discovering more about the ear and life through tomatis - iarctc

International Journal of Tomatis Method Research

May 2004 – Volume 1, No. 1©2004 IARCTC. Ricochet is the journal of the IARCTC.

THIS EDITIONResearch ArticleRemarks about Tomatis Method Researchpage 16

The Impact of a CombinedTomatis and Psycho-EducationalProgram on Weight reoccupied,Female South African Studentspage 63

The Role of Auditory Control in the Articulation Processpage 75

Case StudiesThe Tomatis Method: Integrator of Rehabilitation in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case Studypage 23

Case Studies of Children withDyspraxia following Interventionwith a Tomatis Method Programpage 30

Tomatis-Assisted Speech Therapypage 37

Book ReviewsPronunciation and the Adult Learner: Limitations andPossibilities, ed. Ulrike A. Kaunznerpage 80

Japanese Language Bookspage 82

AnnouncementsIARCTC Convention, May 5 – 8, 2005 in Segovia, Spainback cover

Application for Tomatis Method Research Funds pages 84

Discovering More About the Ear and Life Through Tomatis Method Researchsee Retrospective articles page 43

2222 IJTMR May 2004 � Vol. 1 No. 1 © 2004 IARCTC

CONTENTS

EDITOR�S LETTER 3Français 5Deutsch 8Español 11

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 14

REMARKS ABOUT RESEARCHby Susan R. Andrews, Ph.D., RCTC 16Français 19

CASE STUDIESThe Tomatis Method: Integrator of Rehabilitation in a Traumatic Brain Injury Case Study by Michelle Trumps, DC, LOTR, RCTC 23

Case Studies of Children with Dyspraxia following Intervention with a Tomatis Method Program by Françoise Nicoloff, MS, RCTC 30Résumé Français 30

Tomatis-Assisted Speech Therapy by John M. Tatum, MD, RCTC, Jennifer K. Oelfke, MA, CFY-SLP, Caroline P. McCauley, BA, RCTC 37Deutsche Zusammenfassung 37Résumé Français 37Resumen Español 38

RETROSPECTIVETribute from Members of IARCTC to Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis (1920 � 2001)by Billie M. Thompson, Ph.D., RCTC 43Français 44Deutsch 46Español 47

Historical Development of the Tomatis Method 49

Language and Body Image by Alfred A. Tomatis 51

Description of the Tomatis Method, Listening Test, and Electronic Ear by Billie M. Thompson, Ph.D., RCTC 55

ONGOING RESEARCHEffectiveness of the Tomatis Method in Improving Auditory Processing and Pre-Reading Skills in Normal K and First-grade Studentsby Susan A. Andrews, Ph.D., RCTC 59

Year 1 Pilot Study: Use of Tomatis Method with Japanese High School Students Learning English as a Foreign Language by Kuniko Murase, RCTC 60

RESEARCHThe Impact of a Combined Tomatis and Psycho-Educational Program on Wieght Preoccupied, Female South African Students by W. F. Du Plessis, D.Phil.; C. M. Vermeulen, MA; & D. K. Kirsten 63Résumé Français 63Deutsche Zusammenfassung 64Resumen Español 64

The Role of Auditory Control in the Articulation Process by Zdzislaw M. Kurkowski Ph.D., RCTC; Agata Szkielkowska, MD Ph.D.; & Joanna Ratyñska MD 75Deutsche Zusammenfassung 75Résumé Français 75Resumen Español 76

BOOK REVIEWSPronunciation and the Adult Learner: Limitations and Posibilities, ed. Ulrike A. Kaunzner Reviewed by Elizabeth Joiner, Ph.D., RCTC & Craig Callender 80

Reviews of Japanese Language Booksby Kuniko Murase, RCTC 82

IARCTC APPLICATION FOR RESEARCH FUNDS AND/OR EQUIPMENT 84

MEMBERS 85

© 2004 IARCTC IJTMR May 2004 � Vol. 1 No. 1 3333

EDITOR�S LETTER

RicochettmInternational Journal of

Tomatis Method ResearchRicochettm is a trademark of IARCTC.

PublisherAcacia Publishing, Inc.

1366 E. Thomas Rd., Suite 305Phoenix, AZ 85014, USA1-877-265-4553 phone

1-602-274-1598 fax

EditorBillie Thompson, PhD

Editorial BoardSusan Andrews, PhD

Dorinne Davis, MA, CCC-AudValérie Drouot

Professor Wynand Du Plessis Tony Evangelopoulou

Valerie GasElizabeth Joiner, PhD

Maria LundqvistMartha Mack

Françoise Nicoloff, MAJoanna Ratynska, MD

John Tatum, MDBillie Thompson, PhD

Michelle Trumps, DC, LOTR

Ricochet�s MissionTo report Tomatis Method research,case studies, and theory worldwide.

Ricochet�s VisionTo provide a platform for sharingresearch, case studies, and informationabout the Tomatis Method so as tothoroughly investigate how and whythe Tomatis Method works and toenlarge its practical applications. TheJournal also reports on beginningresearch projects and other researchrelated to the emerging field of soundtraining, which began with the TomatisMethod.

Submissions/AdvertisingDr. Billie Thompson1635 E. Seldon LanePhoenix, AZ 85020

Phone: 602-381-0086Fax: 602-870-8353

E-mail: [email protected]

© IARCTC 2004

Dear Readers:

he establishment of a pro-fessional journal is not atask undertaken lightly. In

this case, Ricochet Journal isthe result of the collective effortof members of the InternationalAssociation of Registered Certi-fied Tomatis Consultants(IARCTC) in response to a grow-ing number of requests forresearch results about the Toma-tis Method. Fortunately, at thesame time these requests areincreasing, Ricochet Journal isable to respond by publishingtwo issues each year and specialissues as needed with articlesthat have been peer-reviewed foracceptance.

The articles come from manycountries and are written in avariety of languages, though theywill always have an English trans-lation since the official languageof the IARCTC is English. Thearticles tell about results fromusing the Tomatis Method incontrolled research studies andwell documented case studies.Retrospective and historicalstudies and related theory arealso invited, as are book reviewsand Letters to the Editor.

IARCTC is a non-profit orga-nization incorporated in Luxem-bourg in 2001 and licensed byTomatis Developpement to bethe member association for theworldwide body of CertifiedTomatis Method Consultants(CTC). All CTCs are invited to beRegistered Certified TomatisConsultants (RCTC) by joiningthe IARCTC. A list of the found-ing members who continue to beactive is in this issue of RicochetJournal (page 85). Members’annual fees provide significantsupport for strengthening ourwork as a profession with ethical

guidelines established thoughour Standards of Practice.

The primary responsibility ofthe IARCTC according to itsmembers is research. TheResearch Standing Board wascreated with the responsibilityfor reviewing applications andawarding funds and equipmentfor Tomatis Method research andfor publishing a journal.

Despite the past lack of con-trolled research studies pub-lished about this work in alllanguages, since the 1970s overone hundred papers have beengiven at official conferences ofTomatis Consultants about theeffects of the Tomatis Method onindividuals and groups. Manywere based on results of pre andpost non-normed Tomatis Lis-tening Tests, though some usedpre and post standardized instru-ments in addition or instead.Also occurring during this timewas acceptance by graduatecommittees at universities anddepartments worldwide of thesesand dissertations from studentswho researched some aspect ofthe Tomatis Method.

These reports and studieswhen added to the life long con-tributions of Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis(1920 – 2001) show how know-

T


ledge is gained and expandedthrough the grounded theoryresearch process defined by B. G.Glaser and A. L. Strauss (The Dis-covery of Grounded Theory, 1967).Grounded theory research beginswith asking questions, is followedby designing and implementingqualitative and quantitative datacollection processes to answerthe questions, and eventuallyresults in development of theoryfrom interpretation of these dataand in refinement and creation ofmore questions for research.

In Tomatis’ early research inthe 1940s (with singers who had avoice problem, which was even-tually found to relate to their lis-tening abilities), he had a need tofind a solution when traditionalmedical treatments failed to help.He found a key in an unlikelyplace: comparison of results ofhearing tests of the singerslooked identical to results ofhearing tests of ammunition fac-tory workers who had a hearingloss. He could not ignore thedata. And more importantly,Tomatis wanted to understandwhat was happening with thedata so that he could apply thatknowledge to provide a practicalsolution for the singers. Whatevolved and is documented his-torically by publications, pat-ents, and presentations was atheory, more questions to beanswered, and a machine to trainor retrain the ear and voice usingspecific protocols (page 49).

The patented technology ofthe Electronic Ear is at the heartof the Tomatis Method. Its analogtechnology evolved over fortyyears into a portable digital tech-nology that fits well in thetwenty-first century to provideeven greater opportunities for

expansion of the TomatisMethod. It is with respect thatmembers of IARCTC pay tributeto Dr. Tomatis for his lifelong pur-suit of knowledge and practicalsolutions using technology (page43).

You could read the fifteenbooks written by Tomatis, alwayspublished in French and fre-quently translated into other lan-guages such as English, Spanish,German, Japanese, Italian, andGreek, to follow the evolution oftheory. It extends from the firstobservation that one mustimprove listening to improve thevoice to a wide range of otherobservations and theories relatedto the role that listening plays infetal development, second lan-guage learning, improvingspeech and learning, sensoryintegration, motor control, bal-ance and posture, confidence inself expression, rehabilitation,spiritual growth, and develop-ment of consciousness.

The range of research topicsand applications appropriate tothe Tomatis Method is huge, inlarge part due to the wide-rang-ing impact that listening has onour lives. As a profession we arefaced with the daunting chal-lenge of designing and obtainingfunding for controlled researchstudies for topics of special inter-est and for publishing results ifwe expect to have a significantimpact in the world.

To create direction for thefuture of Tomatis Methodresearch, Dr. Susan Andrews, anexperienced researcher from theUnited States, provides an over-view from her position as Chair ofthe Research Board (page 16). Tomake more research possible, weinclude information about apply-

ing for funding and equipment toconduct Tomatis Method relatedresearch (page 84).

One of the universityresearchers that has publishedresults over the last twenty-fiveyears is from the School of Psy-cho-Social Behavioural Sciences,North-West University (Potchef-stroom Campus) in South Africa.Professor du Plessis and two col-leagues have provided an articlefor this first issue of RicochetJournal about the use of a com-bined Tomatis Method and psy-cho-educational program. Thisprogram concerns weight preoc-cupied, female South African stu-dents (page 63). One mightwonder why the students are sit-ting and listening instead of exer-cising. The study is includedbecause it makes us aware of anumber of situations that mustbe controlled during research.Also, a basis for this applicationexists that was identified by Dr.Tomatis in the chapter “Lan-guage and Body Image” from hisfirst book, L’Oreille et Langage(1963), with the English transla-tion, from The Ear and Language(1996; used with permission).This chapter provides additionalinsights into body awareness andthe Tomatis Method and isreprinted here with permission(page 51).

Also included from The Earand Language is the “Afterword”to explain more about the Toma-tis Method and Listening Test forthose who may be unfamiliarwith the work (page 55).

A series of nearly thirty ear,nose, throat and speech/lan-guage pathology research studieshas been published in journals inPoland. Three of the authors pre-pared an article for this issue of

Editor�s Letter


Ricochet Journal (page 75). Theyrepresent a new group ofresearchers who are contributingto our understanding of theapplication of the TomatisMethod to speech and languagepathology. Also included in thejournal are two speech and lan-guage case studies by Nicolofffrom Australia (page 30) and byTatum, Oelfke and McCauley(page 37) from the United Statesto further information about thisapplication.

Another case study byTrumps from the United States(page 23) shows the use of theTomatis Method over anextended time to achieve resultswith a person who had a severehead injury. This case study dem-onstrates that the TomatisMethod frequently expands thepotential of clients beyond whatothers thought possible.

A language study researchproject undertaken in severaluniversities in European Unioncountries was called the Lingua-Socrates Project. A book reviewwritten about the results isincluded (page 80).

Also related to languagestudy, Murase has providedresearch results from a study inJapan where the Tomatis Methodwas used to teach English to highschool students with excellentresults (page 60). A review of sev-eral books published in Japaneseis also included in this Journal(page 82).

Already you can see thatwork reported in this issue comesfrom five continents: Europe,Africa, Australia, Asia, NorthAmerica. More research applica-tions are being submitted fromRegistered Certified TomatisConsultants worldwide, and we

encourage studies to be submit-ted from outside researchers whowant to study this method.

One research study funded byIARCTC is in process in theUnited States. The study investi-gates the results of using an edu-cational Tomatis Methodprogram with normal kindergar-ten and first grade students toevaluate pre-reading skill devel-opment (page 59). Such a studycould impact the greater use ofthe Tomatis Method for educa-tional applications.

Offshoots of the TomatisMethod have emerged since atleast the 1970s. Others will con-tinue to develop as businessopportunities for sound traininggrow. Ricochet welcomes com-parative studies of other methodswith the Tomatis Method, the lat-ter provided by a Registered Cer-tified Tomatis Consultant. Theexpected growth of the field ofsound training will provide amplematerial for research for years tocome.

We invite submissions ofcompleted research studies, rep-lication studies, comparativestudies, case studies, theorydevelopment, book reviews, andLetters to the Editor for peerreviewed publication. When pos-sible the abstract and the articlewill be published in more thanone language, always in English.We invite Letters to the Editor,and the first ones have arrived(page 14).

I am grateful for the opportu-nity to be the first Editor of Rico-chet Journal and thank themembers of the Editorial Board,all of whom have given gener-ously of their time as peer review-ers, translators, and contributors.Ricochet Journal has come alive

and we are ushering in a new ageof Tomatis Method research!

Dr. Billie M. Thompson, RCTCEditor, Ricochet JournalPresident, IARCTCMay 2004

Traduction FrançaiseChers Lecteurs:

'établissement d'un jour-nal professionnel n'est pasune tâche entreprise à la

légère. Dans le cas présent, leJournal « Ricochet„ est le résultatde l'effort collectif des membresde l'Association Internationalede Consultants Tomatis CertifiésEnregistrés (IARCTC) en réponseà un nombre croissant dedemandes de résultats de recher-che à propos de la Méthode deTomatis. Heureusement, alorsque ces demandes se multiplient,le Journal Ricochet pourra yrépondre en publiant deuxnuméros par an et des éditionsspéciales si nécessaire avec desarticles qui ont été revus par ungroupe de collègues pour appro-bation.

Les articles viennent denombreux pays et sont écrits endifférentes langues, cependantils seront toujours traduits enAnglais puisque c’est la langueofficielle de l’IARCTC. Les articlesrapportent les résultats obtenussuite à l'utilisation de la Méthodede Tomatis et ce à propos derecherches avec groupe de con-trol et d’études de cas bien docu-mentées. Les articles sur lesétudes rétrospectives et his-toriques ainsi que sur la théorieinhérente à la méthode sont lesbienvenus, comme le sont lesrevues de livres et les Lettres à

L

Editor�s Letter


l'Editeur. Dactylographiez votretexte ici.

IARCTC est une association àbut non lucratif incorporée auLuxembourg en 2001 et autoriséepar Tomatis Developpement SApour être l'association des mem-bres à l’échelon mondial desConsultants Certifiés de la Méth-ode de Tomatis (CTC). Tous lesCTC sont invités à être Consult-ants Tomatis Certifiés et Enregis-trés (RCTC) en joignant l’IARCTC. Une liste des membresfondateurs en activité est publiéedans cette édition du Journal Ric-ochet (page 85). Les cotisationsannuelles des membres fournis-sent le support incontestablepour renforcer notre travail entant que profession avec un codede déontologie établi ainsi quenos Normes de Pratique.

Le domaine de la rechercheest la première implication de l’IARCTC au dire de ses membres.Le Comité de Recherche a étécréé avec pour responsabilité depasser en revue les applicationsde projets de recherche ainsi quel’attribution de fonds etd'équipement pour la recherchesur la Méthode Tomatis et la pub-lication d’un journal.

En dépit dans le passé dumanque d'études de rechercheavec groupe de control publiéesde ce travail dans toutes leslangues, depuis les années 70plus de cent papiers ont été don-nés aux conférences officiellesdes consultants Tomatis au sujetdes effets de la méthode de Tom-atis sur des individus et desgroupes. Beaucoup ont été baséssur les résultats pré et post testsobtenus avec le Test d’EcouteTomatis non normalisé, bien quecertains aient aussi utiliséd’autres instruments standard-

isés soit en plus soit pour le rem-placer. De plus, pendant toutecette période, on a vu, à l’échelonmondial, les comités de diplômésaux universités et aux départe-ments accepter ces papiers et lesthèses d’étudiants qui ont fait desrecherches sur certains aspectsde la Méthode Tomatis.

Ces rapports et ces étudessont venus s’ajouter aux contri-butions de la longue vie du Dr.Alfred A. Tomatis (1920 – 2001) etmontrent comment la connais-sance a gagné du terrain et s’estaccrue par la recherche de théo-rie basée sur le terrain définie parB. G. Glaser et A. L. Strauss (TheDiscovery of Grounded Theory [LaDécouverte de la théorie du ter-rain], 1967). La recherche fondéesur la théorie de Glaser et Strausscommence en se posant desquestions, ce qui est suivi par lamise en place et l’application deprocédés de collection de don-nées qualitatives et quantitativespour répondre à ces questions.Ceci a pour résultat de générerl’éventuel développement dunethéorie de l'interprétation de cesdonnées, son raffinement etl’élaboration de nouvelles ques-tions pour la recherche.

Dans ses premières recher-ches dans les années 40, (avec leschanteurs qui avaient unproblème de voix, qui a mis enévidence que c’était en fait relié àleur capacité d’écoute), Tomatis aeu besoin de trouver une solutionpour pallier les traitements médi-caux traditionnels mis en échec.Il a trouvé une clef dans undomaine inattendu: la comparai-son de résultats des tests auditifsdes chanteurs se montrant iden-tiques aux tests auditifs d'ouvri-ers d'usine d’armement quiavaient une perte d'audition.

Tomatis ne pouvait pas négligerces données. De plus, il voulaitabsolument comprendre ce queces données révélaient afin d’éla-borer à partir de cette nouvelleconnaissance, une solution pra-tique pour les chanteurs. Ce quien a résulté et qui est historique-ment documenté par les publica-tions, les brevets, et lesprésentations est une théorie,avec davantage de questions enattente de réponses, et unemachine pour éduquer ou réédu-quer l'oreille et la voix en util-isant des protocoles spécifiques(page 49).

La technologie déposée etl'Oreille Electronique patentéeest au coeur de la Méthode Tom-atis. Sa technologie utilisantl’analogue a évolué au-delà desquarante dernières années enune technologie numérique por-table qui s’adapte bien au vingtet unième siècle. Elle ouvre lesportes à de plus grandes oppor-tunités pour l'expansion de laMéthode Tomatis. C'est avecgrand respect que les membresde l’IARCTC rendent hommageau Dr. Tomatis pour sa quêtesans fin de connaissance et desolutions pratiques utilisant latechnologie (page 43).

Afin de suivre l'évolution dela théorie, vous pouvez lire lesquinze livres écrits par Tomatis,toujours publiés en français etfréquemment traduit dansd’autres langues telles que l’Ang-lais, l’Espagnol, l'Allemand, leJaponais, l'Italien, et le Grec. Elles'étend de la première observa-tion qui est d’améliorer l’écoutepour améliorer la voix à un éven-tail plus large d'autres observa-tions et autres théories liées aurôle de l’écoute dans le dével-oppement foetal, l’apprentissage

Editor�s Letter


d’une deuxième langue, dansl’amélioration du langage et desapprentissages, l'intégration sen-sorielle, le contrôle moteur,l'équilibre et la posture, la confi-ance en soi, la réadaptation, lacroissance spirituelle, et le dével-oppement de la conscience.

L’éventail des sujets derecherche et les applicationsappropriées à la Méthode Toma-tis est immense, en grande raisondu au large impact que l’écoute asur nos vies. En tant que profes-sion, nous sommes confrontés audéfi impressionnant de concevoiret d'obtenir des subventionspour faire des recherches avecgroupe de control dans desdomaines d'intérêt spécifique etd’en publier les résultats si nousvoulons avoir un impact incon-testable dans le monde.

