis. The results indicated significant differences in all areas that were assessed and compared. These findings suggest that the Tomatis® Method of auditory stimulation may be effective as an intervention strategy for auditory processing disorder.
