Listening, Learning & Loving It

A Program of Integrative Listening for Young Children and their Families

Fifty years of careful observation and research led Alfred Tomatis to a method of training listening which today leads a growing field of auditory training.  He recognized the importance of sensory integration decades before research validated his understanding, that learning depends on receiving manageable levels of sensory information and requires that our senses work together. 

Long before the emergence of Infant Mental Health as a discipline, Tomatis realized that events surrounding birth influence our development throughout life.  In his eagerness to restore listening and other abilities, he began to help his clients discover themselves.   He was far ahead of his time in observing that science and spirit ultimately arrive at the same point and music is an excellent vehicle for getting there.

Each student of Dr. Tomatis’ work brings something different into training and, like our listening clients, we come away from the experience strengthened in a way that is unique to us. Extensive experience with infants and young children informs us that when development first goes off course, it is hard to diagnose but easy to fix.  Later on, when diagnosis is easy, problems become harder to fix.  While core programs tend to be 60 hours, two per day, spread over several months, younger problems resolve more quickly.  Thus, to Dr. Tomatis’ belief in the ear as the center of integration, learning and communication, we add an observation based on our deep understanding of how early experience shapes us:

the EARlier the intervention, the better the outcome. 

At Listening, Learning & Loving It, intervention is light-hearted, playful and restorative. Child focused relationship building is combined with the special way that Tomatis modified the music of Mozart and Gregorian Chant and blended with the understanding that focus follows fascination and children learn where their hearts lead.  While listening programs effect each child differently, we see many gains in language and flexibility.  Children often learn more readily, approach life with a more positive attitude, and grow in their ability to relate to others and tackle challenges.

TOMATIS

 STILL THE STANDARD OF AUDITORY TRAINING METHODS