THOMATIS THERAPY
The Tomatis method represents a system for educating the process of listening through neurosensory auditory stimulation, enabling the capture, decoding, recording, and transmission of information to and from various brain structures involved in motor function, memory, attention, and emotion. The TOMATIS method is a system for teaching the listening process, created and developed by the French doctor Alfred Tomatis, an ENT physician, and surgeon. He initiated his research to improve the musical skills of singers and correct their ability to listen. Dr. Alfred Tomatis noticed that, along with listening, the voice was also corrected. He revolutionized the therapy of developmental disorders by creating a device called the “electronic ear.” The treatment administered by the “electronic ear” is called the Tomatis method.
The Tomatis Effect
The operating principle is based on the Tomatis Effect, given by the contrast that determines the random contraction and relaxation of the inner ear muscles. This contrast is created by the sudden transition from low frequencies to high frequencies. The equipment used is a special device that stimulates the auditory processing system and regulates bone conduction and air conduction (because we do not hear only with our ears but also with our bones; acoustic signal processing problems occur when the two conductions are not correctly correlated).
The Tomatis method stimulates the two most important sensory processing systems of the human being, the vestibular and cochlear systems. Dr. Tomatis viewed them as one system, not as two separate ones, even though their functions are different. The cochlear system is responsible for hearing, bringing energy to the brain, processing speech, and analyzing music. The vestibular system is the main organizer and the most important of all sensory systems, responsible for body balance, body image, muscle tone, modulating body movements, including the eyes. This system develops bilateral integration skills, motor development (fine and gross), and planning a sequence of movements. The cochlea and the vestibule are interconnected at the brain level and combine auditory and motor function into a single function, that of listening. One affects the other functionally and intercorrelated.
Benefits of the Tomatis
The results obtained through Tomatis Therapy target complex dimensions, especially noticed by clients with language, emotional, memory, and attention difficulties. These improvements and changes manifest both during the audition program, in the breaks between work sessions, and after the end of the therapeutic program. Those who followed the Tomatis Therapy program mention the beneficial effects brought by the audition sessions on the following dimensions:
- The power of concentration
- Learning capacity
- The ability to understand
- The ability to communicate
- Improving attention
- The ability to write
- Oral and written expression
- Voice quality – spoken and sung
- Balance, coordination
- Improving behavior – calmer, more open
- Increasing the degree of independence
- Increasing confidence in one’s own powers
- Punctuality
TOMATIS THERAPEUTIC PROGRAM
The Tomatis Therapy program consists of three sessions, each comprising 13 consecutive sessions (one session per day), followed by a break of 4-6 weeks.
Each session lasts for two hours. Between the first and second working sessions, a break of 4-6 weeks is required, and between the second and third working sessions, a break of 8-12 weeks is necessary. During the prescribed breaks, it is recommended to use the Forbrain or Toobaloo equipment for 10 minutes per day.
The 13 sessions of Tomatis Therapy ideally take place over 13 consecutive days (without a break).
The standard duration of a Tomatis Therapy program is 39 working days with TalksUP.
For children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Attention Deficit, a minimum of 5 working sessions, each comprising 13 consecutive sessions, is required.
Principles of Dr. Tomatis' research
- The voice contains only the sounds that the ear hears.
- If the listening process is modified, the voice is, unconsciously and immediately, modified.
- It is possible for phonation to transform permanently when auditory stimulation is maintained for a long period (the law of remanence).
There is no age limit to influence the improvements obtained by the Tomatis method. Experience shows that, in the vast majority of cases, good results are obtained by people of all ages: children, teenagers, adults, elderly.
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