These are the comments of an adult who has just completed 50 hours of listening using Level One with bone conduction.

"I came to TLP having completed a course of Tomatis Listening Therapy at the Listening Centre in London. I had found that the significant improvements that the Tomatis had given me seemed to be wearing off so I was looking for something which might be able to offer a more long term solution. In terms of my life TLP is also far more practical as it can be done at home and at a time that suits you. TLP is supposedly more gentle than Tomatis as you only listen for half an hour a day as opposed to two hours but as the listening takes place over a much longer time period I actually found that TLP has taken me far beyond the point I had reached with Tomatis.

As a musician the ability to listen is absolutely vital and impacts on so many more aspects of playing an instrument than you might at first believe. Doing TLP has improved my sound and rhythm, as well as my aural memory, posture and ensemble playing. However, it has also had an impact on many other areas of my life - my general confidence and self esteem have improved dramatically as has my ability to interact socially. Many of the changes are very subtle and I would say that it often improves things you didn't know needed improving!

Using TLP with the help of a provider has enabled me to personalize my listening according to any problems that have come up. Alan Heath has been excellent in answering my questions, helping me to make sense of it all and giving me suggestions for further reading. As I understand it, TLP works by retraining all aspects of listening both externally and internally so it would seem logical that the best results will come from regular listening and I hope that I will be able to keep enjoying the benefits for years to come.

I would add though that TLP is quite a commitment. To listen for half an hour a day 5 days a week can be a lot harder than you might think if you are busy person. Also in order for these changes to occur the body can sometimes react emotionally and at times I felt quite dreadful as a result of TLP! This is where the regular contact with your Provider is vital as they can assess whether you need to change your programme or not. However, I began to see that emotional upheaval was an indication that change was on its way and it was always worth it. There is no such thing as a magic wand but in some ways TLP can almost seem like one as you experience improvements in areas you have struggled with for years without seemingly having done anything at all!"

Functionally, she appeared to have a progressive loss of hearing over a period of two years, until eventually she functioned as a deaf person. She used lip reading to communicate; used closed captioning on her TV; and had note-takers for her classes. After one round of TLP, this was her report:

"I am home now, graduated from college. I was on the 7th CD and hearing more and more of it, when I started hearing other sounds that were not on the CD. At first it was maybe only one thing every couple of days (a horn beeping, a bird, etc...) They seemed to be higher frequency sounds not surrounded by other sounds. I mean that aside from that sounds everything else was quiet. Then one night I came into the room and was humming something.

My boyfriend asked me what I was humming and I said, I don't know it was just a tune I had in my head. He said that it was the song that had just been on the radio a minute ago and he had just turned it off. So he turned it back on and made me stand there and listen. At first I did not hear anything but he said to just hum a tune. So I did and soon I was humming the melody of the song on the radio note for note! It was amazing. We stayed up until about 5 AM listening to the radio and CDs.

Matt (my boyfriend) would sometimes tell me what instruments were playing or whether it was a male or female voice at the time. Then on the next song he would not tell me but ask me to try to decide what I was hearing. And soon I could pick out if it was a male or female voice and even some of the instruments. That whole night I started hearing all sorts of things...the water when I was pouring a drink, crinkling of a candy wrapper, a knock at the door and people's voices. I still could not understand what people were saying, but was hearing everything. I continued doing The Listening Program and was finishing CD 8 last week. During the couple weeks since I have been home, my processing seems to have gotten better and better. And just this last week I have been able to understand people when they speak and even talk on the phone some. I practiced a lot with Matt until I felt that I was able to understand enough to talk to other people. Now I can answer the phone and talk to whoever it is. It is amazing. The more I do it the better I am getting. I can also usually hear everything on the TV too, unless someone is speaking and there are a lot of other sounds too (a crowd, music, traffic). Background noise still seems to be a bit of a problem, but not at all like it used to be. It is sort of like my hearing came back in the same progression that it left. I was in church yesterday and could carry on a conversation with my friend with no problem, despite all the other people talking and the music in the background. I have not been able to do that for like 4 or 5 years, even before I started having so much hearing trouble. I am amazed. The Listening Program really worked for me. I am so happy to be hearing and understanding again. I have two interviews this week. I cannot say enough how much easier the process is and how many more employment opportunities are open to me now that I can hear again. Thanks so much."

Lori Riggs, M.A., CCC/SLP
National Association for Child Development

"Some feedback on my response to the program - to be brief, I'm addicted.

Your prediction of some adjustment symptoms was correct - for a couple of days I had a weird tension feeling in my head after listening - a headachy sort of thing, but great tension. That soon passed and I realised that my adjustment symptoms (!!!! hope they last forever) were a much improved energy flow, clearer thinking, easier, more prolonged access to my core optimistic Self.

