Pediatric Auditory Stimulation, Sound Therapy, Music Games for Kids, Auditory Stimulation

Auditory Stimulation and Sensory Processing Disorder

When a child is born, the intrinsic senses of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling galvanize that child’s curiosity, energizing the young mind to explore and reveal the immediate environment. But for many special needs children, one or several of these natural senses may be delayed or not functioning correctly.

Because the sense of hearing sound is considered to be a major motivating force for an infant’s growth and development by helping young ones to form connections to places and people in their world, the inability to comprehend and react to sound because of auditory sensory processing issues can dramatically and negatively impact a child’s healthy development.

Research from the American Journal of Occupational Therapy estimates that at least one in twenty children are affected to some degree by sensory processing disorder (SPD). The characteristics of this disorder can vary widely. Many children with SPD demonstrate an exaggerated response to sensation, unable to stand any physical contact, clothing, sound, light or other sensory input. Other youngsters with this disorder may be under-stimulated, demonstrating little or no reaction to any stimulation, even with things that should normally cause a pain response. Finally, there are children with SPD that exhibit an extreme appetite for any and all sensation that is never satisfied, they are in “perpetual overdrive”, as the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation so succinctly states.

Auditory stimulation therapies are often successfully used to stimulate and promote healthy and balanced sensory processing in children with SPD, on the autism spectrum and anyone else experiencing challenges and difficulties with sensory organization and processing. Specially designed toys and other devices are usually incorporated into pediatric auditory stimulation therapy strategies. Offering both fun and function, auditory sensory products assist children with these disorders to develop crucial sensory motor skills, stimulate the senses, encourage sensory exploration and facilitate healthy sensory integration.

Sensory toys, games, devices and activities provide the specialized sensory input necessary to better overcome these imbalances that children with SPD and other developmental disorders experience. Auditory sensory products are specifically designed to capture the attention of these special needs children, making the right auditory toy a powerful reward/reinforcer in applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy programs.

Whether a child with SPD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or other developmental challenges is under-responsive, over-responsive or a “sensory seeker”, there are a number of different auditory sensory products available to address and correct these sensory imbalances. The feedback that these auditory products give to children helps them to calm themselves more quickly, focus attention and reduce hyperactivity.

Because many children on the autism spectrum or children with SPD are sensory seekers, needing more intense sensory experiences with sound, pressure, touch, texture, smell, speed and balance, the auditory stimulation chosen needs to be higher. If a child is already over-stimulated, then more calming and relaxing auditory sensory toys would be in order, especially those that come with on/off switches that can be manipulated by the parent, therapist or caregiver.

Auditory Stimulation, Sound Therapy and Language

The field of auditory stimulation is also inclusive of specific sound therapies to enhance learning, and to develop or recover language skills. Not only is auditory stimulation helpful for sensory processing disorders, but it can also help children who experience hearing impairments, visual impairments, learning disabilities and speech development disorders.

Auditory toys and devices can help children with these challenges to enhance their abilities to properly integrate sounds, make word associations, mimic rhythms and to build their phonemic skills. They help special needs children to establish and reinforce basic social communication skills, while they also increase abilities to process and identify sounds. Some auditory toys highlight the relation to sound through visual stimulation with colors or pictures, while others allow the child to manipulate the sounds using body movements or gestures.

Often utilized for the development, comprehension and production of language skills, auditory stimulation therapies help children to focus on the sounds and frequencies imperative to accurately interpret speech. Auditory toys used for this purpose generally combine music and language phonemes to train the brain to tune out unnecessary sounds like background noise.

Specific sound therapies are also used for other health applications, such as the improvement of auditory processing and hearing, and the reduction of stress, fatigue, insomnia and tinnitus.

Auditory Stimulation, Music Therapy and Learning

Whether it’s classical or hard rock, music affects us all in various ways. Yet on its most fundamental level, music is simply organized sound. There is much research to support the changes that occur in brain organization and function with the acquisition of musical skills. But even just listening to the right kinds of music can strengthen and increase the interconnections of both hemispheres of the brain.

This is important to understand, as we know that language is processed primarily in the left hemisphere of the brain, while music is processed in the right hemisphere. When language, sound and music are combined in certain kinds of auditory stimulation therapies, neurological activity in both brain hemispheres is greatly increased.

Baroque music, and other types of music that feature a Largo tempo has been demonstrated to be the best music to play while engaging in therapy, study or training as it shares the same beats per minute as the alpha brain wave state. Because the alpha state is known to the most alert and receptive state of mind we can experience, it is the best state for learning. Waltz beats are another beneficial form of music that enhances energy, clarity and consciousness. While most classical music arrangements using only stringed instruments can boost healthy brain power, it is best to avoid choirs, vocals and instruments that stand out too much, as that kind of music can be more distracting.

Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Co-Founder & CEO

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