Alfred Tomatis was born in France in 1920. The childhood spent behind the curtains of the opera house where his father sang, apparently, became the reason for his interest in hearing impairments. Subsequently, he became a well-known phoniatrist and otolaryngologist and already at the age of thirty offered his vision of this problem. The Tomatis technique, named after its creator, requires more detailed consideration.
How is human hearing arranged?
In his opinion, the ear (hearing organ) should be perceived as a generator, the excitation of which turns out to be sound vibrations coming from the external environment. Even then, no one could think about how Tomatis would become an author of how valuable a technique. Therapy (what it is, the whole world soon learned), according to his research, was not like anything else.
This generator, in turn, transfers energy to the brain, and through it to the whole body. Subsequently, Tomatis collected evidence in favor of the fact that a person whose ear has lost the ability to perceive high frequency sounds (above 7-8 kHz) or did not have it due to any pathologies, begins to perceive reality differently.
The changes that have taken place entail degradation and provoke a decrease in energy. In other words, a qualitative change in the signals entering the body from outside through hearing affects the well-being and functioning of the organs of the body. They do not pass without a trace for both the consciousness and the subconscious of a person.
Restore ability to hear and listen
In the course of research conducted in the second half of the 20th century, Tomatis concluded that lost function can be restored. The following facts indicated this: the inner ear is able to regenerate, and the auditory centers of the cerebral hemispheres are sufficiently malleable for this. Another result was evidence that the ability of the hearing organ obtained at birth can be “improved” qualitatively.
The ability to restore hearing by correcting certain functions was patented as the Tomatis method or ACE (audio psycho-phonology), now widely known and very popular all over the world. This technique has been tested and approved by the scientific and medical communities of different countries. Alfred Tomatis himself helped more than one hundred thousand patients (for example, Gerard Depardieu made him forget about stuttering).
ACE for children with disabilities
Currently, this Tomatis method is known worldwide. On all continents there are centers where it is used. The people working there specialize in many fields of science, medicine, education, and art. Each of the professionals is aware of the importance of passing a specialized technique. Tomatis is a therapy (what it is, it is clear from the above), which is addressed to thousands of people around the world.
Audio-psycho-phonology has helped a huge number of children with hearing problems, speech disorders, lack of concentration, autism, motor and motor disorders. Depression also lends itself to this method. It helps in learning languages, increasing efficiency, reducing difficulties in communication, and raises creativity to a new level.
The essence of the Tomatis method is to distinguish between the concepts of “listening” and “hearing”. The famous doctor called hearing a passive process. Hearing is a process that uses ears 100%.
Before starting treatment
Before embarking on a course of treatment, a child or an adult needs to take a test and get qualified ACE consultation from specialists of the center. Testing is of great importance in the further scheme of the application of the method, because with its help you can learn about the individual capabilities of a person, identify weaknesses and strengths of the functionality of the hearing organs.
Since listening is a process whose normal course can only be revealed indirectly, you need to know about the list of control skills. They allow us to assess the level of listening ability in children and adults. It is not customary to distinguish such signs by degree of difficulty, however, they may clearly indicate a lack of development of the ability to listen.
Principles of action: how does it work?
The course of therapeutic studies according to the Tomatis method is carried out using violin works written by the Austrian composer - the great Mozart. Special arrangements allow you to create obvious contrasts in the music, accompanied by sudden absolutely unpredictable changes in timbre and sound volume, which is a real shock for the brain. The process helps trigger natural mechanisms of attention.
Such audio training is sensory stimulation, which is much easier to achieve through headphones. With the help of this headset, the transmission of sound vibrations and vibrations is much more efficient due to air and bone conduction. Music, acting on the malleus, stapes and muscles, provokes the motor activity of the cochlea and vestibular membrane. During the supply of sound vibration, an electrical impulse occurs, due to which brain activity lends itself to additional stimulation. Simply put, the ear filters music in a certain way, making the auditory system work better.
If the child acts as a patient, then the therapy session looks something like this: the baby is put on wireless headphones for a couple of hours (which will allow him to do whatever he wants throughout the audio training: play, run, draw, etc.), in which a special melody sounds Mozart in the right way.
What is Alfred Tomatis therapy for?
Children with excellent hearing may not hear a lot of basic things, not be able to concentrate on something, learn poorly, and read with difficulty. The reason for all this is one: inability to listen. Today, any school psychologist knows about the effectiveness of the Tomatis methodology and recommends the passage of appropriate therapy to just such children.
A person who knows how to listen correctly perceives information adequately, filtering out unnecessary. Violation of the listening process and leads to problems in learning and deformation of social skills.
Tomatis realized the need to teach his patients the listening process, which could restore the ability to perceive information and filter out the excess.
The course of Tomatis as a method has a goal, which is to improve the brain's ability to receive and process information. The restoration and development of this function gives stunning results.
Tomatis method use vector
This technique is also called listening pedagogy. It is designed to develop certain abilities and helps get rid of some symptoms. ACE treats:
- hearing problems;
- speech disorders;
- impaired concentration of attention;
- autism;
- motor and motor disorders.