I'm thrilled with the program thus far - still have a long way to go. To sum up my response to the listening - it's like giving my brain a good, strong, clean sweep every morning and night. To extend the sweeping metaphor, listening to the music acts like a broom in my brain; in the morning listening prepares my brain bright and fresh for the day, and tidies up all the leftovers of the day at night (pls excuse the incorrect grammar).

Thanks for introducing me to TLP. Am looking forward to what lies ahead."

"H" Female
Age - 50
Australia

To Whom It May Concern:

My son Brandon Stewart is now 9 years old and in the 3rd Grade. Brandon has always struggled with school and with his fine motor skills.

Brandon went to Meadowbrook Educational Services and Renee recommended The Listening Program for Brandon. We had Brandon do The Listening Program twice before he went through the Meadowbrook Educational Program that Renee had suggested for Brandon. Brandon loved doing The Listening Program and often asks to listen to it, while doing his homework.

Brandon enjoys going to Meadowbrook every Monday for Support Group Night. Brandon wishes that he could go to Meadowbrook full time. Renee and Dorothy are wonderful people and teachers. Since the program, Brandon is doing much better in school, and his fine motor skills have improved so much.

Sincerely,
Teresa Stewart, Mother

Dear Mrs. Smith,

Today I would like to share some of the "wonderfilled" experiences my children have encountered since they have completed The Listening Program. Kameron and Kennon, who turned 10 while doing the program, have a very different word usage selection. They can construct a sentence with much more grammatical correctness. All of their schoolwork is done with greater ease so we don't spend as long doing it each night. I have noticed a major difference in their ability to learn spelling words. The time is much less and they seem to write the word correctly later.

Bentley, who is 13, often says he "just feels happier". He is much more settled and focused on his homework projects. Therefore his homework time is less. He had done very well with his grades this quarter. He demonstrates better time usage and is more self-motivated. Life just seems to flow better for him with much less frustration. He has also become a better group participant and built new friendships.

Overall I feel The Listening Program brought a very positive calming effect over our whole household. Everyone in our family listened to the CDs and we also listened to the Sound Health CDs. The children often request the music to be put on while doing their schoolwork. They think they can work faster with the music. These programs have been some of the most positive things we have ever done for our whole family.

Thank you so very much for introducing this truly great gift.

Nita Brist

Jordan, age 5

"Jordan has been diagnosed with Autism and has difficulty with auditory processing. After starting the program the first thing I noticed was that he was using pronouns properly when he has always had trouble with pronoun reversal. After several days I noticed he became more sensitive to feelings and was more affectionate than usual. He seemed to have better sentence structure and his sentences were more detailed. His school teacher also noticed Jordan's attention to detail.

He has usually had a hard time with transition and The Listening Program seemed to ease that transitioning period into a much easier time. Overall, I was very impressed with the program and its influence on Jordan and his learning. I am extremely grateful to Melissa and her kind way with Jordan as she has been a joy in our home. Jordan loved Melissa coming and this non-verbally communicates to me that he liked how The Listening Program made him feel."

Submitted by: Jordan's Mother

Noah, age 4 1/2

"The Listening Program has been an exceptional miracle for Noah who wasn't speaking more than one-word utterances prior to Melissa administering The Listening Program. Eight weeks later, Noah is at age level with his speaking. His speech teacher, Grandmas and friends can't believe how far Noah has come over the summer. We have to give The Listening Program, Melissa and her special gift credit for Noah's success. Noah has had success in other areas since the program as well. He has truly developed socially, gaining many new friends.

His friends enjoy being around him more as his peer interaction skills have greatly been enhanced. He doesn't hit or act out. He verbalizes his needs. He's no longer frustrated. His sense of humor has really taken off; he's a very happy little boy. His brother and sister love being around him - the dogs even notice that he's much kinder to them. His coordination in large motor skills has also really developed. While Noah was on The Listening Program he learned to ride a bike as well as run and kick a soccer ball."

Submitted by: Noah's Mother

"I am writing in regards to The Listening Program. I recently purchased it and used it with my daughter. The program was the basic program, 2- 15 minutes sets per day. Having participated in both the Tomatis and the Berard methods in the past, I must say, this was not only more convenient, but easier overall. My daughter is 22 years old and is mentally disabled with autistic tendencies, she is also non-verbal and has behavior problems due to not having a good form of communication.

I decided to give your program a try, based on a parents' recommendation with your previous program. After completion of our first 8 weeks I must say, I am extremely pleased with the results. My daughter has shown improvements in the following ways: More motivation, more verbal, calmer, more cooperative, more compliant, happier, more interactive, has more patience, she is willing to wait now, where as before the training she was not, and would react negatively. I also want to say, having Lori Riggs as my Provider, available whenever I needed, made this venture less frightening to me as a parent. Knowing that someone was there to help me if problems arouse was very reassuring. Lori was great. She answered all my questions and helped me with any concerns.

