Why Auditory Integration Training (Berard AIT) Requires
Repetition to be Successful
Parents often
ask, “Why are 10 hours required and why must it be so intense?”
The answer actually lies within the brain.
Families and individuals seek Auditory
Integration Training (Berard AIT) in hopes of creating some changes
in the skills and abilities of the listener.
For example, there
may be a short attention span, poor auditory discrimination skills, or
improvement needed in the ability to follow directions. These are all
very desirable outcomes, but the Auditory
Integration Training schedule is so rigorously intense that some parents
find it difficult to accommodate into their lives. Listeners
must complete 10 hours (a total of 1 hour per day) of listening to specially
processed music within a 12-day period, and the music is carefully selected
so it will provide the appropriate type of stimulation. Parents often
ask, “why are 10 hours required and why must it be so intense?”
The answer actually lies within the brain.
Brain plasticity is the mechanism that allows
the brain to be molded or changed.
Plasticity is an amazing feature with great power. However,
there must be certain controls over it, otherwise, the brain would be
constantly subjected to changes that may be beneficial at times, or possibly
detrimental at other times. When one area of the brain (cortical map)
grows, another area or map often shrinks, due to competition for neurons
and synaptic space. To protect against whimsical changes within the brain,
three prerequisites must be met.
The brain will respond with change when these
three conditions occur: attention, repetition and intense exposure.
In other words, the individual needs to attend to a specific experience,
the experience must be repetitious, and the exposure must be intense.
Dr. Berard’s method
of Auditory Integration Training
meets these parameters, which may be an underlying reason why it has been
so successful for so many years.
It is for these reasons that Auditory
Integration Training cannot be approached casually. The brain
typically does not respond with significant, permanent change to casual
exposures. A definitive effort must be made to “convince”
the brain that it is the individual’s intention to create a change.
This article was reprinted
by written permission from
Sally Brockett, M.S, Berard AIT Practitioner
and Berard AIT Professional Instructor.
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