Le Dr. Susan Andrews, unéminent chercheur des Etats-Unis, préside le Comité deRecherches Tomatis, et en donneles grandes lignes (page 16). Pourpermettre davantage de recher-che, nous incluons ici le formu-laire d’application pour faire unedemande de subvention etd'équipement pour diriger unerecherche liée à la Méthode deTomatis (page 84).

Un des chercheurs d'univer-sité qui a publié des résultatspendant les vingt-cinq dernièresannées est un intervenant del'Ecole des Sciences du compor-tement Psychosocial, de l'Univer-sité Nord-ouest (le Campus dePotchefstroom) en Afrique duSud. Le professeur Du Plessis etdeux de ses collègues ont fourniun article pour ce premiernuméro du Journal Ricochet àpropos de l'utilisation de laMéthode de Tomatis associée àun programme psycho éducatif.

Ce programme concerne le souciqu’ont les étudiantes d’Afriquedu sud à propos de leur poids,(page 63). On pourrait d’ailleursse demander pourquoi les étudi-antes restent assises à écouter dela musique au lieu de faire del’exercice. Cette étude est inclusedans ce numéro parce qu'ellepermet de prendre conscienced'un certain nombre de situa-tions qui doivent être contrôléespendant la recherche. Cepen-dant, une base pour cette appli-cation avait déjà été identifiée parle Dr. Tomatis dans le chapitre«langage et image du corps » dansson premier livre, «l'Oreille et LeLangage» (utilisé avec la permis-sion). Ce chapitre fournit despistes de réflexion supplémen-taires sur la conscience du corpset la Méthode Tomatis et estréimprimé ici avec permission(page 51).

De plus la Postface de« l’Oreille et le Langage » estprésentée ici pour expliquerdavantage la Méthode Tomatis etle Test d’Ecoute pour ceux qui nesont pas familiers avec ce travail(page 55).

Une série de près de trenteétudes et recherches dans ledomaine de la pathologie en oto-rhino-laryngologie et les troublesdu langage a été publiée dans desjournaux en Pologne. Trois desauteurs ont préparé un articlepour cette édition du journal Ric-ochet (page 75). Ils représententun nouveau groupe de cher-cheurs qui contribuent àaccroître notre compréhensionde l'application de la MéthodeTomatis dans le domaine de laparole et de la pathologie du lan-gage. Pour plus d’information surl’application de la Méthode Tom-atis dans ce domaine, deux

études de cas sur le langage et lestroubles de la parole sont aussiincluses dans cette édition duJournal, l’une de Nicoloff d’Aus-tralie (page 30) et l’autre deTatum, Oelfke et McCauley desEtats-Unis (page 37).

Une autre étude de cas parTrumps des Etats-Unis (page 23)montre l'utilisation de la Méth-ode Tomatis pendant une longuepériode et l’obtention de résul-tats avec un sujet qui souffrait degraves traumatismes crâniens.Cette étude de cas démontrecomment la Méthode Tomatisaccroît souvent le potentiel desclients au delà de ce que d'autrespensent possible.

Un projet de rechercheentrepris dans plusieurs univer-sités dans les pays de l’UnionEuropéenne pour l’apprentissagedes langues porte le nom de pro-jet Lingua-Socrates. Un com-mentaire écrit au sujet desrésultats de cette recherche estinclus dans ce numéro (page 80).

Toujours dans le domaine del'étude des langues, Murase acommuniqué les résultats d'uneétude réalisée au Japon où laméthode Tomatis a été utiliséepour enseigner l'Anglais auxlycéens avec d'excellents résul-tats (page 60). Une revue de plu-sieurs livres publiés en Japonaisest également incluse dans ceJournal (page 82).

Vous pouvez déjà voir que letravail rapporté dans cettepremière édition du Journal pro-vient des cinq continents :l'Europe, l’Afrique, l’Australie,l’Asie, l’Amérique du Nord.Encore plus d'applications derecherches nous sont soumisesémanant des Consultants Toma-tis Certifiés Enregistrés dumonde entier, et nous encoura-

Editor�s Letter


geons vivement les chercheursextérieurs qui veulent étudiercette méthode à soumettre leursprojets de recherche.Financéepar IARCTC, une recherche estactuellement en cours aux Etats-Unis. Cette recherche vise à étud-ier les résultats de l’utilisation dela Méthode Tomatis dans un pro-gramme éducatif dans une classede jardin d'enfants normale etune première classe de primaireafin d’évaluer le développementdes compétences de préparationà la lecture (page 59). Une telleétude pourrait déboucher surune utilisation plus large de laMéthode Tomatis dans des appli-cations éducatives.

Des ramifications de la méth-ode de Tomatis ont émergédepuis au moins les années 70.D'autres vont continuer à sedévelopper depuis que les oppor-tunités de business basées sur lastimulation auditive se dévelop-pent. Ce Journal accueille desétudes comparatives sur lesautres méthodes et la MéthodeTomatis appliquée par un Con-sultant Tomatis Certifié Enregis-tré. Le développement attendudans le domaine de la stimula-tion auditive va fournir un vastematériel pour la recherche dansles années à venir.

Nous invitons pour publica-tion dans le Journal, les soumis-sions de recherches terminées etcomplètes, de duplications derecherches, d’études compara-tives, d’études de cas, de papierssur le développement de la théo-rie, de revues de livre, et de lettresau rédacteur en chef ; la publica-tion se faisant après une revuepar un collège de pairs. Nous veil-lerons à ce que les résumés et lesarticles soient publiés en plu-sieurs langues autant que faire se

peut, et ils le seront toujours aumoins en Anglais. Nous vous invi-tons à envoyer vos lettres aurédacteur. Une première lettrenous est parvenue ainsi que lanotre (page 14).

Je suis reconnaissante pourl'occasion qui m’est donnéed’être le premier rédacteur enchef du Journal Ricochet et deremercier les membres duComité de rédaction, et tous ceuxet celles qui ont donné sigénéreusement de leur tempscomme critiques, traducteurs etintervenants. Le Journal Ricochetest enfin né et nous entrons ainsidans une nouvelle ère pour laMéthode de Tomatis et la recher-che !

Dr. Billie M. Thompson, RCTCRédacteur en chef, RicochetPrésident, IARCTCMai 2004

Deutsche ÜbersetzungLiebe Leser von Ricochet,

ie Vorbereitung einesneuen berufsspezifischenPublikation ist keine

leichte Aufgabe. In diesem Fall ist

das neue Ricochet JournalTM dasResultat einer kollektivenAnstrengung von Mitgliedern desInternationalen Verbandes derregistrierten und zertifiziertenTomatis-Therapeuten (IARCTC)als Antwort auf eine wachsendeNachfrage nach Forschungsresul-taten über die Tomatis-Methode.Diese Nachfrage wird das Rico-chet Journal durch zwei jährlicheAusgaben und gegebenenfallsdurch Sonderausgaben mit vonKollegen durchgesehenenArtikeln befriedigen.

Die Beiträge kommen ausvielen Ländern und sind in vielen

D

Sprachen geschrieben. Sie wer-den jedoch immer in einerenglischen Übersetzung darge-boten, denn die offizielle Spracheder IARCTC ist Englisch. DieArtikeln geben Auskunft über dieNutzung der Tomatis-Methode inkontrollierten Forschungsstu-dien und gut dokumentiertenFallstudien. Rückblickende undhistorische Arbeiten und ein-schlägige theoretische Aufsätzesowie Bücherbesprechungenund Leserbriefe sind ebensovorgesehen.

IARCTC ist eine Nonprofit-Organisation, 2001 in Luxemburggegründet und lizenziert durchTomatis Developement als dieMitgliederverband der welt-weiten Gemeinschaft der zertifi-zierten Tomatis-Therapeuten(CTC). Alle CTCs sind einge-laden, durch Ihren Beitritt zurIARCTC zu registrierten zertifi-zierten Tomatis-Therapeuten(RCTC) zu werden. Diese Aus-gabe des Ricochet Journalsenthält eine Liste der nochaktiven Gründungsmitglieder(Seite 85).

Die jährlichen Mitgliedsge-bühren ermöglichen unsereArbeit für ein Berufsbild mitethischen Grundsätzen, diedurch unsere Anwendungsrich-tlinien festgelegt sind. Die Haup-taufgabe der IARCTC ist aufWunsch ihrer Mitglieder die For-schung. Deshalb wurde der Fors-chungsausschuss geschaffen, umeingereichte Forschungsprojektezu prüfen, Mittel und Geräte fürForschungsarbeiten über dieTomatis-Methode zur Verfügungzu stellen und die Ergebnisse zupublizieren.

Trotz des Fehlens von Pub-likation über verifizierte Fors-chungsarbeiten in diesem

Editor�s Letter


Bereich in allen Sprachen in denvergangenen Jahren wurden seitden 70er Jahren des vorigen Jahr-hunderts über hundert Vorträgebei offiziellen Kongressen derTomatis-Therapeuten über dieWirkung der Tomatis-Methodeauf Einzelpersonen und Gruppengehalten. Viele basierten auf denResultaten des vorher und nach-her durchgeführten, nicht normi-erten Tomatis-Listening-Tests,einige benutzten auch zusätzlichoder statt dessen standardisierteInstrumente. Ebenso wurdenweltweit von Universitäten undForschungseinrichtungen Arbe-iten und Dissertationen von Stu-denten akzeptiert, die Aspekteder Tomatis-Methode zum Inhalthatten.

Diese Berichte und Arbeiten– ergänzt durch die lebenslangenBeiträge von Dr. Alfred Tomatis(1920 – 2001) – zeigen, wie Wis-sen durch den Forschungsansatz„Grounded Theory“, beschriebendurch B. G. Glaser und A. L.Strauss (Die Entdeckung der„Grounded Theory“, 1967) anges-ammelt und erweitert werdenkann. Forschungen nach diesemAnsatz beginnen mit demFragenstellen, setzten fort mitdem Design und der Implemen-tation von qualitativen undquantitativen Datenerfassung-sprozessen, um die vorher gest-ellten Fragen zu beantworten,und führen gegebenenfalls zu derEntwicklung einer Theorie ausder Interpretation dieser Datensowie zu der Gewinnung weitererFragen für neue Forschungsarbe-iten.

Im Zuge der frühen Fors-chungen von Tomatis in den vier-ziger Jahren (mit Sängern mitStimmproblemen, die sichtatsächlich als Folge von Hör-

problemen herausstellten),bestand die Notwendigkeit, eineLösung zu finden, nachdem dietraditionellen medizinischenBehandlungen fehlschlugen. Erfand einen ungewöhnlichenSchüssel: Im Vergleich stelltensich die Resultate der Hörtestsder Sänger identisch zu denenvon Munitionsfabrikarbeiternmit vermindertem Hörvermö-gens dar. Er konnte diese Ergeb-nisse nicht ignorieren. Vielmehrwollte Tomatis verstehen, wiesoes zu diesen Daten kam, umdieses Wissen zur Gewinnungeiner praktischen Therapie fürdie Sänger einzusetzen. Wasdaraus entstand und was his-torisch in Publikationen, Pat-enten und Präsentationendokumentiert ist, war eine Theo-rie, waren weitere Fragen, die eszu erforschen galt, und war einGerät zum Training des Gehörsund der Stimme mit speziellenFunktionen (Seite 49).

Die Technologie des Elektro-nischen Ohrs ist das Herz derTomatis-Methode. Dieursprünglich analoge Technolo-gie entwickelte sich über vierzigJahre hinweg in eine portable dig-itale Technologie, die gut in daseinundzwanzigste Jahrhundertpasst und so weitere Möglich-keiten für die Expansion derTomatis-Methode ermöglicht.Mit großer Wertschätzung dan-ken die IARCTC-Mitglieder HerrnDr. Tomatis für seine lebenslangeForschung und seine praktischentechnischen Lösungen. (Seite 43).

Die Evolution der Theorie istin den fünfzehn Büchern vonTomatis nachvollziehbar, die inFranzösisch und oft auch inandere Sprachen wie Englisch,Spanisch, Deutsch, Japanisch,Italienisch und Griechisch über-

setzt publiziert wurden. DieseEvolution geht von der erstenEntdeckung aus, dass mit einerGehörverbesserung auch eineStimmverbesserung zu erzielenist, und führt in der Folge in einweites Feld von Entdeckungenund Theorien in Bezug auf dieRolle des Gehörs bei der fötalenEntwicklung, beim Lernen vonFremdsprachen, bei der Ver-besserung der Sprach- und Lern-fähigkeiten, bei der sensorischenIntegration, der motorischenKontrolle, beim Gleichgewichtund der Haltung, beim Selbstver-trauen, bei der Rehabilitation,beim geistigen Wachstum undbei der Entwicklung desBewusstseins.

Das Feld von Forschungsthe-men und Anwendungen derTomatis-Methode ist riesig, vorallem aufgrund des weitre-ichenden Einflusses des Gehörsauf unser Leben. In unseremBeruf sind wir oft mit der ent-mutigenden Aufgabe konfron-tiert, Finanzierungen vonanerkannten Forschungsarbe-iten in speziellen Interessens-bereichen und der Publikationder Resultate zu erlangen, wennwir eine weltweite Geltung erre-ichen wollen.

Um Leitlinien für die Zukunftder Tomatis-Forschung zuschaffen, gibt Fr. Dr. SusanAndrews, eine erfahrene For-scherin aus den USA, einenÜberblick aus ihrer Position alsVorsitzende des Forschungsauss-chusses (Seite 16). Um die Fors-chung zu fördern, vermitteln wirInformationen, wie man sich umFinanzierungen und um Gerätefür die Durchführung von Fors-chungsarbeiten für die Tomatis-Methode bewirbt (Seite 84).

Editor�s Letter


Aus dem Institut für psycho-soziale Verhaltenswissen-schaften der Nordwest-Universität (Potchefstroom) inSüdafrika stammt ein Forscher,der in den letzten fünfundzwan-zig Jahren viele Arbeiten publiz-iert hat. Professor du Plessis andzwei seiner Kollegen haben derersten Ausgabe des RicochetJournals eine Arbeit über diekombinierte Nutzung der Toma-tis-Methode mit einem psycho-pädagogischen Programm zurVerfügung gestellt. Diese Unter-suchung betrifft südafrikanischeStudentinnen mit Gewichtsprob-lemen (Seite 63). Man könnteverwundert sein, warum dieseStudentinnen sitzen und hörenanstatt zu üben. Diese Studiezeigt, welche Vielzahl von Proble-men man im Zuge der Fors-chungsarbeiten lösen muss. Auchwurde die Grundlage für dieseAnwendung von Dr. Tomatisgeschaffen, und zwar im Kapitel“Sprache und Körperbild“ inseinem ersten Buch “Das Ohrund die Sprache“. Dieses Kapitelgewährt zusätzliche Einsicht indas Körperbewusstsein und dieTomatis-Methode und wird hiermit Genehmigung nochmals wie-dergegeben (Seite 51).

Auch das Nachwort von “DasOhr und die Sprache“ ist in dieserAusgabe enthalten, um mehrüber die Tomatis-Methode undden Hörtest für jene darzustellen,denen dieses Werk unbekannt ist(Seite 55).

Eine Serie von fast dreißigForschungsstudien über diePathologie des Ohrs, der Nase,des Rachens und der Sprachewurden in Journalen in Polenveröffentlicht. Drei dieserAutoren erstellten einen Artikelfür diese Ausgabe des Ricochet

Journals (Seite 75). Sie repräsen-tieren eine neue Gruppe von For-schern, die Beiträge zu unseremVerständnis der Anwendung derTomatis-Methode im Bereich derSprachpathologie liefern. Eben-falls enthalten in dieser Ausgabesind zwei Fallstudien im BereichSprache von Nicoloff aus Aus-tralien (Seite 30) und von Tatum,Oelfke und McCauley (Seite 37)aus den USA zur weiteren Infor-mationen über diese Anwend-ung.

Eine andere Fallstudie vonTrumps aus den USA (Seite 23)zeigt die Nutzung der Tomatis-Methode über einen längerenZeitraum hinweg, um Resultatebei Personen mit schwerenKopfverletzungen zu erreichen.Diese Fallstudie demonstriert,dass die Tomatis-Methode oft dasPotential der Klienten über dieErwartungen anderer hinauserweitern kann.

„Lingua-Socrates Projekt“wurde ein Forschungsprojekt fürSprachstudien von mehrerenUniversitäten in Staaten der EUgenannt. Eine Buchbesprechungüber diese Ergebnisse ist in dieserAusgabe enthalten (Seite 80).

Ebenfalls bezogen auf Spr-achstudien stellte Frau MuraseForschungsresultate aus Japanzur Verfügung, wo die Tomatis-Methode bei der Englisch-Schu-lung für Hochschulstudenten mitexzellenten Ergebnissen eing-esetzt wurde (Seite 60). EineBesprechung von mehreren inJapan erschienenen Büchern fin-det sich auch in dieser Ausgabe(Seite 82).

Es ist bereits ersichtlich, dassArbeiten aus den fünf Konti-nenten Europa, Afrika, Aus-tralien, Asien und Nordamerikain dieser Ausgabe enthalten ist.

Weitere Forschungsvorhabenwurden von RCTCs weltweit ein-gereicht und wir ermutigen alle,weitere Forschungsvorhaben vonexternen Forschern, die dieseMethode untersuchen wollen,anzumelden.

Eine solcherart von IRACTCfinanzierte Forschungsstudie istderzeit in den USA im Laufen.Diese Arbeit erforscht die Resul-tate des Einsatzes der Tomatis-Methode im normalen Kinder-garten sowie bei Studenten miterstem Studiendiplom zur Bew-ertung der Entwicklung desVoraus-Lesevermögens (Seite59). Diese Studie könnte für diegenerelle Nutzung der Tomatis-Methode in pädagogischenAnwendungen hilfreich sein.

Ableger der Tomatis-Meth-ode sind zumindest seit den sie-bziger Jahren entstanden.Entsprechend dem Wachstumder Geschäftsmöglichkeiten fürKlangtherapien werden weitereentstehen. Dieses Journalbegrüßt Vergleichsstudien vonanderen Methoden mit der Tom-atis-Methode, zur Verfügung ges-tellt durch RCTCs. Das erwarteteWachstum im Bereich Klangther-apien wird für die kommendenJahre ausgedehntes Forschungs-material zur Verfügung stellen.

Wir laden zur Einreichungvon fertigen Forschungsarbe-iten, Gegenstudien, Vergleichs-studien, Fallstudien, Theorie-Darstellungen, Buchbesprechun-gen und Leserbriefen zurBegutachtung durch Kollegenein. Wenn möglich, wird dieZusammenfassung und derArtikel in mehr als einer Sprache,aber immer in Englisch publiz-iert. Besonders ersuchen wir umLeserbriefe. Der erste ist bereitseingetroffen (Seite 14).

Editor�s Letter


Ich bin dankbar, dass mir dieMöglichkeit gegeben wurde, dererste Herausgeber des RicochetJournals zu sein und ich dankeden Mitgliedern des Redaktion-steams, die alle großzügig ihreZeit als kollegiale Zweitleser,Übersetzer und Beitragende zurVerfügung gestellt haben. DasRicochet Journal ist nungeschaffen und wir bereiten denWeg für ein neues Zeitalter derTomatis-Forschung!

Dr. Billie M. Thompson, RCTCHerausgeber, Ricochet Präsidentin der IARCTCMai 2004

Traducción EspañolaEstimados lectores:

s establecimiento de undiario profesional no es unatarea que se toma a la ligera.

En este caso, el Diario Ricochet esel resultado del esfuerzo colec-tivo de miembros de la IARCTCen respuesta al creciente numerode peticiones en cuanto aresultados de investigaciónacerca del Método Tomatis. Afor-tunadamente, al mismo tiempoque estas peticiones van enaumento, el Diario Ricochet escapaz de responder publicandodos ejemplares por años y edi-ciones especiales cuando serequiera con artículos revisadosantes de aceptarse para su publi-cación.