Being a developing technique, this method:
- qualitatively improves creativity;
- helps to make a leap in the development of the child;
- works with ear for music and singing abilities;
- Helps increase learning ability in patients of all ages.
- contributes to painless social adaptation;
- increases the ability of the brain for long-term perception;
- affects the development of concentration;
- improves memory.
In addition, speedy shifts to quickly memorizing the features of a foreign language and even getting rid of the accent were repeatedly noticed.
Indications for ACE therapy
Problems of delayed development of speech, its frustration, mispronunciation and stuttering are the main causes of concern that arise in parents and speech therapists, speech pathologists. It is for their elimination that the Tomatis method is actively working. In addition, such therapy helps children with autism and anxiety. Most importantly, the mechanisms of influence according to the Tomatis system will help the child avoid the difficulties justified by the incorrect imbalance of the vestibular and auditory systems.
In addition to auditory and speech abnormalities in children, the technique can also help adults. The Tomatis method is in demand in the treatment of neurosis, distress and depression in people of all ages, in the process of improving working capacity and increasing creativity, as a prevention of emotional burnout and fatigue.
Working with hearing can help a person achieve the most unexpected and pleasant changes in life: career growth, a return to taste for life, immunity to stress, and the ability to be realized creatively.
Canadian experiment and only positive reviews
Numerous studies have confirmed and continue to confirm the effectiveness of the method. It is difficult to overestimate its importance in eliminating behavioral problems, as well as increasing the ability to learn. More than 400 young children and adolescents in the Canadian Tomatis Center (Toronto) were exposed to auditory therapy. The results of subsequent testing were more than good. The overwhelming majority of parents recognized that the improvement in their children's condition was clearly pronounced, and they considered it to be nothing more than the method that Tomatis invented. Reviews that note positive changes, once again prove the high efficiency and effectiveness of therapy. The performance in the table below is impressive.
Achievement | The percentage of subjects |
The level of sociability has increased | at 89% the respondents |
Increased concentration | at 86% |
Disorders decreased | 80% |
Improved reading comprehension | at 85% |
Speech quality improved | 84% |
Memory improved | at 73% |
Enhanced spelling ability | 69% |
Six months later, 83% of the respondents managed to maintain and even develop the acquired qualities, 14% retained part of the acquired skills, and only 3% of them lost what they achieved.
For several years, the French government allocated funds for the implementation of programs using the Tomatis method in some schools. These programs involved students with the greatest learning disabilities. It should be noted that the lack of conditions in these educational institutions suitable for the implementation and conduct of such studies did not affect their outcome. Each school psychologist, as well as parents and teachers recorded a positive trend in the development of children and talked about the usefulness of such events.
Experiment in South Africa
In 1983, the Tomatis method (in order to determine its effect) was tested on thirty patients 4-14 years of age from one of the South African rehabilitation centers, which were noticeably retarded, but were able to walk and sit. The study conducted serious experiments. Children were divided into three groups:
- A-group. Participants were exposed to audio-psycho-phonology (Tomatis method) and sensory pathogens.
- B-group. Participants underwent musical stimulation (there was no ACE effect) and sensory pathogens.
- C group. The participants were not exposed to any impact.
Later it was noted that in the A and B groups, the participants in the experiment had increased mental abilities, but in the A group the effect was more significant than among the participants from the B group. In children from the C-group, no changes were detected.
Moreover, in children exposed to the Tomatis method, the number of spontaneous answers decreased, their speech became more conscious.
Where and how is ACE applied in Russia?
Over the past few years, a number of medical institutions in Russia with highly specialized specialties have replenished the arsenal of effective therapeutic methods with world-famous developments by Alfred Tomatis. His research at a high level can be confirmed by a few institutions. In particular, the Tomatis method in Moscow is practiced by one of the unique medical centers (by the way, having the corresponding name - Tomatis-Moscow). People of all ages who have both congenital and acquired disorders of the physical and mental state are treated and rehabilitated in it. Methods of exposure to patients allow you to examine the affected areas of the brain and restore lost functions.
Only highly qualified specialists of the center work with patients. All of them passed a certain refresher course, which is noted in official certificates.
Why is it necessary to choose a Tomatis technique?
The use of ACE is affordable and simple. The method is completely painless and is based on listening to certain sound compositions (including music). No electronic devices (computer, telephone, ordinary player, etc.) can be used according to the Tomatis method. The center provides classes only with special headphones equipped with an additional device.
They work with certain frequencies, affecting the muscles of the inner ear. Instruments for listening to ACE compositions are produced by only a few enterprises in the world.
The choice of compositions for listening and a number of frequencies for exposure are purely individual. This can only be decided by a specialist working with the patient. Each person who comes to the center undergoes a thorough examination and passes a psychological and pedagogical test. After that, the development of compositions for corrective work begins. The program can be used both in the center (under the supervision of a specialist) and at home using the Tomatis method. Reviews of patients with partial self-medication note the affordable opportunity to manage personal time and no less pronounced positive results.
Correction of mental disorders and related deviations is very painstaking. These ailments are not amenable to instant correction. Duration and individual approach can achieve a shift in the treatment of any disease. The Tomatis method takes pride of place in the gallery of techniques aimed at solving problems related to brain disorders.