Speech Problems and Sound Therapy

Accurate speech is a measure of accurate hearing

Many factors can effect speech development in the early years. These can include hearing loss, apraxia (which is a motor planning disorder), an oral motor deficit (affecting the musculature of the mouth), or sensory integration issues.

However, the common factor to all speech is that in order to be able to learn and reproduce auditory information, we must first hear it correctly. This is where an auditory training program such as Sound Therapy can help.

Any speech we produce is directed by a number of auditory centres in the brain. If we can stimulate these auditory centres in the correct way, developing speech skills becomes much easier.

An idea put forward by the ear doctor, Alfred Tomatis, who developed many of the ideas behind Sound Therapy, is that language problems are frequently associated with left-ear dominance, which causes auditory confusion. In poor lateralization there is an extra step in the auditory feedback process. The two ears communicate with opposite hemispheres of the brain. Therefore, if a child is using the left ear, the message is sent to the right hemisphere of the brain.

The message must then be sent on to the left hemisphere, meaning there is a loss of time and causing slowness and fatigue. In contrast, when the right ear leads, this has the effect of facilitating and accelerating the child’s processing of sensory and cognitive information. Sound Therapy consistently trains the right ear to lead. It not only provides the right ear with a higher volume of sound, but also trains the right ear in its intended role of being the main receiver and decipherer of high frequency tones.

Children with Verbal Dyspraxia need specific training and cueing systems with lots of repetition and drill. It is highly unlikely that they will learn these passively through the environment or via correcting errors in their conversational speech.

Sound Therapy substitutes for a fair part of repetitive drill by building the brain connections in a much easier way. If it is used in conjunction with speech or movement therapy the effect of both will be enhanced.

My son Jamie was diagnosed at age three with Severe Speech Dyspraxia. I was told this disorder would mean years of intensive speech therapy. I started Jamie on Sound Therapy and found after a short time his progress with his speech therapy increased. Jamie used Sound Therapy for three months and continued speech therapy for another year. I firmly believe that without Sound Therapy his progress would have been much slower.

Janice

Children who are left-eared are sometimes also left-handed. These children may take longer to adjust to Sound Therapy and may resist using it at first. However, they are the ones who stand to benefit most, and it is most important that they are encouraged to push through their resistance and persist with the program. Once children achieve their breakthrough with Sound Therapy, if they are still quite young, they may spontaneously switch to be right-handed. This is not intended as a bias against left-handed people, who are often multi-talented and creative in unusual ways. However, the process of establishing laterality may be streamlined by the use of Sound Therapy.

Stuttering is an easy condition to measure and some good research has been done on treating this condition. Dr Tomatis says that two conditions are always present in a stutterer:

Incompatibility between the directing ear and the general lateralisation of the individual, or the absence of a ‘directing’ ear, owing to the absence or inadequacy of general lateralisation.
A delay time in sounds crossing the brain to the order of .15 to 2 seconds.

Two young boys using tin cans and a string as a telephone

Oral Dyspraxia causes children to be unable to reproduce mouth movements such as putting the tongue up to the top of their mouth. This can result in severe and persisting speech production difficulties. Sound Therapy assists by improving cerebellar integration, assisting with the coordination of different sensory and motor systems.

Verbal dyspraxia (or apraxia) is an impairment in the sequencing of speech sounds. It may cause trouble producing sounds in the beginning, middle or end of words - for example ‘sh’ (so ‘shop’ might come out as ‘bop’). Sound Therapy has been found to improve processing speed, making it easier to comprehend and reproduce a quick sequence of sounds.

When should speech develop?

Speech develops at different speeds and there is a range which is considered normal development. The following is a rough guide of what to look for in the early years.

By 12 months or so, most children have one or two words which they say with meaning, and can comply with simple requests (e.g., ‘Can I have your cup?’) or commands (e.g., ‘Don't touch!’) and understand little questions (e.g., ‘Where's your tummy?’).

By 2 to 3 years of age, your child should be able to follow two-part instructions (‘Get your teddy and put it on the chair’) and string two or three words together to talk about and ask for things.

If a child is not reaching these levels and you have concerns that her language may be delayed, introduce Sound Therapy right away. The stimulation it provides will help to develop brain pathways, establish clear laterality, and ensure that the child does not to miss out on crucial developmental time.

I have noticed a remarkable change in my child's speech. The results were tremendous, speaking in longer sentences with more detail in speech. I am convinced that Sound Therapy really WORKS!

Marjorie Karpan, Canada

I have noticed a remarkable change in my child's speech. The results were tremendous, speaking in longer sentences with more detail in speech. I am convinced that Sound Therapy really WORKS!

Marjorie Karpan, Canada

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