Los artículos vienen de variospaíses y están escritos en unavariedad de idiomas, mientrasque siempre tendrán traducciónal Ingles, siendo este el idiomaoficial de la IARCTC. Estos artícu-los muestran resultados deriva-dos de la utilización del MétodoTomatis en investigaciones con-

E

troladas y casos bien documenta-dos. Son bienvenidos estudiosretrospectivos e históricos yteorías relacionadas con el tema,así como criticas literarias y car-tas al Editor.

La IARCTC es una asociaciónsin fines de lucro incorporada enLuxemburgo en 2001 y autor-izada por Tomatis Developpe-ment para ser la asociación demiembros del total de Consul-tores Tomatis Certificados (CTC).Todos los CTC están invitados aregistrarse y pertenecer a la aso-ciación de Consultores TomatisCertificados y Registrados(RCTC). Pueden encontrar unalista de los miembros fundadoresactivos en este ejemplar de Rico-chet (Pág. 85). La cuota anualprovee apoyo significativo parareforzar nuestro trabajo comoprofesionales con reglas éticaspor medio de Los Estándares dePractica.

La responsabilidad primor-dial de la IARCTC de acuerdo asus miembros, es la investi-gación. El Comité de investi-gación se creo con laresponsabilidad de revisar aplica-ciones y adjudicar fondos yequipo para investigación sobreel Método Tomatis y para publi-car Ricochet.

A pesar de la falta, en el pas-ado, de la publicación de investi-gaciones controladas sobre sutrabajo en varios idiomas, desde1970 se han presentado mas deun ciento de trabajos en confer-encias oficiales de ConsultoresTomatis, acerca de los efectos delMétodo Tomatis en individuos yen grupos. Muchos de estos basa-dos en resultados de pre y postevaluación por medio de la noestandarizada Prueba de EscuchaTomatis, aunque algunos uti-

lizaron instrumentos estanda-rizados de evaluación en lugar deesta prueba/ Al mismo tiempo,algunas universidades aceptarontesis y disertaciones de estudi-antes que investigaron algúnaspecto del Método Tomatis.

Estos reportes y estudios, alañadirse a las contribuciones delDr. Alfred A. Tomatis (1920-2001),muestran como el conocimientose adquiere y expande a travésdel proceso de investigaciónconocido como Teoría Funda-mentada, definida por B.G.Glasser y A.L. Strauss (The Dis-covery of Grounded Theory, 1967).La investigación en la TeoríaFundamentada comienza porpreguntarse, continua al diseñare implementar recolección dedatos tanto cualitativos comocuantitativos para responder aestas preguntas y eventualmenteresulta en el desarrollo de unateoría como interpretación deestos datos y en el refinamiento ycreación de nuevas preguntas ainvestigar.

En la investigación tempranade Tomatis, a principios de losaños 40 (con cantantes quetenían problemas de voz, lo cualeventualmente se encontró teniarelación con sus habilidades deescucha), tenia necesidad deencontrar una solución cuandolos tratamientos médicos tradi-cionales fracasaron. Encontróuna clave en un lugar inesper-ado: la comparacion en losresultados de pruebas audiomet-ricas de los cantantes que a suvez, parecian identicas alresultado de las pruebas aplica-das a los trabajadores de una fab-rica de municiones quepresentaban perdida auditiva.No podía ignorar los datos, yprincipalmente, Tomatis quería

Editor�s Letter


entender lo que estaba pasandocon la información para asípoder aplicar el conocimiento yproveer una solución practicapara los cantantes. Esto evolu-ciono y esta documentadohistóricamente e publicaciones,patentes y presentaciones, es unateoría, mas preguntas aresponder y una maquina paraentrenar o re-entrenar el oído y lavoz utilizando ciertos protocolosespecíficos (Pág. 49)

La tecnología patentada delOído Electrónico es el corazóndel Método Tomatis. Su tec-nología analógica ha evolucio-nado por cuarenta años haciauna tecnología digital portátilque se adapta bien al siglo 21para proveer aun mas grandesoportunidades de expansión alMétodo Tomatis.. Es con respetoque los miembros de la IARCTCrinden tributo al Dr. Tomatis porla búsqueda, a través de su vida,del conocimiento y solucionespracticas utilizando tecnologíaPág. 43)

Podrían leer los 15 librosescritos por Tomatis siemprepublicados en Francés y fre-cuentemente traducidos a otrosidiomas como Ingles, Español,Alemán, Japonés, Italiano yGriego, para seguir la evoluciónde su teoría. Esta se extiendedesde la primera observación deque uno debe mejorar la Escuchapara mejorar la voz, hasta unamplio rango de observaciones yteorías relacionadas al rol quejuega la escucha en el desarrollofetal, el aprendizaje de un seg-undo idioma, la mejoría del len-guaje y el aprendizaje, laintegración sensorial, el controlmotor, el equilibrio y la postura,la confianza en la auto expresión,la rehabilitación, el crecimiento

espiritual y el desarrollo de con-ciencia.

El rango de temas y aplica-ciones a investigar, relacionadasal Método Tomatis es inmenso,esto es debido en gran parte, alamplio rango de impacto que laescucha tiene en nuestra vida.Como profesión, nos enfrenta-mos con el reto de diseñar yobtener fondos para estudios einvestigaciones controladas ypublicación de resultados si esque queremos tener un impactosignificativo en el mundo.

Para guiar la dirección futurade la investigación del MétodoTomatis, la Dra., Susan Andrews,investigadora experimentada delos Estados Unidos, provee unpanorama desde su posicióncomo presidenta del Comité deInvestigación (Pág. 16). Para per-mitir mayores posibilidades deinvestigación, incluimos infor-mación de cómo aplicar pararecibir fondos y equipo para real-izar investigación relacionada alMétodo Tomatis (Pág. 84)

Uno de los investigadoresuniversitarios que ha publicadoresultados sobre el Método Tom-atis en los últimos 25 años, vienede la Escuela de Ciencias Psico-Sociales y Conductuales de la NWUniversity ( Campus de Potchef-stromm) en Sud Africa. El Profe-sor DuPlessis y dos de sus colegashan provisto un articulo para esteprimer ejemplar de Ricochet,acerca de la utilización de unacombinación del Método Toma-tis y un programa psico-educa-tivo. Este programa se enfoca aestudiantes Sud Africanas preo-cupadas por su peso. (Pág. 63)Uno se preguntara como las estu-diantes están sentadasescuchando en lugar de hacerejercicio. Este estudio se incluye

aquí porque nos hace con-scientes del numero de situa-ciones que deben ser controladasdurante una investigación. Tam-bién, existe una base para estaaplicación que el Dr. Tomatisidentifica en el capitulo “ Len-guaje e Imagen Corporal”, en suprimer libro “El Oído y el Len-guaje” (utilizado aquí con per-miso). Este capitulo proveeintrospecciones adicionales encuanto a conciencia de cuerpo yel Método Tomatis, y se imprimeaquí con permiso (Pág. 51).

También incluido, del mismolibro “El Oído y el Lenguaje” estael Epilogo que explica mas acercadel Método Tomatis y la Pruebade Escucha para aquellos que noestén familiarizados con el tra-bajo. (Pág. 55)

En Polonia, se han publicadouna serie de cerca de treintaestudios acerca de patología deoído, nariz, garganta y lenguaje.Tres de los autores prepararon unarticulo para esta edición de Ric-ochet (Pág. 75). Ellos representanun nuevo grupo de investiga-dores que contribuyen a nuestroentendimiento de las aplica-ciones del Método Tomatis a lapatología de lenguaje. Tambiénse incluye en este ejemplar, doscasos de patología de lenguajepresentados por Nicoloff de Aus-tralia (Pág. 30) y por Tatum,Oelfke y McCauley (Pág. 37) delos Estados Unidos, para ampliarla información en esta apli-cación.

Otro caso es presentados porTrumps de Estados Unidos (Pág.23) que muestra los resultados alargo plazo en una persona conlesiones severas en la cabeza.Este caso demuestra que elMétodo Tomatis frecuentementeexpande el potencial de los cli-

Editor�s Letter


entes mas allá de lo que otroscreen posible.

Se incluye un resumen de unlibro con los resultados de unproyecto de investigación llevadoa cabo en varias Universidadesde la Comunidad Europea, lla-mado Proyecto Lingua-Socrates.(Pág. 80)

También relacionado con elaprendizaje de un segundo idi-oma, es provisto por Murase, deJapón. En donde el Método Tom-atis ha sido utilizado con exce-lentes resultados, para enseñarIngles a estudiantes de prepara-toria (Pág. 60). Se incluye tam-bién la lista de varios librospublicados en Japonés (Pág. 82 ).

Pueden ver, así, que los tra-bajos en esta edición vienen decinco continentes: Europa,Africa, Australia, Asia y Americ adel Norte. Hemos recibido ya unnumero importante de aplica-ciones de Consultores TomatisCertificados y Registrados coninterés en investigación, e invita-mos a investigadores externoscon interés en el Método, a queparticipen.

Una investigación apoyadapor la IARCTC se esta llevando acabo en los Estados Unidos. Elestudio investiga los resultadosde la utilización de un ProgramaEducacional del Método Tomatisen niños normales de preescolary primero de primaria para eval-uar desarrollo de habilidades depre-lectura. (Pág. 59). Dicho estu-dio puede impactar la aplicacióneducacional del Método Tomatis.

Han aparecido métodos deri-vados del Método Tomatis desdelos años 70. Otros continuaranapareciendo a medida que crez-can las oportunidades de trabajoen estimulación auditiva. Este

Editor�s Letter

Diario da la bienvenida a estu-dios comparativos entre

Estos métodos y el MétodoTomatis llevados a cabo por unConsultor Tomatis Certificado yRegistrado. El crecimiento esper-ado en el campo del entre-namiento auditivo proveerá deamplio material para investi-gación en los próximos años.

Invitamos trabajos termina-dos de investigaciones, repli-cación de estudios, estudioscomparativos, casos clínicos,desarrollo de teoría, análisis delibros y cartas al Editor. Cuandosea posible, se publicara elresumen de los artículos en uno omás idiomas además del Ingles.Invitamos cartas al Editor. La pri-mera ha llegado (Pág. 14)

Agradezco la oportunidad deser el primer Editor de Ricochet yagradezco a los miembros delComité Editorial, todos los cualeshan generosamente compartidosu tiempo para revisar artículos,traducir y contribuir. El DiarioRicochet ha tomado vida y esta-mos comenzando una nuevaetapa de investigación delMétodo Tomatis!

Dr. Billie M. Thompson, RCTCEditor, Diario RicochetPresidente, IARCTCMayo 2004

With many thanks toour translators:

Amelia Flores-ElizondoValerie DrouotValerie GasFrancoise NicoloffJoanna RatynskaPeter Tinkl

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR


GUIDELINES FOR LETTERS. Letters discussing a recent article willhave the best chance of acceptance if they are received within eightweeks of the article�s publication. They should not exceed 400 wordsof text and five references. Letters reporting original research shouldnot exceed 600 words and six references. All letters should include aword count. Letters must not duplicate other material published orsubmitted for publication. Letters will be published at the discretionof the editors and are subject to editing and abridgment. The authormust state in a cover letter that he or she is the author and permitspublication of the letter. Letters not meeting these specifications aregenerally not considered. Letters will not be returned. We prefer thatletters be submitted electronically to [email protected].

Goals for the Tomatis Community FurtheredGoals for the Tomatis Community FurtheredGoals for the Tomatis Community FurtheredGoals for the Tomatis Community Furtheredby Journal Dedicated to the Methodby Journal Dedicated to the Methodby Journal Dedicated to the Methodby Journal Dedicated to the Method

First, we at Optimal Health & Learning Centerwant to congratulate and commend those who hadthe vision and took the time to make this journal areality, and I appreciate the opportunity to haveshared our findings. The Journal will be a resourcefor Tomatis Consultants worldwide, and throughthem, benefit those we serve.

In this issue, my team has presented cases inwhich speech therapy is augmented by simulta-neous use of the Tomatis Method, and we have aspeech therapist as part of our staff. I think it willbenefit the Tomatis movement and the clients tohave clients evaluated by audiologists, speech ther-apists, occupational therapists, developmentaloptometrists, psychiatrists, and psychologists asindicated, and to work cooperatively with theseother professionals. Through this cooperativeapproach, the client is assured the best outcome,and other professionals learn the role the TomatisMethod can play.

We are also developing contacts with research-ers in allied fields and planning cooperative studies.Our goal is to develop research protocols so that aswe provide the Tomatis Method to our clients, wecan collect meaningful research. We will share theseprotocols with others in the Tomatis community, sothat we can pool our results. The Journal will play animportant role as we all work together to advancethe science and work of Alfred Tomatis, M.D.

John M. Tatum, MD, RCTCOptimal Health & Learning Center2180 Park Avenue North, Suite 328Winter Park, FL, 32789, [email protected]

Letters to the Editor


Using the Tomatis Listening Test for ResearchUsing the Tomatis Listening Test for ResearchUsing the Tomatis Listening Test for ResearchUsing the Tomatis Listening Test for ResearchThe result of an enormous effort of a small

group of dedicated individuals, Ricochet is spring-ing forward in this 1st issue. Our warmest Thanks toDr. Thompson and the Research Board of theIARCTC for this ground breaking endeavor. It is anhonor to share the story of the Method's immersionin a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program fortraumatic brain injury (TBI). In describing the Lis-tening Tests of the client, writing the article broughtto the fore front a major issue that looms large onour horizon.

I feel the IARCTC must adopt a single, uniformreporting system to describe changes that occur onlistening tests so that we may:1. Assist our professional community in future

articles in Ricochet to communicate and com-pare change as a result of a Tomatis listeningprogram.

2. Rate progressive change as an outcome due toparticipation in a Tomatis listening program.

3. Adopt a tool to communicate change for clientsdue to the listening program.

4. Provide the International Community withsome system of comparative analysis betweenTomatis listening programs for the purposes ofresearch, quality assurance standards, anddevelopment of standardized pedagogical pro-grams to be researched in institutional, educa-tional, and business settings.This is not to say that every listening center

should use this system internally. Only that thereshould be some uniform way to communicatechanges in the listening test as an organization tothe outside world.

I believe that this matter is urgent enough toreceive immediate attention and be communicatedin the next newsletter of the IARCTC and betweenthe committees for distribution to the entire organi-

zation. I propose that a survey of such systems usedin Listening Centers be included in our second issueof Ricochet for contemplation, assessment, andanalysis by the members of the IARCTC. It should bediscussed and presented for a vote at our next Inter-national Assembly in Segovia in 2005. At best, theearliest time a uniform reporting system could be inuse will be in our third Journal a year from now.

I thank you in advance for consideration in thisundertaking and would be happy to participate inthe collection of the information to help make thisso.

Sincerely,Dr. Michelle A. Trumps, DC, LOTR, RCTCUSA (504) 835-3535, FAX (504) 835-3550


RESEARCH

Susan R. Andrews, Ph.D., RCTC, Chair of IARCTC Research Board

ON THE EVE OF THE PUBLI-cation of the first professionaljournal dedicated to the TomatisMethod, I am honored to makesome comments from the Chairabout the International Associa-tion of Registered and CertifiedTomatis Consultants (IARCTC)Research Board’s hopes andplans for the future of the Toma-tis Method and the future of thefield of Sound Training.

The Research Board is one ofthe first standing Boards devel-oped by the IARCTC. Our mem-bers hail from eight countriesand bring varied professionalbackgrounds from psychologyand medicine to voice and lan-guage. The Research Board hastaken the position that it willstimulate and support researchthat has the potential to furtherour knowledge about the TomatisMethod of Sound Training andthe new field of Sound Trainingin general.

Applications for new studieswill be considered from IARCTCMembers as well as from inde-pendent researchers. TheResearch Board has the author-ity to loan equipment to a studyand to provide technical assis-tance to independent research-ers who might not be trained inthe Tomatis Method or to

IARCTC members who might notconsider themselves sufficientlycompetent in research.

In order to be considered forassistance, the proposedresearch must be well conceivedand designed. The ResearchBoard has a standard proposalformat, which is available fordownload from our website,http://www.iarctc.org/. Solidresearch design, including ran-dom assignment of subjects tothe treatment and control groupsis essential. The use of propercontrol groups is another essen-tial element for the study to beconsidered for assistance. Bothqualitative and quantitativestudies are encouraged andneeded.

As a treatment modality thatoriginated in Europe in the 1940sand 1950s, the Tomatis Methodhas not been studied extensivelyby independent researchers.Early proof of the Method’s effec-tiveness was based on closeobservation of large numbers ofpatients treated by Dr. Tomatisand his co-workers. Alfred Toma-tis was developing an entire newfield of study, and he worked inmuch the same manner as that ofJean Piaget, who also worked inParis around the same time.Tomatis and Piaget both appliedtheir genius with a single-minded focus. Each man’s lifework provides an example of true

experimental method; it involvesdetailed observations of each cli-ent’s behavior and reactions,integrating the findings into agradually evolving theory andscience, and then making refine-ments before repeating the pro-cess. An entire Field of SoundTraining and a method thatreflects Tomatis’ genius in theMethod’s complexity evolved outof this work.

As Tomatis recognized thevalue of his discoveries and theneed to train others in whatcame to be known as the TomatisMethod, the early research,aimed at proving the effective-ness of the Method, began to bedone and published in severalcountries. There have been manyresearch studies completed andpublished in peer-reviewed jour-nals; most of these by trainedTomatis Consultants, as onlythose would have the training inthe Method and the equipment.These will be reviewed in anotherarticle, and the IARCTC ResearchBoard is currently working ongenerating a comprehensive listof those articles worldwide. Thatlist, once complete, will be pub-lished on the IARCTC websitewith a system for obtaining cop-ies in place.

Why is research so needednow? There are four main areasof questions that need to beaddressed, and the IARCTC

Remarks About Research


Research Board has – as a pri-mary goal – the development of acomprehensive plan that willaddress these areas.

1. Almost all of the researchthat has been done was imple-mented by researchers trained inthe Tomatis Method. This makesthe research “suspect” by defini-tion of the fact that theresearcher was not an “indepen-dent” researcher. Thus, the inher-ent flaw in the “scientificmethod.” If Colgate does theresearch on toothpaste, the con-ventional wisdom is that theresults are not to be trusted asunbiased. Yet, anyone can buyColgate toothpaste and conductan experiment. The same is nottrue of Tomatis, or for many ofthe other Sound Training meth-ods, for that matter. Special train-ing is required, along with specialequipment and materials, toimplement a Tomatis treatment.Once someone has had that spe-cial training and even purchasedthe equipment to do theresearch, they are apparently nolonger considered “indepen-dent.”

The IARCTC Research Boardis endeavoring to remedy thisdilemma by offering loanerequipment and the expertise ofthe IARCTC Research Board forthe design and implementationof the treatment. A fully trainedIARCTC consultant can also beavailable to assist if one livesnearby. We are hopeful of encour-aging more and varied “indepen-dent” research.

2. The Tomatis Method needsto prove its effectiveness relativeto other modalities and relativeto the many offshoots of theTomatis Method. As the generalpublic is now finally growing in

its understanding and accep-tance of the field of Sound Train-ing as an important therapeuticmodality, more and more thereare “new offshoots” of Dr. Toma-tis' historic work. Now, otherswant to jump on the “band-wagon,” so as to speak. At thetime that the Thompson andAndrews (1999) IEEE Engineeringin Medicine and Biology articlewas published, at least sevenextensions or methods “based onthe Tomatis Method” had beenidentified, including AuditoryIntegration Training (AIT), BGC,Samonas, Joudry, Lowrey,Madaule, and Thompson. At leastone of these is no longer available(BGC). AIT equipment has beenseized in parts of the United

States. Further, recently ASHA1

has declared AIT as a treatmentmodality to be “off-limits” to itsmembers. In addition, since the1999 count, there are new manu-facturers of equipment, such asDr. Ron Minson, who was trainedin the Tomatis Method and whomakes an unsubstantiated claimthat his equipment and methodsare “as effective as Tomatis.”

