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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:
Detox My Child
Homeopathy for
Special Needs Children (HSNC)
Homeopathy for Women
SPD Sensory
Processing Disorder Resource Groups
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Sound Hypersensitivity (Hyperacute
Hearing) and Auditory Integration
Training (Berard AIT)
When
Berard or AIT Practitioners review
the Parent AIT Checklist or do an assessment,
they discuss signs of hyperacute
and distorted hearing with parents and
AIT participants.
They find out if these things have ever been an issue
in a person’s life.
A
child may no longer cover the ears, wince or run from sound. But this
doesn't mean that hearing is optimal and undistorted. A child or adult
may pass a hearing test or screening. This doesn’t mean that hearing is
without distortion.
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The ears and the
brain develop a protective mechanism over time in response to pain and
sensory overload. This helps children escape ongoing discomfort.
It’s a blessing that body is capable of such protective mechanisms.
These adaptations help children to cope, but important elements of listening
and learning are still not what they could be.
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Children learn
to tune out and to block sound. This help comes from the ear
as well as through compensatory adjustments further into the system,
and involves the brain’s neural pathways as well.
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The stapedius muscle
of the ear is responsible for the acoustic reflex. This reflex
functions constantly and protects the system from bombardment of sound.
Often-times the stapedius muscle itself is weak or too rigid – much
like other muscles of the body. The condition of this muscle can also
impact the reflex over time. The neural messages to the brain are also
influenced.
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Imbalances in the
function of the acoustic reflex can even create conditions of hypo sensitivity
- the reflex may cause some sounds to be barely heard, if at all, in
the presence of other sounds. The
muscles of the ear and the auditory nerve fibers and the brain often
do not work at their best.
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A child who has
ever had any type of auditory issues likely has many types of issues,
including:
- difficulties with filtering
sound
- distractedness
- having difficulty with
spoken directions
- restlessness and impulsivity
- behavior problems
- "melt downs"
- lethargy
- difficulties with speech
- trouble in school or
social settings
- learning disabilities
Berard
AIT is a sound therapy that allows an auditory system to have greater normalcy
and function, starting by a re-training of the stapedius muscle.
Benefits extend to all nerve fibers, to the vestibular system, and to
the brain. Blood flow is increased. The brain reorganizes as the ear function
is normalized. This brings the auditory system to greater efficiency.
The person feels better and has improved auditory function and reduced
sensory overload.
Given all we know is our own
hearing, we don’t usually say, or expect children to say, "I
have hyper/hypo-sensitivity, distorted and inefficient hearing.”
Adults assessed for Berard Auditory Integration
Training candidacy often tell us, “But I just thought this was
normal.” These middle-ear-to-brain
changes can positively impacted one's sense of well-being, attention,
and listening skills. It’s easy to see how Berard
AIT can help so many others who are known to have hyper sensitivity
or other auditory issues. Time may bring adaptation, but even the body’s
miraculous compensatory adjustments are not a solution.
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