I have already recommended your home listening program to other parents and will continue to do so. We are starting on our second 8-week session. My daughter seems to enjoy listening now more than ever.

Thank you ABT for creating a home program. This has certainly made our family's life easier. Also, I need to mention, now that the noise of the vacuum cleaner does not bother my daughter anymore, she is actually starting to help with the vacuuming."

Sincerely,
Lori Scholtes

Dear Readers,

Last February in Tiburon, California, I had the pleasure to receive training to provide The Listening Program. I am a practicing Speech and Language Pathologist and was looking for a new tool for my old bag of tricks to improve auditory processing skills. I started 5 students from my caseload on the program and began to see immediate results in behavior; everything from improved sleep to reduced anxiety, not to mention better receptive language. Professionally, I was excited and motivated to explore the many applications for this program. This past March I attended my 7 year old daughter's spring parent-teacher conference. As a parent and a professional with 15 years devoted to special education, I was aware of my daughter's high energy level. I also recognized her intelligence and have tracked her receptive and expressive language skills since infancy. As she has always scored and functioned above average for her age, I have not worried about her academic performance. Well, this conference took me by surprise! Although, Lauren (my daughter) was showing academic progress during the year her citizenship grades reportedly needed work. She received Satisfactory to Satisfactory-minus marks for the following standards:

• obeys classroom rules
• avoids needless talking
• shows self-control
• listens to and follows directions
• keeps belongings neat and orderly

As if that wasn't enough, this was the narrative written by her teacher:

"Lauren is an extremely bright and capable student who is not able to reach her potential due to her inability to sit still and remain focused on the task at hand. This inability to focus has caused her problems in parent groups and peer relations among her tablemates."

This was followed by the teacher encouraging me to visit our Pediatrician to discuss a treatment program based on medication. At this point in the conference I almost fell out of my "teeny, tiny chair!" My first thought was to react like a mother. A flood of emotions ran through my body and I basically left the conference in a daze. After a cool-down period, my professional side kicked into gear and I had a thought: THE LISTENING PROGRAM!!!!

Medication would be a last resort for me and at the time was not even a consideration. So I plugged her in twice each day for 8 weeks. She did not miss even one session. I was desperate for results and would make no compromises. She was a trooper, and to my surprise actually liked it! What a change... we were heavily into the Backstreet Boys at the time.

I felt we were seeing a calming effect at home, but the true test would be at school. I told her teacher I was starting an intervention program and asked her to fill out the Listening Checklist for Children and Adults. She did this and we were off. A few months later I chaperoned a fieldtrip to a children's museum. I was able to observe my daughter with her classmates listening to an hour long story with explanations of artwork. She appeared to me to be sitting and listening attentively. The teacher walked up to me and said that she had seen a complete turn around in Lauren's classroom behavior (for the better) and asked me if we were using herbal drops. I said, "No, The Listening Program." This would generate further discussion later.

I went home on cloud nine! Wow, we did it!

Two weeks later I received my daughter's final report card in the mail. It read as follows:

• obeys classroom rules OUTSTANDING
• avoids needless talking OUTSTANDING
• shows self-control OUTSTANDING
• listens to and follows directions OUTSTANDING
• keeps belongings neat and orderly OUTSTANDING

Narrative comments: " Lauren has shown tremendous progress in her ability to stay focused and complete her work in a timely manner. Lauren has superb computation skills and has become an effective problem solver. Lauren has excellent peer relations and is a helpful classmate and student."

What can I say? From the bottom of personal and professional heart, thank you Advanced Brain Technologies.

Lisa Krassny, Mother
Speech and Language Pathologist
Believer

In the spring of 2001 a grant was awarded for The Listening Program� (TLP) to be used in the Clearfork Elementary located in Andrews, TX and in the spring of 2002 another grant was awarded to extend this program to the other elementaries within the district. This is an auditory retraining program designed to help with a variety of learning disabilities including, but not limited to, attention disorders, auditory processing disorders, articulation disorders, developmental delays and autism. Some of the Clearfork staff implemented TLP beginning in August 2001 with a total of 55 students participating in TLP. These students ranged from mild learning/attention problems in a regular class to severely affected students in self-contained special ed classes.

Following are some observations by the Clearfork teachers of these students:

"When she comes in late and does not get the listening her grades for the day are significantly lower."

"Without the program she is just flustered and can't get focused and settled."

"The program settles her down and gets her mind targeted to curriculum."

"My students who are usually very active return to class more focused and calm."

"The kids enjoy the program."

"(Student) showed notable improvement in her ability to stay focused and maintain a longer attention span after participating in TLP. She made gainful academic progress during the year." (Student was previously failing.)

"(Student) has definitely benefited!! Her TAAS scores are up, focus and behavior are better."