The Tomatis Method, repre-sented by IARCTC, needs to proveits effectiveness relative to theseother modalities and relative tothe many offshoots of the Toma-tis Method. Research comparingthe relative effectiveness of differ-ent treatment modalities hasrarely or never been done in aproperly controlled study. Forexample, a comparison of theTomatis Method with Fast For-Word or with Paul Madaule’s Lis-

1. ASHA is the association representing most of the professionals (speech therapists and audiologists), who were briefly trained in AIT in the United States.

tening Fitness Trainer System toremediate auditory processingproblems in five-year-olds wouldhelp inform treatment choices.Or, a study that helped define themost effective sequence of inter-ventions (Tomatis > Fast For-Word versus Fast ForWord >Tomatis) for working with youngautistic children would greatlyassist treatment planning withsuch cases. A study comparingMadaule’s machine, materials,and method, with Minson’smachine, materials, and method,with the Tomatis’ Electronic Ear –all using the same population isanother example of the type ofresearch that is sorely lacking.

3. The complexity of theTomatis Method is a characteris-tic that is at once jealouslyguarded as “necessary and essen-tial” by all fully trained TomatisConsultants and it is that verycomplexity that is the first thingat risk once a new method of anytype becomes available to thegeneral public. One of the firstthings that people want to dowhen they copy a treatmentmodality is “simplify” and“reduce” the complexity of theoriginal treatment. Some of theoffshoot methods are alreadydoing that. Dr. Tomatis had con-cerns about this eventual “regres-sion to the mean” and itmotivated him to try to keep thepurity of the training and theMethod intact. He feared that theMethod would become watereddown and not as effective. Unfor-tunately, however, studies do notexist that determine which com-ponent parts of the TomatisMethod significantly contributeto the effectiveness of the out-come and which componentsmay be relatively unnecessary.



Some of the components ofthe Method and the specializedequipment that need to beresearched include the following.The use of bone conduction inthe specially designed head-phones is considered a veryimportant component to theMethod's effectiveness. But, is it?There are no studies comparingequivalent groups and identicalprograms with the only differ-ence being the use of bone con-duction as part of the stimulationversus no stimulation. Several ofthe extension methods (AIT,Samonas, Joudry, Madaule) didnot offer bone conduction untilvery recently when Dr. Tomatis’patents on bone conduction useexpired.

When Tomatis first intro-duced the bone conduction in hisequipment and method in theearly 1980s, it became possible toreduce the first Intensive from 21days of three hours a day to 15

days of two hours a day.1 By Con-trast, Joudry was describing suc-cess only when people hadlistened to hundreds of hours ofher four tapes made from anearly version of the Tomatis Elec-tronic Ear without bone conduc-tion.

A second special componentof the Tomatis equipment is thebuilt-in electronic gating. Manyexperienced Tomatis Consultantsfeel that this is a key componentin the Method's effectiveness.But, no study has ever tested thishypothesis.

Other Tomatis professionalsfeel that the specially constructedtapes (now CDs) are key to thesuccess of the treatment. These

1. Nicoloff, Françoise. Personal Communica-tion. February 2004.

tapes have been recorded by den-sifying the high frequency soundon the tapes to ensure that whenthe music is filtered to let in highfrequency sound only, that thereis enough sound to properlystimulate the ear and the brain'shigh frequency receptors. How-ever, there are no studies to showthat this is truly an importantcomponent.

There are many other ques-tions about which components ofthe equipment are essential tothe Tomatis Method’s effective-ness. There are also questionsabout which parts of the treat-ment program are essential foreffectiveness. Again, these issueshave never been put to experi-mental test. For example, howmany hours (intensity of 30hours, 60 hours, 90 hours, etc.) ofTomatis sound stimulation needto be given to individuals of dif-ferent ages, with different types ofproblems (autism vs. languagedelay only vs. auditory processingproblem) in order for the neces-sary or desired result to beobtained.

The Tomatis Method hasboth passive and active phases.Are both required for success? Dr.Tomatis originally had only“active” sessions in which thepatient worked with a micro-phone to hum and repeat songsand words and phrases.

Does Gregorian Chant needto be used in the program? Howlong should the treatment con-tinue and is it essential to allowbreaks in between intense dailytreatment sessions? Tomatis orig-inally used breaks of 3 to 4 weeksas an integration period.

In fact, the program haschanged quite a bit over the yearswhile the professor was actively

developing it. The actual pro-gram of sound/music stimula-tion that is written is anotherextremely complex variable inthe Method and one that manyresearch studies could be aimedat explaining.

Also, many of the Tomatisprofessionals use Dr. Tomatis'Listening Test as a way to designindividualized programs of stim-ulation for each client. The Lis-tening Test is similar to anaudiogram but very different inthat it is active listening percep-tion that is being measured. TheListening Test has never beenstandardized and validated withother measures. Much workneeds to be done on this set ofvariables as well.

4. And lastly, there is thequestion of whether or not it isthe Mozart music itself that isresponsible for the changes,rather than the equipment andthe complex developmentalmethod of treatment. This hasbecome the source of much con-troversy in the wake of Universityof California at Irvine research-ers' popular-press reports of the“Mozart Effect.” In fact, theMozart Effect is poorly under-stood, misquoted, and incor-rectly confused with the TomatisMethod. The UC Irvine studyreports a transitory effect of 10 to15 minutes on only one area ofability – that of spatial-temporalreasoning – which resulted fromkindergarten children listeningto 10 minutes of one specificearly Mozart piano concerto(K.448, Sonata in D for 2 pianos),played in the room without spe-cial equipment. The childrenshowed a 10 to 15 minute advan-tage, which was only significantfor the Object Assembly subtest



from the WPPSI-R PerformanceIQ scales. Further, there has beensome inconsistency in otherresearchers’ ability to reproducethat effect.

In summary, as the Chairmanof the Research Board of theInternational Association of Reg-istered and Certified TomatisConsultants, the advent of thisnew Journal signals the time foreveryone to start thinking aboutways in which the TomatisMethod can be more fullyresearched. The Method is richand amazingly complex. Those ofus who have been privileged tolearn from and/or work with Dr.Alfred Tomatis appreciate what acomplex man he was. On the onehand, Dr. Tomatis openly criti-cized the way research could bedesigned to prove most anythinga researcher wanted to prove. Onthe other hand, his primary per-sonal contribution to the worldwas his careful experimentation,his faithful observations andrecording of results, and his con-tinual changing of the Methodand the equipment in an effort tocontinue to improve it. Dr. Toma-tis was a genius and a dedicatedresearcher.

I challenge all Tomatis Con-sultants and researchers in thefield of Sound Training generallyto roll up their sleeves and startto systematically address thesequestions. The future of the fieldof Sound Training, all of whichwas fathered by Dr. Alfred Toma-tis, depends on it.

May 15, 2004Susan R. Andrews, Ph.D., RCTCClinical and Developmental NeuropsychologistChair, Research Board, IARCTC

Remarques à propos de la rechercheSusan R. Andrews, Ph.D., RCTC, Présidente du Comité de Recherche de l'IARCTC

A la veille de la publicationdu premier journal professionneldédié à la Méthode Tomatis, jesuis honorée d'apporter mescommentaires, en tant que prési-dente du Comité de Recherche del'Association Internationale desConsultants Tomatis Inscrits Cer-tifiés, concernant les espoirs etles plans pour le futur de la Méth-ode Tomatis et de l'entraînementpar la stimulation sonore.

Le Comité de Recherche estun des premiers Comités mis enplace par l'IARCTC. Nos mem-bres viennent de huit pays et pos-sèdent des formations et desexpériences professionnellesvariées, de la psychologie et lamédecine à la voix et au langage.Le Comité de recherche s'est fixécomme objectif de stimuler etd'apporter son soutien auxrecherches qui peuvent faireavancer notre connaissance de laMéthode Tomatis et du nouveauchamp de l'entraînement par lastimulation sonore en général.Ces projets peuvent émaner demembres de l'IARCTC comme dechercheurs indépendants. LeComité de Recherche a autoritépour procurer un équipement ouapporter une assistance tech-nique aux chercheurs indépen-dants qui n'auraient pas étéformés à la Méthode Tomatis ouaux membres de l'IARCTC qui nese sentiraient pas qualifiés pourentreprendre seuls une recher-che.

Pour être retenus par leComité, les projets doiventrépondre à un certain nombred'exigences de qualité, notam-

ment en ce qui concerne leurconception.

Le Comité de Recherche aconçu à cet effet un exemple deprojet standard, qui peut êtreconsulté et téléchargé à partir denotre site Web http://www.iarctc.org/.

Une conception solide de larecherche, incluant l'affectationau hasard des sujets dans lesgroupes de traitement et de con-trôle, est essentielle. L'utilisationde groupes de contrôle appro-priés constitue un autre élémentessentiel d'un projet postulantpour obtenir l'aide du Comité.Tant les études qualitatives quequantitatives sont encouragéeset nécessaires.

Mode de traitement apparuen Europe dans les années 1940et 1950, la Méthode Tomatis n'apas été étudiée de manièreextensive par des chercheursindépendants. Les premièrespreuves de l'efficacité de laMéthode étaient basées surl'observation minutieuse d'ungrand nombre de patients traitéspar le Docteur Tomatis et sonéquipe. Alfred Tomatis a dével-oppé un champ d'étude entière-ment nouveau, et il a travailléd'une manière très similaire àcelle de Jean Piaget, qui se trou-vait à Paris à la même époque.Tomatis et Piaget ont tous deuxemployé leur génie avec unedétermination absolue. Pourchacun de ces hommes, le travailde toute une vie nous apporte unexemple de vraie méthodeexpérimentale, construite autourde l'observation détaillée desréactions et du comportementde chaque client, intégrant lesrésultats dans une théorie scien-tifique évoluant graduellement etbénéficiant de perfectionne-



ment avant une nouvelle expéri-mentation. De ce travail est né ledomaine de "l'entraînement parla stimulation sonore" et uneméthode qui reflète la complexitédu génie de Tomatis.

Lorsque Tomatis reconnut lavaleur de ses découvertes et lanécessité de former d'autres per-sonnes à ce qui en vint à êtreappelé la Méthode Tomatis, larecherche du début, qui tendait àprouver l'efficacité de la Méth-ode, commença à être publiée etappliquée dans de nombreuxpays. A partir de là, de nom-breuses études ont été accom-plies et publiées dans des revuesspécialisées, la plupart étant lefait de Consultants Tomatis,puisque ils étaient les seuls à êtreformés et à avoir un équipement.

Cela sera abordé dans unautre article et le Comité deRecherche de l'IARCTC travailleactuellement sur la productiond'une liste détaillée de ces arti-cles du monde entier. Dès qu'ellesera complète, cette liste serapubliée sur le site Internet del'IARCTC et un système sera misen place pour obtenir des copiesde ces articles.

Pourquoi a t-on tant besoinde la recherche en ce moment ? Ily a quatre grands domainesd'investigation qui doivent êtreabordés et le Comité de Recher-che de l'IARCTC a, pour but prin-cipal, le développement d'unprojet global qui abordera cesdomaines.

1. Presque toute la recherchequi a été effectuée jusqu'àprésent fut accomplie par deschercheurs formés à la MéthodeTomatis. Cela rend la recherche“suspecte” par définition car leschercheurs n'étaient pas“indépendants”. Voici donc le

défaut inhérent à la "méthodescientifique". Si Colgate fait de larecherche sur le dentifrice, lasagesse traditionnelle veut queles résultats ne soient pas fiablescar partiaux. Pourtant,quiconque peut acheter du denti-frice Colgate et faire une expéri-ence. Cela n'est pas vrai pourTomatis, ou pour nombre desautres Méthodes de Traitementpar la stimulation sonored'ailleurs. Une formation spécialeest nécessaire, ainsi qu'unéquipement et un matériel spéci-fiques, pour mettre en place untraitement Tomatis. Or, dès quequelqu'un a suivi une formationspéciale et éventuellementacheté l'équipement pour fairede la recherche, il n'est apparem-ment plus considéré comme“indépendant”.

Le Comité de Recherche del'IARCTC s'efforce de remédier àce dilemme en mettant à disposi-tion des chercheurs un équipe-ment et les compétences duComité de Recherche del'IARCTC pour la conception et lamise en place du traitement. UnConsultant Tomatis entièrementformé à la Méthode pourra égale-ment être disponible pourapporter son assistance. Nousespérons encourager davantagede recherches "indépendantes"et que celles-ci soient plusvariées.

2. La Méthode Tomatis abesoin de démontrer son efficac-ité par rapport aux autres modesthérapeutiques et aux nom-breuses ramifications de la Méth-ode Tomatis. Puisque sedéveloppent enfin la connais-sance et l'acceptation par grandpublic de l'entraînement par lastimulation sonore en tant quemode thérapeutique important, il

y a de plus en plus de "nouvellesramifications" du travail du DrTomatis. Maintenant, d'autresveulent "prendre le train enmarche", pour ainsi dire. Al'époque où fut publié l'articleIEEE d'Ingénierie en Médecine etBiologie de Thompson etAndrews (1999), au moins septextensions ou méthodes "baséessur la Méthode Tomatis" furentidentifiées, cela comprenait lesméthodes : Auditory IntegrationTraining (AIT, Thérapied'Intégration Auditive, d'aprèsBérard), BGC, Samonas, Joudry,Lowrey, Madaule, et Thompson.Au moins une d'entre ellesn'existe plus (BGC). L'équipe-ment de l'AIT a été saisi dans cer-taines parties des Etats-Unis. En

outre, l'ASHA1 a récemmentdéclaré à ses membres que l'AITétait un mode de traitement "endehors des limites" c'est-à-direnon autorisé. De plus, depuis lerecensement de 1999, il y a denouveaux fabricants d'équipe-ment, comme le Dr. Ron Minson,qui fut formé à la Méthode Tom-atis et qui revendique, et celasans fondement, que son équipe-ment et ses méthodes sont "aussiefficaces que Tomatis".

Une recherche comparantl'efficacité relative de différentsmodes de traitement n'a querarement ou même jamais étémenée dans une étude appro-priée. Par exemple, une com-paraison entre la MéthodeTomatis et Fast ForWord ou avecle Système de Fitness pourl'écoute de Paul Madaule (Listen-ing Fitness Trainer System) dans

1. L'ASHA est l'association représentant la plupart des professionnels (orthophonistes et ORL), dont certains membres furent brièvement formés à l'AIT aux Etats-Unis.



le traitement des problèmes dedéveloppement auditif chez lesenfants de 5 ans aiderait àinformer sur les choix de traite-ment. Ou bien, une étude con-tribuant à définir l'enchaînementd'interventions le plus efficace(Tomatis > Fast ForWord ou FastForWord > Tomatis) lors du tra-vail avec les jeunes enfantsautistes aiderait grandement laplanification des traitementsdans ce genre de cas. Une étudecomparant la machine, le maté-riel et la méthode de Madauleavec la machine, le matériel et laméthode de Minson, avecl'Oreille Electronique de Tomatis– et utilisant toutes la même pop-ulation, est un autre exemple dutype de recherche dont nousmanquons cruellement.

3. La complexité de la Méth-ode Tomatis a toujours été con-sidérée jalousement commeétant “nécessaire et essentielle”par tout Consultant Tomatisformé à la Méthode et c'est cettecomplexité qui est la premièremise en danger dès qu'une nou-velle méthode est disponiblepour le grand public. Une despremières choses que les per-sonnes souhaitent faire quandelles copient un mode de traite-ment est de "simplifier" et"réduire" la complexité du traite-ment original. Certaines méth-odes parallèles le font déjà. Le Dr.Tomatis était inquiet à propos decette éventuelle “régression versle misérable” et cela le motivaitpour essayer de préserver l'intég-rité de la formation et de la Méth-ode. Il craignait que la méthodesoit édulcorée et moins efficace.Malheureusement, cependant, iln'existe pas d'études détermi-nant quels composants de laMéthode Tomatis contribuent de

manière significative à l'efficac-ité du résultat et quels com-posants seraient relativementsuperflus.

Les composants de la Méth-ode et de l'équipement spécialisédevant faire l'objet de recherchesont à mon sens les suivants.L'utilisation de la conductionosseuse dans les écouteurs spé-cialement conçus pour notreapplication est considéréecomme un élément très impor-tant dans l'efficacité de la Méth-ode. Mais est-ce réellement lecas ? Il n'y a pas d'études com-parant des groupes équivalentsrecevant des programmes iden-tiques dont la seule différenceserait l'utilisation de la conduc-tion osseuse. Plusieurs méthodesparallèles (AIT, Samonas, Joudry,Madaule) n'utilisaient pas la con-duction osseuse jusqu'à l'expira-tion très récente des brevets surla conduction osseuse du Dr.Tomatis.

Quand Tomatis introduisitpour la première fois la conduc-tion osseuse dans son équipe-ment et sa méthode au début desannées 1980, il fut possible deréduire la première session inten-sive de 21 jours à raison de 3 heu-res par jour à 15 jours à raison de

2 heures par jour1. En comparai-son, Joudry ne décrivait de succèsqu'après seulement des cen-taines d'heures d'écoute de sesquatre cassettes faites d'aprèsune version antérieure del'Oreille Electronique sans con-duction osseuse.

Un second élément spéci-fique de l'équipement Tomatisest la bascule électroniqueintégrée. De nombreux Consult-

1. Nicoloff, Françoise. Communication Per-sonnelle. Février 2004.

ants Tomatis expérimentéspensent que c'est un composantclé dans l'efficacité de la Méth-ode. Pourtant, aucune étude n'ajamais été menée pour vérifiercette hypothèse.

D'autres professionnelsTomatis pensent que les cas-settes (et maintenant les CD)spécialement conçues pour laMéthode Tomatis sont la clé dusuccès du traitement. Ces bandesfurent enregistrées en densifiantles hautes fréquences pour con-server suffisamment de son pourstimuler convenablementl'oreille et les récepteurs dehautes fréquences du cerveaulorsque la musique est filtréepour laisser passer uniquementles hautes fréquences. Cepen-dant, il n'y a pas d'étude prou-vant que c'est un composantréellement important.

Il y a beaucoup d'autresquestions à propos des com-posants de l'équipement essen-tiels à l'efficacité de la MéthodeTomatis. De même, il importe desavoir quelles parties du pro-gramme sont essentielles en ter-mes d'efficacité. Une nouvellefois, ces interrogations n'ontjamais fait l'objet de tests expéri-mentaux. Par exemple, combiend'heures (30 heures, 60 heures,90 heures, etc.) de stimulationpar le son Tomatis sont néces-saires pour des individus d'âgesdifférents, avec des types deproblèmes différents (l'autismepar rapport à un retard de lan-gage comparé à un problème dedéveloppement auditif) pour queles résultats nécessaires oudésirés soient obtenus.

La Méthode Tomatis com-porte à la fois des phases pas-sives et actives. Sont-elles toutesdeux nécessaires pour la



réussite ? A l'origine, le Dr. Toma-tis proposait uniquement dessessions "actives" pendantlesquelles le patient travaillaitavec un microphone pourémettre des sons et répéter deschants, mots et phrases.

Doit-on nécessairement uti-liser les Chants Grégoriens dansle programme ? Combien detemps devrait durer le traitementet est-il essentiel d'autoriser despauses entre les sessionsintensives ? A l'origine, Tomatisfaisait faire des pauses de 3 à 4semaines comme périoded'intégration.

En fait, le programme achangé quelque peu au fur et àmesure des années pendant quele professeur le développaitactivement. Le programmeactuel de stimulation par le sonet la musique est une autre vari-able extrêmement complexe dela Méthode et des études pour-raient être prévues pour l'expli-quer.

De même, de nombreux pro-fessionnels Tomatis utilisentl'appareil de test du Dr. Tomatiscomme un moyen de concevoirles programmes de stimulationindividualisés pour chaque cli-ent. L'appareil de test ressembleà un audiogramme mais est trèsdifférent car c'est la perceptionactive de l'écoute qui estmesurée. L'appareil de test n'ajamais été standardisé ni validépar d'autres mesures. Il resteaussi beaucoup de travail sur cegroupe de variables.

