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We are the most comprehensive
Berard AIT resource website for parents.
Auditory Integration Training is an
Educational
intervention.
Berard AIT is an auditory intervention that
consists of
10 hours (20 sessions) over 10 or 12 consecutive days, under the supervision of
professionally trained
AIT Practitioners
who follow the
Berard AIT protocol.
The minimum
recommended age for AIT is 3 years of age.
AIT is a sound therapy
with many
scientific studies.
All information
provided here is for
educational purposes.
Visit Other Parent
Resource Sites:
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Homeopathy for
Special Needs Children (HSNC)
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SPD Sensory
Processing Disorder Resource Groups
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 History
of AIT: A Brief History of Auditory Integration Training (Berard AIT)
by Rosalie
Seymour, SLP/A, Berard AIT Practitioner and Berard
Professional Trainer
Auditory Integration Training
is a form of auditory re-training that can enhance well being in a wide
range of situations. The emphasis of Berard AIT is on educational difficulties,
particularly the listening skills problems basic to phonics problems,
reading and spelling difficulties, as well as to concentration problems
and issues associated with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), autism,
dyslexia, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and other learning disabilities.
The concept of Auditory
Integration Training began in the medical practice of Ear, Nose and
Throat (ENT) physician, Dr.
Guy Berard in France. It should be emphasized that Auditory
Integration Training was developed first as an intervention
for hearing loss, and the sometimes accompanying tinnitus.
After this, it became known in Europe for its usefulness in overcoming
dyslexia. It was well documented
in Dr. Berard's many years of medical practice that certain cases
of emotional and mood disturbances also responded well
to Auditory Integration Training.
The Story of Georgiana Stehli, Auditory
Integration Training and Her Recovery from Autism
It was the story of an American girl, Georgiana Stehli,
labeled as “autistic”,
“psychotic” , “dyslexic”
and “retarded" that brought Auditory
Integration Training to the United States and the special needs community.
Diagnosed as autistic
by internationally-renowned experts, she also had hyperacute hearing. She received her Auditory
Integration Training with Dr.
Guy Berard at age 11 and started a slow steady recovery from
both autism and dyslexia.
After AIT
her formal diagnosis of “retardation” was no longer an appropriate
term and her giftedness in numerous areas began to show! Her
social skills developed to at least the competence of
the average person. She is now married, a mother and supports her home
with her own job. Georgiana Stehli travels as a speaker and counsels at
an autism
center.
What must not be forgotten, is that the changes
were significant, but took hard work and patience. For years
after Auditory Integration Training
Georgie’s mom, Annabel, with Peter her step father, worked steadily
with Georgie to modify her problematic behaviors. A “quick fix”
it was not! Those who have read her story in
"Sound
of A Miracle" know it was not an overnight miracle, with one
of hard work and dedication to Georgie's recovery.
When Auditory Integration
Training arrived in the United States, professional opinion was guarded
and outright disinterested. The Stehli’s tried to give others the
benefit of their experience and they worked steadily at letting others
know about Auditory Integration Training.
The Stehli's met with Dr. Bernard Rimland of the Autism Research
Institute who was very interested in what had happened.
Dr. Rimland
then obtained an Audiokinetron from Dr.
Guy Berard and began to do research into its efficacy for autism
along with Dr. Stephen Edelson. Before this development in the USA,
across the border in Montreal, Canada, Dr. Gérard Binet had already
been offering Auditory
Integration Training to special needs clients.
Growing Public Awareness of Auditory
Integration Training
Information to the English-speaking general public was not
available for many years due to the fact that Dr.
Guy Berard's book
"Hearing Equals Behavior"
was written in French and was not available in English.
Gradually, this situation changed. In 1990, the CBS
News Team went to Dr.
Guy Berard's home to record a TV program. When Georgiana
Stehli finished school and college with honors, and was well on her way
to establishing her own life, Annabel Stehli
wrote her story,
“The
Sound of a Miracle”. The book “The
Sound of a Miracle” came to public attention quickly on its
release in 1991, and sparked a demand for Auditory
Integration Training in the United States. The Readers Digest
featured it as Book of the Month in March 1991. In December 1991,
the ABC Television program "20/20"
featured the story and some other case studies.
Annabel Stehli was invited to speak frequently at conferences and meetings,
she was interviewed by Larry King, Sally Jessy
Raphael, and the Australian “Beyond 2000”
ran a feature. Many newspapers continued to report stories
about Auditory Integration Training.
The Georgiana Institute was formed by the Stehli’s, to spread information
about Auditory Integration Training and
they arranged for Dr. Berard
to come to the USA to train interested AIT
Professionals from various disciplines. Between 1991 and 1993 about
8 such training courses were run, with about 20 people training per course.
Since then, the number of Berard
AIT Practitioners who have been professionally trained in the Berard
AIT protocol has grown steadily worldwide.
History of Equipment Developed for
Auditory Integration Training
In the early 1990's, the FDA investigated the Audiokinetron
which was used at that time for AIT,
putting a “class 3” rating on it. This is a usual procedure.
This restricted further development of the practice of Auditory
Integration Training in the USA because nobody was allowed take an
Audiokinetron across state borders, or bring one into
the United States until the FDA tests had been concluded. A "class
3" rating puts such a device into the category of equipment that
may be operated only by highly skilled practitioners.
The FDA subsequently declared that they have
no control over devices which are used strictly for educational
purposes. It was obvious that after the many years of use
for
Berard
AIT the Audiokinetron had no proven
risk involved. An American made device similar to the Audiokinetron
was built by engineer Bill Clarke and was called the BGC. The
BGC was used for
Auditory Integration Training but is no longer being manufactured.
Currently Manufactured Devices for
Auditory Integration Training
Earducator
Image Copyright ©2006 AIT Institute
 The device subsequently
developed for Berard
Auditory Integration Training worldwide is the
Earducator
(photo on left. CD's are not included in purchase). The
Earducator
device is not regulated by the FDA. It is considered to
be an educational
device and may be brought into the USA.
The
Earducator device was originally
developed by Rosalie Seymour,
SLP/A who engaged the services of a gifted electronics
engineer for it's further development and manufacturing. By August
1998, the Earducator was released for use throughout
the world for Berard
AIT and was given Dr.
Berard's approval and endorsement. It was well
received at the first International Association of Berard
Practitioners conference in Antwerp, 2000.
DAA Digital Auditory
Aerobics
Image Copyright ©2006 AIT Institute
 The American manufactured device known as the
DAA Digital Auditory Aerobics
(photo on left) is also currently used for Auditory
Integration Training.
Both the Earducator and
DAA Digital Auditory Aerobics
devices can be purchased by trained Berard
Practitioners upon successful completion of Berard
AIT Professional Training.
DAA Photo copyright AIT Institute.
Qualified Professionals
who are interested in becoming a certified Berard
AIT Practitioner may be trained through referrals from the AIT
Institute by a certified Berard
AIT Professional Trainer and then purchase a device for Auditory Integration
Training.
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