"Several students who were not talking at all yet have started talking. The attention span on some of my students has dramatically improved as well as their ability to listen in circle time to stories. Articulation has improved on many of my students. Out of my 23 students, 21 greatly benefited from TLP, 1 saw a small benefit, and only 1 saw no benefit."

"TLP has made a huge difference in my student with autism. She is able to sit and listen for 2 sessions and loves it! This has made such a difference in her behavior. TLP is just a small part of her NACD program (National Academy for Child Development) but it is a big part of her life."

"I have tried many, many different programs over the years with my students and I have never seen the anticipated progress with the other programs like I have seen with TLP. This, combined with an entire NACD program, has brought about the most changes in my students in all the 18 years that I have been teaching."

(Quote from parent) "My son has made a 180 degree turn around with this program and now I've requested the program for my daughter at her school. He is talking now!"

We do have to report that TLP has not helped every child. At least 3 out the 55 students saw no change but we feel this program has definitely been worth the time and money invested.

- Clearfork Elementary
Andrews, TX

"My Center has been a provider of The Listening Program since August 2001 and we have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the product, from the provider training, to our personal use of the program, to instructing and delivering the product to our clientele. Some of the results have been astounding. Overall, it has been well received by everyone. We love how parent friendly and professional the packaging and product delivery is. Every student we have started on the program has successfully used it with parents finding it to be a special part in their child's day. It is well organized and takes the guess work out of program planning. The questions, 'Is it too much or not enough?' and 'Where do I begin?' don't come into play."

Laurie Kalb, Director
Pediatric Potentials of West Essex, LLC
Livingston, NJ

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"I am finding The Listening Program useful as an adjunct to Neurofeedback for clients with auditory processing deficits or auditory sensitivity. The Sensory Integration CD is especially helpful with our autistic and developmentally delayed clients. I appreciate the high technical and artistic quality of the sound. And the guidebook provides very complete explanations and directions for use, making supervision easy."

Sue Othmer
EEG Institute
Encino, CA

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"My experience with TLP has been positive on all memberships. My patients, ranging from young children with autism, school-age children with learning disabilities and adults with aphasia following stroke, have made progress that I directly attribute to having TLP as part of the treatment regimen."

Mindy Newhouse, MS, CCC/SLP
Thousand Oaks, CA

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"I have found The Listening Program to be one of the easiest programs to implement both from a clinician point of view and as a parent. The kids often ASK to listen and really enjoy it, especially the nature sound tracks."

Jill Maxwell, Physical Therapist
Maxwell Learning Center Savage, MN

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"As a psychotherapist working with kids and adults with emotional and learning difficulties, I am amazed and delighted with the accelerated progress they make when I incorporate The Listening Program into their treatment. Thanks to TLP I'm seeing brightened affect, anxiety relief, mood stabilization and enhancement, maturity of voice tonality, improved self esteem, fibromyalgia symptom relief, and autistic behavior and communication management and improvement among many other steps toward well being. Thank you ABT from me and my clients!!"

Alice Nixon, MSW, LCSW, BCD
Psychotherapist
Spectrum International Institute
Northbrook, IL

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"I have been using The Listening Program in a multitude of ways in my practice as a pediatric Occupational Therapist. I use the program as an integral "sensory tool" to facilitate an optimal state of arousal which is most conducive to learning new skills. I have also found the TLP assists children with sensory modulation difficulties to self regulate and again achieve appropriate adaptive responses to their environment.

I have recently completed advanced certification in sensory integration and feel that auditory processing is a key to sensorimotor development that has not yet been utilized to its capacity to facilitate function in children. It is felt, within our profession that there is a strong correlation in how all of our senses interpret incoming information and that the auditory and vestibular system are truly interrelated. (The vestibular system is the system that interprets unconscious information in regard to equilibrium, gravity, movement and changes of position in space. The receptors are located in the semicircular canals in the inner ear.) This system along with visual, tactile and proprioceptive are integral systems that OT's tap into to provide a sensory integrative approach to promote motorical development.

TLP is easy to use and pleasurable for those who use it. I have yet to have any adverse reactions, although I am cautious with providing input as I am with all therapeutic interventions.

One of the most dramatic changes I have encountered with the children I use the TLP with is in automatic voice quality changes on some children. Increased spontaneous verbalization, tonal quality improvement (less whiney, high pitched voice) and increase in words used "The bumblebee is on the yellow flower!" are just a few of the changes I have seen with my clients.

I have also noticed a more smooth or automatic sense of movement after using the TLP when prior to the program my clients had significant motor planning difficulties and balance difficulties.

Some of my autistic clients have made great gains in their affect and social skills and being able to function with their peers in a more appropriate way."

Robin Bonsall, OTR
Pediatric OT, Private Practice

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