4. Enfin, la musique deMozart elle-même est-elle ounon responsable des change-ments, plutôt que l'équipementet la méthode complexe de traite-ment de croissance. Cela est dev-enu la source d'une grande

controverse à la suite d'articles depresse populaire sur l'étude"l'Effet Mozart" effectuée par leschercheurs d'Irvine à l'Universitéde Californie. En fait, l'EffetMozart est mal compris, citéinexactement et confondu incor-rectement avec la Méthode Tom-atis. L'étude Irvine de l'Universitéde Californie rapporte un effettransitoire de 10 à 15 minutes surseulement un domaine d'apti-tude – celui du raisonnementspatio-temporel. Cette étude aporté sur des enfants en mater-nelle écoutant 10 minutes d'unconcerto pour piano de jeunessede Mozart (K. 448, Sonate en répour 2 pianos), joué dans la sallesans équipement spécial. Lesenfants ont montré un gain de 10à 15 minutes, qui fut seulementsignificatif pour le sous-testd'Assemblage d'Objet des éch-elles de Performances de QI deWPPSI-R. De plus, il y eut unecertaine inconsistance dans lacapacité des chercheurs à repro-duire cet effet.

En résumé, en tant que Prési-dente du Comité de Recherche del'Association Internationale desConsultants Tomatis Inscrits Cer-tifiés (IARCTC), l'apparition de cenouveau journal est le signe qu'ilest temps pour tous de com-mencer à penser aux différentesfaçons dont la Méthode Tomatispeut être l'objet de recherchesapprofondies. La Méthode estriche et étonnamment complexe.Ceux d'entre nous qui furentprivilégiés et qui se formèrent outravaillèrent avec le Dr Tomatissavent quel homme complexe ilfut. D'une part, le Dr. Tomatis cri-tiquait ouvertement la manièredont une recherche peut êtreconçue de façon à prouver tout cesouhaite un chercheur. D'autre

part, sa contribution person-nelle au monde fut son expéri-mentation minutieuse, sesobservations fidèles, l'enregistre-ment de ses résultats, les change-ments constants de la Méthodeet de l'équipement dans soneffort à continuer de l'améliorer.Le Dr. Tomatis était un génie etun chercheur dévoué.

Je demande à tous les Con-sultants Tomatis et à tous leschercheurs oeuvrant dans ledomaine de l'entraînement parla stimulation sonore deremonter leurs manches et com-mencer à poser systématique-ment ces questions. Le futur denotre travail, de tout ce qui a étécréé par le Dr. Alfred Tomatis, endépend.

15 mai 2004Susan R. Andrews, Ph.D., RCTCNeuropsychologue clinicienne, spécialiste du développement.Présidente du Comité de Recherche de l'IARCTCTraduction Valérie Drouot, RCTC



CASE STUDY

Michelle Trumps, DC, LOTR, RCTC

ABSTRACThe Tomatis Method (TM) is demonstrated tobe a powerful adjunct to a comprehensiverehabilitation program in the treatment of

traumatic brain injury. This case study outlines theproblem list, goals, treatment plan, and outcome ofa client successfully treated utilizing an extendedTomatis Program as a part of his outpatient rehabili-tation program.

T.R. participated in a comprehensive therapyprogram which included sensory motor integration,neuromuscular re-education, cranial sacral therapy,psychological counseling, relaxation training, cog-nitive retraining, vocational retraining, and theTomatis Method of Sound Therapy at a decreasingfrequency from three times per week to three timesper month for 36 months. T.R. took a single pointlanding on his head from 30 feet, recovered from acoma, but could not get out of the bathtub or drive.It is extraordinary that T.R. became a certified com-puter network technician, gainfully employed andmaking comparable pay, riding in his boat and fish-ing once again, repairing his own car and tinkeringwith others’ by following this program.

While traditional therapies alone may havebeen able to get this man back to the work force in alower functional capacity than prior to his injury, itappears that the quality of his life and his healingrate were accelerated by the inclusion of the Toma-tis Method in his rehabilitation program. Clinicalobservations and qualitative shifts demonstrated bythe listening tests bear evidence of a fundamentalshift in the neurological processing of this gentle-man toward modulation. These, coupled with the

frank shift of ear dominance, are profound enoughchanges to warrant further investigation.

INTRODUCTIONAlthea Gelpi, Nurse Case Manager (who had

experienced the benefits of the Tomatis Methodafter a series of automobile accidents with a mildhead injury) approached Dr. Susan Andrews, Clini-cal Neuropsychologist, coordinator and developerof the Center for Head Injury Rehabilitation, todevelop and coordinate a multi-disciplinary teamfor T.R., who had experienced a significant headinjury following electric shock while working for asign company. A team of professionals was pulledtogether, each providing a vital link in the rehabilita-tion process.

Dr. Andrews headed the team of professionalsand coordinated the cognitive rehabilitation pro-cess. Listening training, cognitive rehabilitationactivities, sensory motor integration, cranial sacraltherapy, and neuromuscular re-education activitieswere provided as outlined in this case study by Dr.Michelle Trumps, DC, LOTR. Dr. Steve Thompson,EDD, LPC, provided weekly counseling with T.R.Highlights of this treatment were significant inassisting T.R. to clearly identify his work limitationsand adjust his goals. Sessions with Dr. Thompsonalso assisted T.R. to adjust to the limitations of hisinjury and the potentials in his future. Dr. CindyAshkins, DSW, provided Imago Relationship Ther-apy to T.R. and his partner. Keith Thompson, LMT,provided neuromuscular massage and additionalsoft tissue work. Vocational Rehabilitation was pro-vided by Barney Hedgewood and coordinated byMs. Gelpi.

Traditionally, following TBI outpatient pro-grams, the rate of return to work is poor. Referral tovocational training and rehabilitation programs isslow. Tashjian and Hayward (1993) found that voca-

T

Tomatis Method: Integrator of Rehabilitation in a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Case Study


tional training was significantly delayed for personswith traumatic brain injuries, averaging seven yearspost-injury among 2,700 cases reviewed. (1) Dik-men and colleagues (1994) found that amongpatients with severe brain injuries who had beenemployed before their injuries, only 37 percent wereemployed two years later. (2) A study by VirginiaMedical School found that seven years post injury,one in three TBI patients were found to beemployed in lower paying, less competent posi-tions. (3).

The treatment team felt that it could provide animmersion program that would address the physi-cal, emotional, cognitive, and vocational needs ofT.R. within a reasonable timeframe. It was felt that atthe end of this program, his total rehabilitation pro-gram and his long term care needs would fall belowthe average lifetime cost of an individual sufferingfrom TBI, found by a National Institute of Healthpanel in 1998 to be between $600,000 and $1.9 mil-lion.

Because of their extensive experience in trau-matic brain injury rehabilitation and their jointinterest in the New Orleans Listening Center, Dr.Andrews and Dr. Trumps proceeded to integrate theTomatis Method into T.R.’s program in an effort toaccelerate his recovery. This effort was fully outlinedto the insurance company and supported by theemployer.

It is felt that quality of life and healing rate wereaccelerated by the inclusion of the Tomatis Methodin the rehabilitation program. T.R. was admitted tothis comprehensive rehabilitation program sixmonths following his injury. Within the 36 monthsthat followed, T.R. was able to regain command ofhis life by resuming his ability to drive, by passingmultiple examinations in an extensive certificationprocess, and by becoming gainfully employed.Throughout the course of treatment, T.R. reclaimedsome ability to repair small engines, to maintain hiscar, and to assist his family with light constructionneeds and their car repair on a limited basis. Leisureactivities ensure a person’s quality of life, and T.R.was able to enjoy such activities as riding in his boatand fishing.

HISTORYT.R. is a 25-year-old electrician who fell from a

ladder following an electric shock while working ona bank sign. This gentleman made a pinpoint land-

ing headfirst on the right side of his head fromnearly 30 feet in the air. CPR was delivered and hewas resuscitated at the scene. He was in a coma for48 hours. Incongruently, he was discharged from thehospital eight days later. There were multiple frac-tures to the right wrist, right eye orbit and maxillarybones, requiring reconstructive surgery on an out-patient basis before being admitted to The TomatisMethod program six months later.

When he returned home, he walked with anunsteady gait and had difficulty getting into and outof the bathtub. He took several falls. He was fearfulthat he would never work again and that he wouldnot be able to provide for a family when that timecame. He was unable to drive due to seizure activityand balance and visual tracking problems.

In addition to his employment as an electrician,T.R. repaired small machines and automobiles. Heserved in the Army during the crisis in Kuwait in1991. Prior to the injury, he was an active and agileathlete who trained for the Tour de France while sta-tioned in Europe. He was an avid snow skier. Hespent long hours on his boat fishing. There was noadditional significant medical history.

INITIAL PROBLEM LIST1. Face: Decreased muscle tone in the mouth with

difficulty holding food and liquids on the rightside. Paralysis on the right side of the face infacial movements and extra-orbital edema.Inability to elevate the right eye or isolate righteye movements from the left, such as winking.

2. Headaches: Tegretol for seizure disorder, local-ized, instant on right side, and generalizedheadache on stress.

3. Intrinsic muscle atrophy in the right-dominanthand with pitting edema at the wrist, decreasedrange of motion, and weakness to the shoulder.

4. Hypersensitivity to facial and right upperextremity tactile stimuli.

5. Visual motor tracking, coordination deficits:Diplopia in static vision, and also in tracking atleft and right of midline. Eyestrain and signifi-cant saccadic movements in horizontal, verti-cal, diagonal, and rotational planes.

6. Visual perception deficits: Latency responseand kinesthetic processing of visual informa-tion noted. Reversals present. T.R. missed thesequencing order and number of repetitions 8:8attempts on a bilateral motor coordination test

Tomatis Method: Integrator of Rehabilitation in a Traumatic Brain Injury


of visual memory of movement and of the abil-ity to plan motor activity with visual input. Healso had difficulty with reversals in a verticalplane (installed a light switch upside down).

7. Auditory function: Constant tinnitus, requiringuse of a fan at night to drown out the noise so hecould sleep. Significant hearing loss in the leftear requiring a hearing aid. Difficulty withfocusing and filtering functions of the ear,screening out and differentiating the source ofbackground environmental noise from stimu-lus.

8. Auditory perception: Auditory reversals, misin-terpreting sounds and instruction, difficultydetermining the source and direction of stimu-lus. (He asked if there was some form of audi-tory dyslexia.)

9. Vestibular (movement) perception: Deficitspresent in the vestibular system (responsible fororientation of the body in space, propriocep-tion, body image, spatial relations, perceptionof movement and time). Nystagmus testsrevealed greater excursion of the eyes and pro-nounced nausea following rotation to the left. Aslight nystagmus at rest increased when his gazewidened. Adaptation to sleep in waterbedrequired.

10. Balance: Normal static standing balance witheyes open. Weaving and was inability to corrector maintain balance with eyes closed. Anxietyand lack of coordination in the testing. Lackedability to use arms to balance while standing oneither foot. Leaned to the right side when stand-ing on the right side, accentuating the tilt andcausing loss of balance without the ability toextend his arm to protect himself from injury.Had difficulty stepping into and out of his bath-tub, moving around furniture and throughdoorways, falling on three occasions prior toinitiation of treatment.

11. Self care: Greater effort and more time requiredfor basic hygiene, simple household tasks, andlight car maintenance. Inferior quality work isreported. He separates money into envelopes toensure he has the cash to pay his bills. He hasdifficulty with tool use and puzzles. It took himsix hours to change the brakes on his car and hesaid he had parts leftover.

12. Cranial sacral therapy assessment: Diminishedand unbalanced excursion of cerebral spinalfluid rhythm. Diminished mobility of the rightoccipital plate at the suture. Bilateral temporallobe asymmetry. Edematous sinus under theright eye with positional tearing of the eye.Adhesions noted in the sphenoid, temporalmandibular joint and frontal plate sutures.

13. Cognition: Impaired organization, planning,attention, concentration, memory, and execu-tive function.

14. TOVA: A high level of inattention and impulsiv-ity as well as a significant delay in processingtime demonstrated by The Test of Variables ofAttention. A summary of TOVA measures andthe course of the findings found in Table 1 aresignificant indicators of the outcome of treat-ment.

15. The Tomatis Listening Test: Given monthly. Afull description of the tests and program arefound in the Listening Program section as theyare significant indicators of the complete out-come of treatment.

GOALS AND TREATMENT PLANA four-phase treatment plan was established to

integrate the complexities of his clinical picture. Thegoal and focus of each phase is highlighted below,followed by a list of modalities used throughout theentire treatment plan.


Table 1: TOVA Scores Over Duration of TreatmentPhase RSM RSM ASM ASM Actives Actives Actives ActivesDate 6/95 7/95 9/95 10/95 12/95 5/96 6/96 5/97Inattention 128 61 70 75 255 84 57 44Impulsivity 41 44 44 44 45 42 44 37Time 108 84 113 90 84 70 77 54Variability 113 83 109 116 97 79 90 65


Phase 1 Goal: Normalize basic sensory information.

Three-to-five-hour treatment days were pro-vided two to three times per week for eight months.T.R. participated in a comprehensive sensory motorintegration training program to normalize the audi-tory, visual, vestibular, and tactile sensory systems.Activities were provided to reorganize basic sensoryinformation, improve the ability to process sensoryinformation (filter, screen, and focus) and improveattention, concentration, and memory.

Phase II Goal: Normalize perceptual motor awareness.

Three-to-five-hour treatment days were pro-vided one to two times per week for eight months.These integrated perceptual motor skills and strate-gies to organize new learning, improve speed ofinformation processing, as well as instruction instrategies to improve time and money manage-ment, work simplification, body mechanics, andsafety.

Phase III Goal: Community reintegration with vocational re-education.

One-to-three-hour treatment days were pro-vided two to four times per month for six to eightmonths in addition to vocational rehabilitationevaluation, consultation, and training. During thisphase, T.R. was to resume the independent livingskills of driving and shopping. In preparation forvocational training, we also initiated prevocationaltraining with hobbies of small engine mechanics,car repair, followed by evaluation of T.R.’s potentialto return to work as an electrician.

Phase IV Goal: Return to work and independent living.

One-to-three-hour treatment days were pro-vided one to four times per month for six to tenmonths to augment and support the vocationalrehabilitation process. Executive strategies of prob-lem solving and planning were provided to planlearning strategies and to understand course con-tent. We addressed the physical difficulties associ-ated with the demands of training in preparation toreturn to work, as well as the perceptual and cogni-


Table 2: Listening Test Responses Over Duration of TreatmentDate 5/30/95 9/11/95 11/7/95 1/24/96 6/25/96Phase RSM Pre ASM Post ASM Actives (375) Actives (625)Ear Dom/db Left 15 db Left 15db Left 10db Right 15db Right 15dbSelectivity Open Open Open Closed R6000hz OpenBone Err L/R 0 / 5(!)3(?) 1(!)1(?) /3(!)5(?) 1(?) / 5(!)3(?) 0 / 4(!)2(?) 0 / 3(!)2(?)Air Err L/R 0 / 11 10 / 8 4 / 3 0 / 0 0 / 5Crossover L/R None None 9 RUE / 2LUE 1RUE / 3LUE NoneAir Avge L 50db 50db 50db 50db 55db Spike db hz L 40db 125hz 40db 750hz 40db 1500hz 35db1000/1500hz 35db 750hz Dip db hz L 60db 4-8000hz 65db 6000hz 60db 4-8000hz 50db 2000hz 70db 8000hzQuality/Transition Smooth Dx15db 4000hz Smooth Dx10db 4000hz SmoothAir Avge R 30db 20db 15db 15db 15db Spike db hz R 20db 3000hz 5db 3000hz 5db 3000hz 0db 3000hz 5db 3000hz Dip db hz R 35db 2000hz 25db 6000hz 25db250/6000hz 20db 6000hz 20db 2000hzQuality/Transition SPx15db2000hz SPx15db 2000hz SPx10db 2000hz Smooth SmoothBoneAvge L 20db 20db 20db 20db 25db Spike db hz L 15db 4000hz 10db1500/4000hz 15db1500/3000hz 15db1500hz None Dip db hz L 30db 250hz 25db 2000hz 25db1000/2000hz 30db1000/2000hz 30db 1500hzQuality/Transition Wide1500-4000 Wide 2000-4000 Smooth Wide 2000-4000 Dip 1500hzBoneAvge R 15db 15db 25db 15db 20db Spike db hz R 10db 1000hz None 20db 3000hz -5db 3000hz 10db 4000hz Dip db hz R 30db 2000hz 30db 2000hz 40db 2000hz 35db 2000hz 30db 2000hzQuality/Transition JSx25db 750hz Dx15db 1500hz Dx20db 1500hz SPx35db2000hz Dx10db1500hz


tive difficulties with the demands of independentliving and return to work.

MODALITIES1. Sound sensory integration of auditory, visual,

vestibular, and tactile systems, using the Toma-tis Method and activity based therapy for twohours per treatment as tolerated.

2. Sequencing and motor planning activities toaugment cognitive gains, organization andexecutive strategies.

3. Cranial sacral therapy to normalize the cerebralspinal fluid rhythm and the movement of thesphenoid, temporalis, occipital, and frontalplates.

4. Neuromuscular re-education to improve theability of the sinuses to drain and the motorfunction of the right face, eye, mouth.

5. Myofascial release and re-education of rightupper extremity neck and back.

6. Vestibular stimulation incorporated with physi-cal and mental sequencing activities to improvemotor planning skills. Sustained, filtered,divided, and alternating attention and concen-tration training.

7. Instruction in relaxation training and copingmechanisms to maintain and augment cogni-tive improvement and psychological gains.

8. Driving assessment.9. Preliminary vocational training for realistic goal

setting, time management, planning, organiza-tion, work simplification, and money manage-ment. Body mechanics training in the arenas ofleisure and household activities.

10. Vocational assessment.11. Problem solving skills, adaptation to challenges,

and learning skills training.

TOVA SUMMARYIt is well known in cognitive rehabilitation that

attention is a strong indicator of frontal lobe func-tional integrity and healing in TBI. Attention andconcentration are cognitive functions that are earlyindicators of TBI and are known to be one of the lastto reorganize in the rehabilitation process. (4)

The Test of Variables of Attention was imple-mented throughout T.R.’s treatment to track cogni-tive reorganization. It is a twenty-three minutecontinuous performance test that measures Inat-tention, Impulsivity, Response Time, and Variability.

It has no learning curve, so each test is a freshassessment of these variables. Table 1 tracks TOVAscores. A T-Score of 50 is equivalent to the standarddeviation score of 100. The T-Score distribution hasa mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 15. Scoresfrom 40T to 65T are considered within normal lim-its. Over 65T is abnormal.

TOVA Score SummaryIn a study presented by Trumps and Andrews to

the Congres Tomatis International, Neuchatel, Swit-zerland, October, 1995 based on data collected intheir Listening Center, significant trends were iden-tified using the TOVA that are felt to be key markersof change when used with the Listening Test todetermine the client’s programming needs. (5)

T.R.’s TOVA scores reflect several trends of theListening Program. Inattention and response timeimproved to normal over the course of treatment.Patient variability scores wobbled repeatedly untilnearly normalizing in May of 1997. The domain ofImpulsivity never wavered from normal scores.

The domain of Inattention improved remark-ably after the onset of the program and during theRSM. At the ASM, Inattention became slightly disor-ganized. The ASM was performed only with a bal-ance shift from 10 to 8 because of seizureprecautions. Inattention became completely disor-ganized with the introduction of shifts in the bal-ance of the program starting in March. Balance wasshifted from 8 to 5 until May of 1996 and the Inat-tention domain improved. In June of 1996, balancewas shifted even further between 7 and 3 and Inat-tention completely normalized and continued toimprove throughout the program.

