Auditory training has become a very important and effective tool for improving the listening skills. This type of training therapy is used for the people especially kids who are suffering from Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). It is true that these kids have normal hearing power but they are unable to understand effectively the words of other people including their parents and teachers.
This type of training is used for autistic children and those suffering from Asperger’s syndrome. In fact, therapists have confirmed that auditory training can help kids with concentrating issues and the ones with non-verbal learning disability. Auditory training has also proved to be very helpful for the people with hearing loss.
About Auditory Training Therapy
Auditory training therapy is better termed as a therapy to train the brain. The most popularly known auditory training programs are fast for Word and Berard Auditory Integration Training (AIT). Fast for Word is actually a software program that helps kids in learning to think and hear effectively what other people say. With the help of memory games and other brain exercises, listening accuracy of such children is improved.
In USA, this therapy has been in use since the year 1991. According to the reports of the doctors, auditory processing issues mainly originates from the person’s under-sensitivity or over-sensitivity to sounds. This issue poses to be a problem while the child is in his/her learning stage.
On the other hand, when it comes to auditory training for adults aged 50-74, it becomes more focused. Here, the adults are given training through laptops. The results are calculated by using speech perception test and self-reported hearing. The therapists hold focus groups in order to investigate the experiences of different participants and their improvement.
Dos and Don’ts during Auditory Training Sessions
- Do not let kids to perform any activities that demand motor skills, such as drawing, coloring, etc.
- Do not let kids to play games with high level thinking.
- Do not give any kind of stress related to school or other activity to the kids at least ten days before the training session.
- Do not let your child sleep during the session else, he/she will miss out everything.
- Parents can comfort the child with a back, arm or hand massage.
- Parents must encourage kids to sit quietly and listen to what is being said during the session.
Cases in which Auditory Training is Discontinued
Whether it is a kid or an adult, a proper ear check-up must be conducted in all cases before continuing with the auditory training. In case, the participant has a kind of ear infection or a perforated eardrum then the session must be stopped. The infection must be treated at the soonest and only after a month of its treatment, the session should begin again. In addition to this, the therapists cease the training session if ear tube is loose but continue the same after the temporary ear tubes are removed. Thus, if you face any of the issues, please do not take the auditory training sessions. Continue it after the treatment has been done.
The bottom line
Without a doubt, auditory training sessions can go out of your budget. Further, it is very time consuming too. The participant needs to attend the session whenever he/she is asked to and complete it without any disruptions. The best part is that there is hardly any harm in attending auditory training sessions. You can try few sessions for your kid and continue it only after you witness any improvements in him. Moreover, it is better to first compare the prices and number of sessions of different therapists and then finalize any one.