LISTENING PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONNo guidelines have yet been established by Ric-

ochet to describe the results of listening tests andthe Tomatis Method program protocols. Table 2depicts the trends of changes observed in the seriesof listening tests. Trends between phases are easilydemonstrated by a left-to-right visual scan of thechart. By grouping the variables of Air & Bone Con-duction Listening Threshhold averages, Spike, Dip,and Quality, the reader can compare like curves ineach ear (Left Air to Right Air, Left Bone to RightBone).

A significant finding in the case of T.R. has beentracked at the New Orleans Listening Center, but



was not identified by Dr. Tomatis as a listening testvariable. It is the use of the opposite arm to correctlyindicate the ear in which the stimulus was provided.This is present when the dyslexic individual beginsto shift laterally toward right dominance and moreconsistent laterality organization. It is included herebecause its appearance exactly coincides with T.R.’slaterality shift toward right ear dominance.

The Listening Test Table LegendBone Errors are identified with (!) indicating a

frank error and (?) indicating uncertainty or a“both” response. Air Errors is a sum of the actual “x”on the graph.

The “Average” value is an actual figure roundedto the nearest factor of 5. “Average Air” is deter-mined by adding the Air decibel values, dividing by11. “Average Bone” is determined by adding theBone decibel values, dividing by 8.

Decibel Values are actual values as listed on thelistening test graph except for the Decibel Valueslisted on the Quality/Transition Rows. Decibelslisted in the Quality/Transition Rows are the relativechange in decibel values.

The Quality of the Curves is described as fol-lows:

Wide is a drift between air and bone conductionindicated in low frequency (125-500 Hz) or high fre-quency (2000-4000 Hz) ends of the graph.

Smooth is average 5db-10db changes especiallyin communication ranges .

Spike (SP) or Dip is less than a Smooth curve. ASpike (Lower Volume but Up on the Graph) and Dip(Higher Volume but Down on the Graph) = >10dbchange. It is judged by how it looks on the graph .

Jagged means More than one Spike or Dip orCombination db change of >10db.

JS means an additional Spike from decibel listedat the frequency (JS 25db 750Hz).

JD means an additional dip from decibel listedat the frequency listed. An additional frequency maybe added to give a better picture of the curve.

Programming Summary:A developmental Tomatis Method program was

administered over a total of a period of 36 monthsand included 675 thirty-minute sessions. Specificparameters were very gradually adjusted in T.R.’sprogram because of seizure activity and significantimbalance observed on the listening tests.

Interesting evolutions noted in the ListeningTest were indicated on Table 2 by the word “Cross-over.” After the ASM and as the shift from left eardominance to right ear dominance occurred, itappeared that the bridge built in the dominancetransition was demonstrated by the use of the oppo-site hand to indicate a response to AIR conductionstimuli. This interesting piece of data occurredexactly at the onset of a more aggressive adjustmentof balance following the ASM and until T.R. mea-sured right Ear Dominance by 15 decibels, support-ing what Tomatis Method practitioners have longclinically experienced. Dyslexia is a laterality issuethat can most immediately be treated through ashift of ear dominance.

RESULTSDr. Tomatis postulated that one can affect the

entire nervous system through the auditory appara-tus. Drs. Andrews and Thompson describe in detaila triad of neurological integration through specificneurological pathways that feed and modulate ves-tibular, visual, and linguistic processing. (6)

The cranial nerves may benefit by sheer proxim-ity of the stimulation in the Tomatis Method pro-gram. The optic, occulomotor, trochlear, abducens,and spinal accessory nerves (6) in their proximalphysical location on the pons are millimeters fromthe facial and acoustic nerve. Thus, in this casestudy, stimulation from the Tomatis Method pro-gram is regarded as a significant contributor towardnormalized tactile sensation, motor control, andfacial symmetry. At the termination of T.R.’s rehabili-tation program some nerve damage remained,demonstrated by the inability to close the left eyeand a hearing loss in the left ear .

The ear has long been seen as important to theregulation of balance, posture, and movement ofthe entire body. The ear helps to regulate eye move-ments and spatial awareness. (6) In comparison tothe classical sensory integration techniques ofAyres, the Tomatis Method may well prove to be amore efficient and elegant form of sensory integra-tion. In this case study, T.R. demonstrated resoluionof Diplopia. Balance and coordination normalized,and he was able to climb onto and repair the roof ofhis trailer during his treatment program. T.R. experi-enced remediation of the acquired deficits in visualtracking and coordination, visual and auditory per-ception, and reversals in processing.




Additionally, with every problem on the initialproblem list, solved, T.R. was able to do some smallengine repair on car and boat and home mainte-nance. He resumed fishing, hunting, and riding inhis boat, as well as driving. T.R. was able to readwithout headaches and to study and pass certifica-tion exams in a new occupational field in computernetworking.

T.R. became gainfully employed in a differentfield with a comparable salary within three years ofthe injury, far surpassing the documented averageof seven years post-injury (1). Tomatis’ assumptionthat the brain needs sound energy to enable thethinking process and the development of intelli-gences (7) is supported by the improvements thatT.R. experienced in all aspects of his treatment pro-gram. Although one of many modalities imple-mented, the Tomatis Program appears to haveaffected change in every domain of need for T.R.and, in this way, served as a definitive integrator inhis rehabilitation process.

Note: A summary description of the listening program by phases isavailable at www.iarctc.org to Registered Certified Tomatis Consult-ants. The actual program is redundant, extensive and handwritten,and is also available to RCTCs.

References1. Dikmen SS, Temkin NR, Machamer JE, Holubkov AL, Fraser RT,Winn HR. Employment following traumatic head injuries. Arch Neu-rol 1994;51:177-86.2. Tashjian MD, Hayward BJ. Traumatic brain injury effective practicesstudy: final report. Research Triangle Park (NC): Research TriangleInstitute; 1993.3. Wehman PH, Kreutzer JS, West MD, Sherron PD, Zasler ND, GroahCH, Stonnington HH, Burns CT, Sale PR. Return to work for personswith traumatic brain injury: a supported employment approach. ArchPhys Med Rehabil. 1990 Dec;71(13):1047-52.4. Levin, Harvey S., Grafman, Jordan, and Eisenberg, Howard M.Neurobehavioral Recovery from Head Injury. 1987. Oxford UniversityPress. 5. Andrews, S.R The use of the TOVA as an outcome and processmeasure for the effects of Sound Therapy on ADD children. Paperpresented to the Congres Tomatis International, Neuchatel, Switzer-land, October, 1995.6. Thompson, B.M., Andrews, S.R. An Historical Commentary on thePhysiological Effects of Music: Tomatis, Mozart and Neuropsychol-ogy, Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science, July-September2000, Vol. 35, No.3, 174-188.7. Thompson, B.M., Andrews, S.R. The Emerging Field of SoundTraining: Technologies and Methods for Impacting Human Develop-ment through Sound Stimulation, IEEE Engineering in Medicine andBiology, March/April 1999, 0739-5175/99.


CASE STUDY

Françoise Nicoloff, MS, RCTC, Vice-President of IARCTC, Sydney, 2004

ABSTRACTA report about two cases of children with a diag-

nosis of a pathology most commonly known asDevelopmental Dyspraxia are presented, showingchanges in speech and other abilities following par-ticipation in a Tomatis Method program in Austra-lia. These cases deal specifically with forms ofDevelopmental Dyspraxia called Verbal Dyspraxia.Definitions, main theories, and characteristics ofDevelopmental Dyspraxia inform about what thiscondition is and how it manifests. Also included is adetailed description of the Tomatis Method pro-gram and the physiological and scientific theorybasis for observed changes in abilities. Finally, sim-ple conclusions are offered to highlight benefitsprovided by the Tomatis Method program for thosewho suffer from Developmental Dyspraxia. (Note:This paper is a summary of a presentation given inMay 2003 at the International Tomatis Conferenceheld in Semmering, Austria.)

DYSPRAXIE & MÉTHODE TOMATISPar Françoise Nicoloff, Psychologue, Tomatis Consultant Certifiée Enregistrée & Formatrice, Vice-présidente de IARCTC, Sydney, 2004

RésuméCet article cherche à montrer les effets de la

Méthode Tomatis sur une pathologie plus connuesous le nom de Dyspraxie. Les études de cas quiseront présentées sont plus spécifiquement des casde Dyspraxie verbale. L’article inclue des définitionset un profile de la dyspraxie du développement : ceque c’est, comment elle se manifeste, et les car-

actéristiques associées. Cette étude présente aussiquelques théories à propos des causes de la Dys-praxie et comment la pathologie de la dyspraxie ver-bale a été adressée en utilisant la Méthode Tomatis.Les études de cas montrent de façon détaillée le casde deux jeunes enfants atteints de dyspraxie verbaleet les progrès qu’ils ont réalisés avec la MéthodeTomatis. Enfin, cette étude offre des conclusionsmontrant les effets positifs de la Méthode Tomatisavec des personnes souffrant de dyspraxie duDeveloppement.

Cet article est un résumé de la présentation faitepar Françoise Nicoloff en Mai 2003 lors du CongrèsInternational Tomatis à Semmering en Autriche.

WHAT IS DYSPRAXIA?Developmental Dyspraxia is often known by

many different names, including developmentalcoordination disorder, the hidden handicap, motorlearning problems, minimal brain dysfunction, sen-sory integrative problems, and perceptual-motordysfunction. Developmental Dyspraxia is thoughtto be a neurologically based disorder, a motor plan-ning difficulty that is present from birth. It isbelieved to be an immaturity of the motor cortexpart of the brain such that messages are preventedfrom being properly transmitted to the body. It isthought to affect up to one in twenty children, withboys identified four times more frequently thangirls.

The three types of Developmental Dyspraxia areOral Dyspraxia, Verbal Dyspraxia, and Motor Dys-praxia. Oral Dyspraxia affects children at the level ofreproduction of movements of the mouth; childrenhave a hard time making the correct movementswith their mouth for the formation of words. MotorDyspraxia can be seen to inhibit an individual frommoving as planned, Motor Dyspraxia also effects theorganization of sensory input. Verbal Dyspraxia

Case Studies of Children with Dyspraxia Following Intervention with a Tomatis Method Program


causes children to have difficulties making soundsinto words. Verbal Dyspraxia is often characterizedby an individual’s difficulty in producing speechsounds and in sequencing them together intowords. Expressive language is usually delayed. Oftenchildren with Verbal Dyspraxia are also diagnosedwith Oral or Motor Dyspraxia. However, it is impor-tant to recognize the distinction between these dif-ferent terms.

Praxis and DyspraxiaThe term “Dyspraxia” comes from the word

“praxis,” which means “doing or acting.” Praxis itselfrefers to the generation of volitional movement pat-terns for the performance of a particular action. It isthe ability to select, plan, organize, and initiate themotor pattern that is the foundation of praxis. Theterm “dyspraxia” is used to describe a dysfunctionof this praxis. Dyspraxia then is a disorder of praxis.It is a disorder of the process of ideation (where oneforms an idea of using a known movement toachieve a planned purpose). It is a disorder of motorplanning (where one plans the action needed toachieve the idea), and it is a disorder of execution(carrying out the planned movement).

Developmental Dyspraxia is often associatedwith problems of perception, language, and thoughtand often manifests itself as a difficulty in differentareas. Often these difficulties lie in the organizationof the speech musculature (tongue, lips, palate, jaw,cheeks, throat muscles), and they affect the volun-tary production of sound. Oral dyspraxia is thoughtto be a disorder of speech articulation, rather than anon-linguistic disorder. As such, the manifestationsof the disorder are seen and are involved in speechproduction, not in the understanding of languagenor in the way words are put together into sen-tences. Even though this is so, the two latter prob-lems can also be present in any dyspraxic case,especially when it comes to sentence production.

Effects of DyspraxiaDevelopmental Dyspraxia may affect any or all

areas of development - physical, intellectual, emo-tional, social, language, and sensory - and mayimpair an individual’s normal process of learning.Each individual is affected in different ways and todifferent degrees. Often Developmental Dyspraxia isinconsistent in that it may affect the individual oneday but not the next.

Characteristics Associated with DyspraxiaMany characteristics are associated with dys-

praxia, some of which are listed below:• Poor balance, posture, and sense of direction. • Poor fine and gross motor coordination, for

example difficulties with throwing and catchinga ball or difficulty hopping, skipping, or riding abike.

• Poor awareness of body position in space. • Difficulties with vision. • Use of a lot of mime and gesture to communi-

cate.• Tactile dysfunction. • Sensitivity to touch, for example, intolerance of

having hair or teeth brushed or nails and haircut and finding some clothes uncomfortable.

• Difficulty with reading, writing, and speech. • Confusion about which hand to use.• Poor social skills.• Emotional and behavioral problems. • Slow to learn to dress or feed themselves. • Phobias or obsessive behavior and impatience.• Average or above average intelligence with

socially acceptable behavior at school butimmature behavior at home (frequent tan-trums).

• Difficulty understanding logic and reason.

Characteristics Specifically Associated with Dyspraxia on the Level of Speech and Language:

Many speech and language characteristics asso-ciated with dyspraxia are listed below:• Speech problems, including delayed emergence

and incoherent production.• “Groping” or searching for the correct position

of the tongue and lips, such that a child’s tonguemay seem to go everywhere while he/she triesto find the correct position.

• Presence of Oral Dyspraxia, whereby the childcannot imitate oral movements on command,such as poking out one’s tongue on demand.

• Using a limited number of sounds.• Difficulty in producing sequences of sounds.• Inconsistency of output, for example, on three

attempts of the word “dog,” the child may say“bog,” “gog,” and “dod.”

• Inability to voluntarily produce an isolatedsound or sequence of sounds that have beenproduced before.



• Discrepancy between sounds used in a sponta-neous conversation and those that can be pro-duced in isolation or on request.

• Having no or very few words (up to 100 to 200words in the child’s vocabulary).

• Attempting to make no more than ten two-wordcombinations.

• Struggling to talk, exhibiting trial and errorattempts to say words, accompanied by greatfrustration.

• Many of these children can understand lan-guage at a more advanced level than their lim-ited speech would suggest.

Causes, Theories Caroline Bowen (Children's Speech Sound Dis-

orders questions and answers, 1998) outlines fivemain theories that explain the possible basis of Dys-praxia as being due to one of the following: 1. An auditory processing problem. 2. A very specific, specific language impairment

affecting language acquisition at the sound-syl-lable-prosody level.

3. An organizational problem with sequencing themovements required for speech.

4. A difficulty with making volitional movementsfor speech production.

5. Various combinations of these factors.

TreatmentFrom our studies and observations it seems that

a combination of different therapies works well andbenefits the child the most, specifically includingthe following:• Tomatis Method program• Speech therapy• Occupational therapy for sensory-integration• Others appropriate for a specific child

CASE STUDIES USING THE TOMATIS METHOD WITH CHILDREN WITH DYSPRAXIA

TIM�S STORY At age three years, Tim was diagnosed as Dys-

praxic with a severe comprehension problem. Hisspeech therapist referred him to the TomatisMethod program. At the age of two and a half years,Tim was unable to say much and was unable tounderstand simple instructions that his peers couldunderstand. His parents were speaking Hebrew at

home. Tim had many tantrums and showed hisfrustration by relying on non-verbal communica-tion, such as high-pitched screaming. Tim’s expres-sive and receptive skills were delayed at least twelveto eighteen months. At three years, he was not put-ting more than two words together and did not haveconsonants at the end of many words.

Tim completed the first thirty hours (over fif-teen days) of the Tomatis Method program in Janu-ary 2001. (Over the next two years he completed atotal of 155 hours of this training.)

Within the first ten days, his parents noticedsome changes, and by the end of the fifteenth day,these changes were quite dramatic. He began to usemuch longer and more complex sentences. Hisvocabulary increased, and he seemed to be awarewhen he said a word incorrectly. He would attemptto say the word a couple of times until he was ableto pronounce it. Tim began to engage in more imag-inative play, imitating scenes from children’s videosand reproducing a number of phrases using them inthe correct context. He had fewer tantrums and verylittle high-pitched screaming. He used words morewhen playing with his sister and other children.Overall he seemed less frustrated due to the fact thathe was able to express himself more freely. Heappeared to be a more assertive and confident littleboy.

After the initial 30-hour program, Tim under-went two eight-day continuation programs, eachfour weeks apart. Changes continued to be noted;however, these were subtler. He tended to ask manymore questions, especially to ask permission usingthe phrase, “ Can I?” His level of comprehensionimproved; he began to cooperate more and began toexpress his feelings with words instead of tantrums.Socially, he began forming close friendships at kin-dergarten and communicating well with his peersand teachers. He became better at sharing, asking tohave turns, and letting his friends know when hewas finished so they could have a turn.

Tim�s Story from RCTC ViewIn the initial consultation, Tim’s mother told of a

death in her immediate family, which occurred dur-ing pregnancy, and also of a long birth process forTim. Mother reported that Tim also had a few earinfections during his infancy. According to Tomatis,these traumatic experiences can all have an effecton listening development.



Tim’s developmental milestones were on timeexcept for language, which had delayed develop-ment. From the view of an experienced CertifiedTomatis Consultant of 27 years, many children withthis developmental history show immaturity in thedevelopment of listening skills at the level of audi-tory processing. Results of Tim’s initial assessmentindicated that he did not seem to be processingsounds with sufficient clarity and accuracy.

The diagnosis of Dyspraxia was also indicativeof immaturity of the vestibular system, a significantpart of the inner ear that is responsible for motorcontrol, organization of motor movement, motorplanning, sensori-spatial perceptual skills, and bal-ance.

Tim had an immediate response of improve-ment with the Tomatis Method program. Withinfour hours of listening, he was able to increase sen-tence length, a tangible demonstration of the firsttwo laws of the Tomatis Effect observed in the voiceof a child. Tim’s voice demonstrated increasedreception of inclusion of more harmonics perceivedby the ear and by the immediate and unconsciousinclusion in his voice.

Report from Tim�s Mother about His First Term at School

Tim had an amazing start in school. For a childwho was initially very adamant about not going toschool and had no interest in reading or writing,Tim thoroughly enjoyed going after doing the Toma-tis Method program.

Tim settled into his new environment with ease.He tried very hard to be accepted with the boys. Helearned approximately 60 sight words and couldread 99% of them with no difficulties. He was alsoable to retrieve more than 20 words from his headand write them down from memory. He even wrotesentences without copying, such as, “ I can see myhome,” or, “ I can jump.” Tim enjoyed doing home-work, and actually reminded his mother to about it.They endeavored to revise his words nearly everyday. He happily read from the little reader given tohim each week at school. He was also more willingto do extra work from his speech therapist. Heappeared more mature and capable of doing morework, demonstrating he simply wanted to learn andwas proud of his achievements.

Tim’s drawings improved, having more detail,color, and imagination. He wrote and drew at nearly

every opportunity, whether at home on paper, onthe white board, or on the computer. The writingwas clear and legible. He got excited whenever hediscovered that he could read words at the super-market or in a newspaper or a book. He was moreconfident with his speech and often talked whilerole playing with toys, and repeated phrases used byhis teacher. He did not mind being corrected. Hisexcellent visual memory appeared to help him read.Although his comprehension improved, a promi-nent delay still existed with his comprehension, andsometimes certain questions needed to bereworded in order for him to understand them.

Report from Speech TherapistTim’s process of speech development was accel-

erated after he started the Tomatis Method. He didnot need to have instructions repeated as fre-quently, and was also able to complete activitiesupon first instruction. Before The Tomatis Methodprogram he could repeat three syllables at a time,while afterward this increased to six. He had longerutterances, and his sentences had more words andbetter organization.

CHRIS�S STORYChris had a normal and uneventful birth, but

afterward he required a colostomy, followed by sev-eral major surgical procedures. He had pressureequalizing tubes inserted at age three years becauseseveral middle ear infections left him with glue earand a moderate hearing loss. At age two years, Chriswas referred to a Speech Pathologist because he wasnot forming many words and did not seem tounderstand simple commands.

He was diagnosed with Receptive and Expres-sive Dyspraxia. Chris’s speech pathologist recom-mended that his parents encourage him tocommunicate by using some simple sign language.In spite of this assistance, Chris did not progresswell with speech and language development. Healso had some physical challenges, such as lowmuscle tone and fine motor difficulties. Chris wasleft handed, like his mother. He could not put hissandals on, and although he was dressing himself,he was not good at orienting his clothes or shoes. Hewas also unable to ride a bicycle or catch a ball,activities that require good bilateral coordination.

The speech therapist recommended the Toma-tis Method in October 2001, when Chris was almost



four years old, saying she had seen improvement forchildren with Chris’s difficulties when they partici-pated in this program. Chris’s mother was an occpa-tional therapist and believed in early intervention,so Chris started the program immediately.

The Mother reported, “ After the second day ofTomatis, this child, who had never really said muchand never formed a meaningful sentence, asked meclearly in a Delicatessen, ‘Mum, are you going tohave carrots today? ’ I looked down, in such shock,and then he proceeded to tell the shopkeeper that Iwouldn’t have carrots on my sandwich today. It shard to explain to a Delicatessen worker why youare crying over your son asking you if you want car-rots!”

After a year of Tomatis, eight intensives in all,Chris was transformed into a sociable, confident,talkative boy. He attended the Transition class atScots College Prep, and the teachers commented onthe great improvement they saw during the year.

At almost five years of age, Chris began to take agreat interest in books and stories and to try tosound out some words. He also started to take noteof his surroundings, remembering landmarks andplaces from the past such as roads on which he oncetraveled.

Chris’s motor skills also improved, includingmore coordination in running, climbing, handwrit-ing, and fine motor activities.

As the Tomatis Method program continued,Chris’s improvements also continued in many areas.Though further gains became less obvious as hereached age appropriate abilities in some areas, hisparents continue to see the benefits of perseveringwith the program.

It appears that Chris senses the benefit as well!He knows when he needs to listen more and asks hisparents when he is going back.

Chris�s story from RCTC ViewChris was nearly four years old when seen for

initial assessment. He would speak to his mothersoftly, but did not speak directly to the tester. Occa-sionally he would use a deaf talk type of voice. Hecould put only five to six words together and couldnot say long sentences. Chris had no social commu-nication with his peers at preschool, where he hadbeen badly bullied, kicked, and punched. He tried toexpress himself, but since his speech was muffled

and not well articulated, his peers could not under-stand him.

On the first day of the Tomatis Method program,it was as if we had found the key to unlocking Chris’sworld or as Chris’s father said, “ It has been likesomeone has lifted a veil from over him.” At the endof the first 30 hours, Chris’s father reported, “ It’s amiracle! Chris has started to interact and initiateconversation with other children in the park. Hegoes to them and says: ‘Hello, my name is Chris andwhat is yours? ’” Chris is more assertive with hisfather. “ He shouts at me,” says the father; “In thepast, he would just start to cringe or to cry.”

Chris completed 94 hours of Tomatis Methodprogram over thirteen months. Consultations withChris’s mother were important to help her focus onthe positive aspects of her son’s progress, whichmeant a review of her reflection about the way sheviewed Chris.

Chris’s program was designed according to hisparents feedback, his tests, and his speech thera-pists observations. Working closely with a child’sparent and the other professionals with whom heworks assists us to establish both a closer relation-ship to a child and a refined approach to resolvinghis problems.

Report from Chris�s Mother about His First Term at School

Now Chris is able to ride a bicycle. He can swim,snorkel and catch a ball. He is very involved inschool activities and his own projects He wants tolearn and tell others about his work. He is interestedin signs and wants to read and to spell.

The family moved to Queensland last Christ-mas, where he is settling beautifully into his newenvironment and new school. His parents report heis very motivated.

His mother recently reported that Chris loveswriting. She gave an example of how he constantlyasks about and writes down words. One morning hecame to the breakfast table with his pen and padand asked her how to spell “ breakfast” andpromptly wrote it down. He takes delight in hisrecent achievements, which is perhaps the singlemost exciting outcome for his parents when theyobserve his little face light up when he demon-strates his new abilities! Chris loves maps and usesthem to work out where he is going. He enjoys thecomputer and is quite efficient with standard kin-



dergarten games. He can count to 100. Chris hastaken a real interest in reading, having learned quitea few sight words to get him started.

His speech continues to be a little regressed,and he confuses the order of sounds in some words,such as “bremember” for “remember” and “motetroll” for “remote control. ” He uses “f” soundsinstead of “th” and some single words run together.

He still has poor motor control of his mouth; hestill dribbles at times and can be unconscious of theway he is eating. Since this control may be a sign ofvestibular dysfunction that further Tomatis Methodtraining could address, his parents are consideringcontinuing the program.

Physically he has taken much more interest inplaying ball games, bouncing and catching ballsand occasionally kicking the ball around. The Toma-tis Method program improves the sense of balanceand coordination organized through the vestibularsystem, which, in turn, improves fine and grossmotor skills.

Chris is singing all the time! Metaphorically, hisparents say that every day their hearts sing whenthey see or hear Chris conquer something new thatgives him so much pleasure. His parents attributethe majority of his improvements to the TomatisMethod program; his mother recalls the significantmoment when her view changed of Chris’s poten-tial. “ I always remember back to that first day afterTomatis when that little boy who hardly strung twowords together asked me if I wanted carrots on mysalad sandwich... it all took off from that moment!”

Report from the Speech TherapistBefore the Tomatis Method program, voice pro-

duction was impossible for Chris. After completinga number of intensives, he started getting into thenuance of the voice sounds, for example: coming

(sounding) from the front of the mouth instead of atthe back (sounds from the front and from the backrequire quite different mouth movements). Chrismade a fantastic effort on his part, getting into thenuance of making the different sounds despite itbeing a difficult task and not easily achieved. A dra-matic change in his confidence level has followedspeech his improvement.

BENEFITS OF THE TOMATIS METHODThese case studies show some benefits of using

the Tomatis Method program with individuals withdyspraxia. For example:• In general, words are more clearly spoken. • Speech errors affecting vowels as well as conso-

nants decrease. For instance, 'milk' might bepronounced 'mih', 'muh' or 'meh .’

• The Tomatis Method program fine-tunes coor-dination of the different components of themouth for production of appropriate sounds.

• The Tomatis Method program improves com-prehension.

• The Tomatis Method program improves organi-zation of the speech musculature to bring morecontrol to the voluntary production of sound.

• Social, emotional, physical, and behavior modi-fications occur.

• The Tomatis Method program reduces anxietyin any communication task and increases thechild’s confidence by being able to say what heor she wants and needs.

• The Tomatis Method program modifies theorganization of a child’s responses in communi-cation.

• In all cases observed at the EARobic Centre inSydney, within a few days of intensive ear stimu-lation with the Electronic Ear, the child’s lan-guage improves dramatically.

• The Tomatis Method program appears to mod-ify behavior by making it easier to communi-cate, to interrelate and to develop potential.

CONCLUSIONThe Tomatis Method program improves the part

of Dyspraxia associated with Motor Planning Disor-der, bringing more ability to appropriate use, con-trol, and coordination of the tongue and mouthmuscles for production of specific sounds, includ-ing speech. It appears that use of the TomatisMethod assists children to move their tongues morequickly and easily to the correct position to formwords so that word production attempts are moresuccessful. Placement of the sound in the mouth ismore precise with improved muscle control.

The Tomatis Method program increases theability of a child to understand instructions andrespond to teaching. The integration of grammati-cal structure proceeds much faster as sound stimu-lation creates new brain pathways for speech



comprehension and production. One’s ability toprocess auditory stimulation is changed as a resultof new neural connections. The Tomatis Methodprogram stimulates the nervous system to re-pat-tern when a pattern was not previously formedproperly or lost through accident, illness, or trauma.

At the level of perception, which is oftenreferred to as a more receptive process, childrendoing the Tomatis Method program start to moreaccurately perceive sounds within three weeks,compared to those participating only in traditionalspeech therapy whose response improvement istypically after six weeks. “The beauty of The Toma-tis Method program for children with Dyspraxia, ”says Esther Bruhl, Speech Therapist, “ is that chil-dren can improve quickly without the need to strug-gle to achieve the right sounds. ” This improvementalso makes the process less repetitive for the speechtherapist, and therefore less frustrating for boththerapist and child.

The Tomatis Method program also affects emo-tional and behavioral responses to life. Not onlydoes it improve listening but by improving theseskills and the organization of a child’s responses incommunication, it also decreases their frustration,resulting in fewer tantrums and other disruptivebehavior.

By the end of Tim’s Tomatis Method program,his attempts at producing sounds and wordsresulted in less physical and emotional frustration.As his control of fine and gross motor skillsimproved, his physical abilities and confidenceusing them were enhanced.

Our association with outside professionals suchas speech language therapists and occupationaltherapists has shown them how the Tomatis Methodprogram facilitates and speeds up their own work. Ithas also produced some much-needed and positivecollaboration for the best outcome for the child andparents.

Note: Tomatis Method program descriptions for these cases are avail-able online to Registered Certified Tomatis Consultants.



CASE STUDY

John M. Tatum, M.D. RCTC, Jennifer K. Oelfke, M.A., CFY-SLP, Caroline P. McCauley, B.A., RCTCOptimal Health & Learning Center, Winter Park, Florida, USA

KEY WORDS: Tomatis, Tomatis Method, Speech Therapy, Augmented Speech Therapy, Speech-Language Therapy, Autism, Auditory Processing Disorder, APD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, Oral Motor Therapy.

ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE: Since Tomatis Listening Training is

said to activate the auditory and attention circuits ofthe brain, we wanted to see if there was a synergisticbenefit from combining it simultaneously withspeech therapy. METHODS: In the first case, a four-teen-year-old girl with Autism and no speechdespite eight previous courses of speech therapy,received 30 hours of Tomatis Listening Training, fol-lowed by ten months of three weekly one-hour ses-sions of simultaneous speech therapy and TomatisListening Training. In the second case, a nine-year-old boy with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disor-der, Auditory Processing Disorder, poor school per-formance, and secondary impaired phonemicawareness, received simultaneous speech therapyand Tomatis Listening Training. RESULTS: The girlin case one now has functional use of 34 words and17 sounds and has had many social improvements.The boy in case two went from a phonemic aware-ness rating level of mid second grade to a rating ofbeginning fifth grade in a period of four months,which is faster than usual.

SPRACHTERAPIE MIT TOMATIS-UNTERSTÜTZUNG (VON JOHN TATUM)

ZIELE: Da ein Tomatis-Hörtraining die für dieGehörwahrnehmung und Aufmerksamkeit rele-vanten Bereiche des Gehirn aktivieren soll, wolltenwir herausfinden, ob es einen SynergetischenNutzen gibt, es mit einer gleichzeitigen Sprachthe-rapie zu kombinieren. METHODEN: Im ersten Fallerhielt ein vierzehnjähriges autistisches Mädchenohne Sprachfähigkeit trotz acht vorheriger Spracht-herapie-Anwendungen ein Tomatis-Hörtrainingvon 30 Stunden, gefolgt von dreiwöchigen Sitzun-gen mit gleichzeitiger Sprachtherapie und Tomatis-Training über einen Zeitraum von zehn Monaten.Im zweiten Fall wurde ein neunjähriger Knabe mitAufmerksamkeits-Defizit-Hyperaktivitäts-Syn-drom, Hörverarbeitungsstörungen, schlechtenSchulleistungen und sekundär verminderter Pho-nembewusstsein einer gleichzeitigen Sprach- undTomatis-Therapie unterzogen. ERGEBNISSE: DasMädchen in Fall eins besitzt nun einen funktionalenWortumfang von 34 Worten und 17 Lauten undkonnte sich sozial stark verbessern. Der Knabe vonFall zwei entwickelte sich von einer Bewertung desPhonembewusstseins in der mittleren zweiten Stufezum Beginn der fünften Stufe innerhalb von 4Monaten, eine schnellere Entwicklung als üblich.

RÉSUMÉ

Tomatis et Orthophonie Etant donné que l’on dit que la rééducation de

l’écoute Tomatis stimule les circuits nerveux del’audition et de l’attention, nous avons voulu savoirs'il y avait un avantage synergique à combinersimultanément la Méthode Tomatis avec l’orthoph-onie.

LES MÉTHODES : Le premier cas est celui d’unejeune fille de quatorze ans autiste présentant uneabsence totale de langage en dépit d’une rééduca-

Tomatis-Assisted Speech Therapy


tion orthophonique de huit séances et de 30 heuresde rééducation Tomatis de l’écoute, suivies ensuitependant dix mois à raison de trois fois par semaineen même temps d’une heure de séance d’orthopho-nie et de séances Tomatis. Le deuxième cas est ungarçon de neuf ans présentant un trouble de déficitde l’attention avec hyperactivité, un trouble auditifd’intégration sensorielle, de pauvres résultats sco-laires, et un trouble secondaire de la consciencephonémique, qui a bénéficié en même temps deséances d’orthophonie et de séances de rééducationTomatis de l’écoute.

LES RÉSULTATS : La jeune fille du premier cas amaintenant l'utilisation fonctionnelle de 34 mots etde 17 sons et montre beaucoup d'améliorations surle plan social. Le garçon du deuxième cas est passéen quatre mois d'un niveau de deuxième année duprimaire au niveau de cinquième année du primaireen ce qui concerne la conscience phonémique. Cedélai de quatre mois montre que la combinaison deces deux formes de thérapie opère de façon plusrapide que d'habitude.

TERAPIA DE LENGUAJE APOYADA CON EL METODO TOMATIS

OBJETIVO: Ya que se dice que el Metodo Toma-tis de Entrenamiento Auditivo activa los circuitoscerebrales auditivos y de atencion, queriamos ver sihabia un beneficio sinergetico combinandolosimultaneamente con terapia de lenguaje. METO-DOS: En el primer caso, una nina autista de catorceanos y sin lenguaje a pesar de 8 cursos previos deterapia de lenguaje, recibio 30 hrs de EntrenamientoAuditivo Tomatis seguido por diez meses de tressesiones semanales de una hora de terapia de len-guaje y metodo Tomatis. En el segundo caso, unnino de 9 anos con Deficit de Atencion e Hiperactiv-idad y con Desorden de Procesamiento Auditivo,pobre rendimiento escolar y secundariamente, con-ciencia fonemica debilitada, recibio en formasimultanea terapia de lenguaje y EntrenamientoAuditivo Tomatis. RESULTADOS: La nina en elprimer caso tiene ahora uso funcional de 34 pala-bras y 17 sonidos asi como mejorias varias a nivelsocial. El nino del segundo caso,paso de un nivel desegundo grado en conciencia fonemica a un nivelde quinto grado en 4 meses, lo cual es mas rapido delo normal.

INTRODUCTIONDuring JT’s Tomatis Professional Training expe-

rience with Dr. Billie Thompson, RCTC, he observedan Initial Assessment with a three-year-old boy withAutism. The child was verbally and physically “stim-ming” (i.e. repetitive actions to stimulate the brain)and oblivious to those around him. When taken to aroom with some toys, he did not play appropriately,but rather used the toys for “stimming” and, in aforceful way, still ignored others. Dr. Thompson hadthe mother hold the boy in her lap, with his back toher and her arms around him so he could notremove the headphones. He protested only a fewminutes and then became calm and cooperative. Hewas then placed on the floor with a wooden train setand began playing appropriately with this toy. Withthis remarkable and almost immediate transforma-tion, it was now clear that it was possible to trainand teach this attentive brain. His mother seemedrelieved and pleased that he could keep the head-phones on for the entire two-hour daily listeningsession. She began to change her expectation ofwhat her child could accomplish.

BACKGROUNDThe background of Tomatis Listening Training is

relevant to this work. Alfred Tomatis, M.D. was anEar, Nose, and Throat specialist in Paris, France. Hewas the son of an opera singer, and some of his firstpatients were opera singers who could no longersing certain notes they once had produced. Afterexamining and treating their vocal cords did nothelp, he thought to do a hearing test. He was sur-prised to find that their audiogram looked similar tothose of ammunition factory workers who had hear-ing loss from exposure to loud sound. He alsonoticed that the frequency the singers could notsing was the same frequency they were having trou-ble hearing. He concluded that the voice only con-tains what the ear hears. Dr. Tomatis was able toprove this by having subjects produce a vowelsound while simultaneously listening to themselveswith the sound filtered in various ways. He observedthat the vocal production changed immediately andunconsciously according to the filtering. He realizedat that time that the ear controls the voice, and con-cluded he only had to train the ear to restore thevoice. In time, he also discovered that he alsoneeded to include microphone work to listen toone’s own voice heard with a good quality through



the Electronic Ear he developed. The device allowsthe music of Mozart and other sounds to be sup-plied through air and bone conduction, with a pat-ented delay between their processing. The soundscan be filtered, and multiple adjustments individu-alize the listening experience based on assessmentof listening and of client response (Tomatis, 1991).

The ear is involved in speech because those whocannot hear can only speak with a great deal ofspeech therapy, and even then, their speech doesnot sound completely normal. This relationshipbetween ear and voice is illustrated by an observa-tion that when songbirds are incubated by birds thatdo not sing, the hatchlings do not sing. (Negas, nodate, in Tomatis, 1996). If we want our clients to“sing,” why not let Mozart sing to them through theTomatis equipment?

With his early research with singers, Dr. Tomatisclarified the relationship between the ear andspeech. He formulated three laws, known as theTomatis Effect with its two corollaries. These scien-tific principles were confirmed independently ofTomatis at the Sorbonne by and presented to theFrench Academy of Medicine and the French Acad-emy of Science.

Law 1: The voice only contains the harmonicsthat the ear can hear.

Law 2: If you give the possibility to the ear tocorrectly hear the distorted frequencies of soundthat are not well heard, these are immediately andunconsciously restored into the voice.

Law 3: The imposed audition sufficiently main-tained over time results in permanently modifyingthe audition and phonation.

Besides speech, the ear is also involved in atten-tion. Some of those early opera singers reportedimprovements in energy level, thinking and atten-tion in addition to their voice changes. Some singershad children with similar problems and asked Dr.Tomatis to work with them, too. This began a pro-cess of discovery of many and varied applicationsfor the Tomatis Method, for children as well asadults, opening insight into problems with schoollearning related to listening disabilities. Problemswith attention continue to bring people to considerTomatis Listening Training. Indeed, the three-year-old boy with autism noted above exhibited animmediate improvement in attention with the Tom-atis headphones on.

Tomatis worked with many celebrities who givehim credit for assisting their success and broughtattention to his research and method. GerardDepardieu, celebrated French actor who has Ameri-can films to his credit since learning Englishthrough the Tomatis program, describes his earlyexperience with the program. Depardieu was nine-teen years old when he started and had significantemotional, hearing, and speech problems. He cred-its Dr. Tomatis with helping him overcome his diffi-culties and freeing his mind to think. “BeforeTomatis, I could not complete any of my sentences.He helped give continuity to my thoughts, and hegave me the power to synthesize and understandwhat I was thinking” (Chutkow, 1994).

The authors at Optimal Health & Learning Cen-ter and the members of International Association ofRegistered and Certified Tomatis Consultants(IARCTC) are committed to increasing researchabout the Tomatis Method and sharing findingswith others. Since Tomatis Listening Training acti-vates the auditory and attention circuits, and sincethe aforementioned child was immediately able tofocus and stop “stimming” with the Tomatis head-phones, it seemed logical to see if combining Toma-tis Listening Training with speech therapy wouldhave a synergistic benefit.

MATERIALS, METHODS, AND RESULTS

Case OneA fourteen-year-old female with a diagnosis of

Autism was referred for Tomatis Listening Training,having completed her first intensive with Dr.Thompson and then continuing with our centerwhen it opened. The girl did not verbally communi-cate other than to make grunting sounds to punctu-ate her gestures. She interacted little with othersand was impatient to go home. She was under thecare of and referred by Jeffrey Bradstreet, MD, aninternational leader in the latest treatments forAutism Spectrum Disorder. She had completedeight different extensive courses of speech therapy,including oral motor therapy, since the age of fouryears. Despite these treatments, when she pre-sented to us, she could only make the three soundsof “Ba”, “Da”, and “Ma.”

At the commencement of treatment, the par-ents completed the Abilities-To-Be-Improved Form,in which they noted their priorities for changes for



their child. Then each day they were asked to com-plete a Daily Observation Form, which assisted ourstaff to monitor changes at home to accompanytheir own observations of the child in the center.After the first intensive of 30 hours of Tomatis Lis-tening Training without integrated speech therapy,the parents reported increases in awareness of audi-tory input, independence, motivation, and desire tocommunicate as noted on the interim Abilities-Improved Form. She was reported to be more recep-tive to language input and more willing to try newexperiences. She was calmer, more tolerant, less irri-table, sleeping better, and no longer overly sensitiveto sound. Additionally, her parents also reportedthat she tried to verbalize more and to sing.

Because the girl appeared receptive to practic-ing speech sounds we proposed and the parentsagreed to a program integrating simultaneous Tom-atis Listening Training with the Lindamood® Pho-neme Sequencing Program, (LiPS) (Lindamood,1998). At this time the child began listening to morefiltered Mozart music to focus her to the Englishlanguage range of sounds. The LiPS program is astructured method of teaching awareness and pro-duction of basic sounds or phonemes. CarolineMcCauley, RCTC with six years experience adminis-tering the LiPS Program, administered this part ofthe program. She provided approximately 30 min-utes of active Tomatis microphone work with theLiPS content followed by 30 minutes of passiveTomatis Listening Training for three weekly sessionsover ten months, (a total of approximately 120hours). The girl’s parents reported that she was“really trying to talk,” attempting to ask questions,understanding others’ conversations, using non-prompted words, exhibiting less frustration whenmoving from one task to another, and becomingmore interactive with peers. Where she used toobsessively watch only videotaped Disney movies,she began to watch regular television. She appearedto enjoy sitting down and practicing her words athome. When periodically asked if she wanted tostop the speech and listening sessions, she now saidshe wanted to continue.

Other changes in daily living skills were noted.After nine months of work with us, she went for herregular dental exam. Until that time, for the first 15years of her life, she had to be held down by a dentalassistant on each extremity and by her father hold-ing her head so that the dentist could pry her mouth

open with an instrument and work on her teeth.Because her father noticed many global positivechanges since starting Tomatis, he asked her tocooperate now, and she did! Her father reported thatwhen she sat in the chair, opened her mouth, andfollowed the dentist’s instructions, the dentist wasamazed and touched by the transformation.

At this point, JO continued treatment of thechild using Beckman Oral Motor Therapy (Beck-man, 2000) and traditional speech therapy forsound production, for a total of five months. She did30 minutes of active Tomatis Listening Training withspeech therapy content and 30 minutes of passiveTomatis Listening Training.

To date, this client has mastered the followingspeech sounds in isolation: /p, b, t, d, f, v, th, s, m, n,w, wh, ee, a, o, oe, oo/. She is currently working onmastering the following speech sounds in isolation:/k, g, th (voiced), z, sh, ch, l, r, i/. She can now sayfunctional words such as “sorry”, “meat”, “teeth”,“tooth”, “sad”, “happy”, her name, “meet”, ‘Bye”,“man, “mom”, “map”, “feet”, “me”, “toss”, “food”,“off”, “on”, and can identify the use of them in sen-tences. She is working on mastering the productionof words such as “Hi”, “dad”, “bat”, “ball”, “fish”,“please”, “sheep”, “hot dog”, “bun”, “toes”, “cheese”,“ham”, “bean”, “moon”, and “peas”. Considering shehad little to no speech prior to starting Tomatis Lis-tening Training and then continuing with combinedactive Tomatis work with speech therapy exercises,the girl has experienced significant improvement incommunication, attention, comprehension, social-ization, daily living skills, and learning in general.This case also demonstrates that older children aswell as younger children can gain from this programbecause much of the stimulation to the brain comesthrough the ear.

Oral motor therapy, a treatment used tostrengthen the oro-facial muscles necessary for eat-ing and speech, was a focus in many of this client’sspeech therapy sessions. The initial Beckman OralMotor Assessment found these results: decreasedrange of movement for the jaw, 0% posterior cheekstrength bilaterally, 0% jaw strength bilaterally, 0%tongue movement toward gum massage, 33% lateraltongue movement to lower gum and cheeks bilater-ally, 0% lateral tongue movement to the left uppergum, 33% lateral tongue movement to the rightupper gum, 0% tongue tip elevation, and 0% tonguemidblade elevation. For three months, she has been



receiving Beckman Oral Motor therapy, (Beckman,2000 and personal training and consultation)including Beckman deep tissue release (Beckman,2002), with simultaneous Tomatis Listening Train-ing three times a week. Currently, her only weak-nesses are with her tongue midblade elevation(67%) and tongue tip elevation (33%). She has madegreat gains and continues to improve with more oralmotor sessions. Having the ability to move thestructures necessary for speech makes the produc-tion of specific speech sounds much easier. Thecombination of Tomatis Listening Training, speechtherapy, oral motor work, and her motivation anddiligent practice of her newly learned sounds andwords have made a dramatic impact on her overallspeech.

CASE TWO: A nine-year-old boy in fourth gradewas referred because of significant difficult in spell-ing, writing, and penmanship, despite obvious nor-mal or higher intelligence. He had previously beendiagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Dis-order (ADHD), yet prior attempts at neurofeedbackand medication elsewhere had not significantlyimproved his school performance. In addition topsychiatric history and examination, we adminis-tered the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), acomputerized and standardized test for attentionand ADHD. We ordered psycho-educational testingby an outside psychologist and audiology evalua-tion by an audiologist specializing in Auditory Pro-cessing Disorder. These evaluations confirmed thediagnosis of ADHD and Auditory Processing Disor-der (APD). Our staff also administered the Lin-damood® Auditory Conceptualization Test (LAC),and assessed his overall language skills. He wasadministered the Clinical Evaluation of LanguageFundamentals, Fourth Edition (CELF-4) (Semel,Wiig, & Secord), Test of Auditory Reasoning and Pro-cessing Skills (TARPS) (Gardner, 1992), and the Testof Auditory-Perceptual Skills - Revised (TAPS-R)(Gardner, 1996). His overall performance on theCELF-4 was in the borderline range of functioning,with language memory being his area of most diffi-culty. His auditory perceptual skills were aboveaverage for his grade level, although areas of diffi-culty included auditory memory for numbers (for-ward and backward), auditory word memory, andauditory word discrimination. Because of his APD,he had poor phonemic/phonological awareness. Onthe LAC test, he scored in the middle of second

grade (Converted Score of 62) in his ability to dis-criminate one phoneme from another and to seg-ment a spoken word into its constituent phonemicunits. These skills are necessary for reading andspelling competence.

Following a thorough consultation with his par-ents regarding the findings and training and treat-ment options, they approved the recommendedplan. He continued medication he was on for ADHD(Strattera-atomoxetine HCL) and started the Toma-tis Listening Training. On the second day of TomatisListening Training, he began work with the Lin-damood® Phoneme Sequencing Program (LiPS),during an active Tomatis Listening Training session.While both the LiPS program and Tomatis ListeningTraining stand individually in success, combiningthem proved to be of additional help for this client,as shown by re-administration of the LAC. After 60sessions (60 hours) following approximately fourmonths training, the boy received a ConvertedScore of 87, placing him above his grade level at thebeginning of fifth grade in his phonemic/phonolog-ical awareness skills. In addition to the scores, hehas frequently made comments regarding his ownperception of easier reading, spelling, and compre-hension in school activities. These kinds of gainsusually take twice as long (115-120 hours of inten-sive treatment). Therefore combining Tomatis withthe LiPS program resulted in a significant savings oftime and money.

DISCUSSIONIn case one, a girl with Autism, who could not

speak despite repeated trials of speech therapy, hasbegun to speak. In case two, a boy with attentionand auditory processing difficulties, who performedsignificantly below grade level, alleviated the needto wear headphones in the classroom and improvedhis overall school performance. He now scoresabove grade level in his phonemic awareness, withresulting improvements in his previously weak areaof language arts. Tomatis’ scientific discovery thatthe ear controls speech, described as The TomatisEffect (above), explains theoretically and physiolog-ically why training the ear can improve speech.

These cases illustrate the synergistic benefit ofcombining Tomatis Listening Training with speechtherapy, providing the added benefit to these chil-dren of increased performance with reduced timeand money.



The authors also note they routinely combineTomatis Listening Training with Nanci Bell’s ® Visu-alizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehen-sion and Thinking program, (V/V), with a similaraugmenting effect. If visualization and languagecomprehension is weak, 30 hours of passive TomatisListening Training is followed by using V/V duringactive Tomatis sessions. Then LiPS will be used withactive Tomatis sessions for auditory processing,reading, and spelling problems. The usual Tomatisprotocol of two hours of Tomatis Listening per dayfor 30 hours is continued, followed by a four-weekbreak, and then another 30-hour intensive of Toma-tis. During one of the two Tomatis hours, they doLiPS or V/V protocols for active voice Tomatis Lis-tening Training sessions. During the four-weeks fol-lowing completion of the intensives, rather thantaking a complete break, from one to three hours ofactive Tomatis Listening Training using LiPS, V/V,or speech therapy is continued each week. If achild’s problems are more serious, 30 to 60 hours ofTomatis will be implemented before adding theother programs in order to provide the foundationalability to listen upon which all language is built. Therecommended protocol to provide the best out-come takes into consideration goals for the child,their starting abilities, and money and timeresources available to the family.

Other professionals are invited to review thesecases and explore adding Tomatis Listening Train-ing to their services, including those for SensoryIntegration Disorder and other types of presentingproblems that involve the analysis of sound and ofmovement by the ear. By combining Tomatis Listen-ing Training with speech therapy, greater than nor-mal gains are achieved, results occur more quickly,and new capabilities emerge for the child.

REFERENCES1. Beckman, D.A. (2000) Beckman Oral Motor Assessment and Inter-vention Manual. Beckman & Associates, Inc., 1211 Palmetto Avenue,Winter Park, FL, www.beckmanoralmotor.com2. Beckman, D.A. (2002) Orofacial Deep Tissue Release Manual.Beckman & Associates, Inc., 1211 Palmetto Avenue, Winter Park, FL.3. Bell, Nanci. Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehen-sion and Thinking. Retrieved January 31, 2004, from Lindamood-BellWeb site: www.lblp.com.4. Chutkow, P. (1994). Depardieu: a biography. New York: Alfred A.Knopf, p. 151.5. IARCTC, the International Association of Registered and CertifiedTomatis Consultants. Retrieved January 31, 2004, from Web sitewww.iarctc.com.

6. Lindamood, P. (1998). The Lindamood® Phoneme SequencingProgram for Reading, Spelling, and Speech. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.7. Negas, The mechanism of the larynx, in Tomatis, A.A. (1996). Theear and language. Norval, Ontario, Canada: Moulin Publishing, andPhoenix, AZ, USA: Sound Listening and Learning Center, p. 56.8. Tomatis, A. A. (1991) The conscious ear. New York: Stanton HillPress, p.1-92.

John M. Tatum, M.D., RCTCJohn M. Tatum, M.D., RCTCJohn M. Tatum, M.D., RCTCJohn M. Tatum, M.D., RCTC is a psychiatrist who specializes in psychotherapy, Functional Medicine, Neurofeedback, the Tomatis Method, and problems of attention and learning. He is founder and Medical Director of Optimal Health & Learning Center, 2180 Park Avenue North, Suite 328, Winter Park, FL, 32789, USA, [email protected] K. Oelfke, MA, CFY-SLPJennifer K. Oelfke, MA, CFY-SLPJennifer K. Oelfke, MA, CFY-SLPJennifer K. Oelfke, MA, CFY-SLP is a Florida-licensed, Provisional Speech-Language Pathologist Clinical Fellow under the supervision of Debra A. Beckman, MA, CCC-SLP. She has additional training and experience in Beckman Oral Motor Therapy and learning disabilities. She is Director of Speech and Language Pathology at Optimal Health & Learning Center, 2180 Park Avenue North, Suite 328, Winter Park, FL, 32789, USA, [email protected] P. McCauley, B.A., RCTCCaroline P. McCauley, B.A., RCTCCaroline P. McCauley, B.A., RCTCCaroline P. McCauley, B.A., RCTC is a certified and registered Tomatis Consultant. She has graduate work in Varying Exceptionalities, and seven years experience working with learning disabilities. She is Director of Tomatis Listening Training at Optimal Health & Learning Center, 2180 Park Avenue North, Suite 328, Winter Park, FL, 32789, USA, [email protected].



RETROSPECTIVE

Billie M. Thompson, Ph.D., RCTC, Chair of IARCTC

DR. ALFRED A. TOMATIS(1920 – 2001) spent the last halfof the twentieth century develop-ing a method of sound stimula-tion and consultation that carrieshis name. He was a French ear-nose-throat specialist, philoso-pher, author, psychologist, edu-cator, and inventor well knownworldwide for a wide variety ofapplications with which hismethod worked. As an entrepre-neur, he created the ElectronicEar, a machine that held variouspatents in many countries andthat is the cornerstone to hismethod.

Dr. Tomatis garnered bothcontroversy and praise, theformer because he questionedand sometimes challengedestablished beliefs and the latterbecause his method facilitateddesired changes in people’s lives.He invited us to think differentlyabout human potential and howlistening is the most basic skillfor communication and learning.The word “person” originatesfrom “per” and “son” (sound),and each of us is represented byhow we listen to and speak withsound.

Our ears also organize ourmovement in three-dimensionalspace, and we must listen to ourbodies to move well.

Tomatis developed a Listen-ing Test to chart a person’s listen-ing strengths and weaknesses toprovide helpful informationwhen developing TomatisMethod programs. They allowthose trained to use the Methodto observe changes that occurduring and following participa-tion in these programs. Both theMethod and the Listening Testcan be subjects of research pub-lished in this journal.

The contributions of Dr.Tomatis began in the 1950s whenhe discovered a scientific princi-pal, known now as the TomatisEffect. He observed that a groupof opera singers with whom heworked could no longer produce

the sounds they needed withtheir voices and they required asolution because their jobs werein jeopardy. His discovery cameafter traditional medical treat-ments failed to improve theirvoices, and he began to researchby asking, “What else can I do?”His thoughts turned to the audi-ometer he used to test hearingloss of thousands of ammunitionfactory workers, and he decidedto test the singers’ hearing. Thiswas a serendipitous choice, as itturns out, because the source ofthe voice problems was not withthe larynx but rather with the ear.As he reviewed results of thesingers’ hearing tests, he noticedhow similar they were to the testsof the factory workers, and Dr.Tomatis made an astounding dis-covery. The missing sounds fromeach person’s voice were theidentical sounds missing fromthat person’s ears.

Dr. Tomatis asked anotherquestion based on his observa-tion. “Could the voice only pro-duce the harmonics contained inthe ear?” He was engaged in theresearch process known asgrounded theory (Glasser &Strauss, 1966), in which onebegins by asking questions, thengathers qualitative and quantita-tive data and refines questions,and then evolves theory. Thisprocess is visible from the fifteenbooks Tomatis wrote, the many

Tribute from Members of IARCTC toDr. Alfred A. Tomatis (1920 � 2001)


articles and conference presenta-tions, and the proprietary proto-cols developed working withthousands of clients. This specificquestion evolved into theoryknown as the Tomatis Effect, withtwo corollaries added as the Elec-tronic Ear took form and wasused with the singers. The Toma-tis Effect is the basis for the Tom-atis Method.

Law 1: The voice only con-tains the harmonics that the earcan hear.

Law 2: If you give the possi-bility to the ear to correctly hearthe distorted frequencies ofsound that are not well heard,these are immediately andunconsciously restored into thevoice.

Law 3: The imposed auditionsufficiently maintained over timeresults in permanently modifyingthe audition and phonation.

The Tomatis Effect was scien-tifically verified independently ofDr. Tomatis at the Sorbonne Uni-versity in 1957. Following use ofTomatis Method with singers,others asked another question ofwhether it could help them withimprovements in other commu-nications areas. The answer “Wecan try” resulted in more obser-vations and more questions thatcontinue into the future aboutapplications for which it could beused. Listening became distin-guished from hearing andacknowledged for the major roleit plays in our communicationand learning processes. Evenbefore birth we are listening andinfluencing the development ofthe fetal brain, since the onlysensory system fully developedbefore birth, showing up four anda half months into the process, isthe ear. It appears that our ears

are necessary for the brain’sproper development. Over eightypercent of the pathways in thebrain connect to the auditory orvestibular systems. Tomatis firstproposed this role of the fetal earand considered this informationwhen developing TomatisMethod programs.

Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis left alegacy of the Tomatis Method andbegan what Dr. Susan Andrewsand I describe as “The EmergingField of Sound Training” (IEEEEngineering in Medicine andBiology, Feb/Mar 1999). Membersof the IARCTC pay tribute to Dr.Tomatis by carrying this work for-ward and promoting funding andpublication of Tomatis Methodresearch. This task is essential forbroad acceptance worldwidefrom the scientific communityand from those who determineits inclusion in programs in soci-ety for people of all ages. The life-long work of Dr. Tomatis supportspeople to listen to themselves,others, and the environment.Good listeners can receive infor-mation from others and alsoexpress their own views towardcreating a safe and sound worldin which to live.

HOMMAGE DES MEMBRES D'IARCTC À DR. ALFRED A. TOMATIS (1920 - 2001)Billie M. Thompson, Ph.D., RCTC, Présidente d'IARCTC

LE DR. ALFRED A. TOMATISA passé la dernière moitié duvingtième siècle à développerune méthode de stimulation parle son et de consultation quiporte son nom. C était un spécial-iste en oto-rhino-laryngologie,un philosophe, un auteur, un psy-chologue, un éducateur, et un

inventeur français bien connudans le monde entier pour unegrande variété d'applicationsavec lesquelles sa méthode afonctionné. En tant qu'entrepre-neur, il a créé l'oreille électron-ique, une machine qui détientdivers brevets dans de nombreuxpays et qui est la pierre angulairede sa méthode.

Le Dr. Tomatis a suscité à lafois polémique et éloge, lapremière parce qu'il a interrogéet a parfois défié la croyanceétablie et le dernier parce que saméthode facilite les change-ments désirés dans la vie desgens. Il nous a invités à penserdifféremment au potentielhumain et à voir commentl'écoute est la compétence laplus fondamentale pour la com-munication et l'étude. Le motpersonne provient de « per » et« son » et chacun de nous estreprésenté par la façon dontnous écoutons et parlons en util-isant le son. Nos oreilles organ-isent également notremouvement dans l'espace tridi-mensionnel, et nous devonsécouter nos corps pour biennous mouvoir. Tomatis a dével-oppé le test d'écoute pourdresser une carte des points fortset faibles de l'écoute de la per-sonne afin de fournir des infor-mations utiles pour ledéveloppement des pro-grammes réalisés avec la méth-ode de Tomatis. Pour ceuxqualifiés comme praticiens de laméthode, Ils permettentd’observer les changements quisurviennent pendant et après laparticipation à ces programmes.La méthode et le test d'écoutepeuvent être des sujets de recher-che publiés dans ce journal.

Tribute from Members of IARCTC to Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis (1920 � 2001)


Les contributions du Dr.Tomatis ont commencé dans lesannées 50 quand il a découvertun principe scientifique, connumaintenant comme « l’effetTomatis ». Il a observé qu'ungroupe de chanteurs d'opéraavec qui il a travaillé ne pouvaitplus produire les sons qu'ilsavaient besoin d’émettre avecleurs voix et ils chercher unesolution pour éviter de mettreleur carrière en péril. Sa décou-verte est survenue après que lestraitements médicaux tradition-nels aient été sans effet sur leursvoix, et il a commencé à chercheren se posant la question « Qu’estce que je peux faire d’autre ? » Sespensées se sont tournées vers letest auditif qu'il avait l'habituded'utiliser pour examiner la perted'audition de milliers d’ouvriersd'usine souffrant de surdité. Il adonc décidé d'examiner l’audi-tion des chanteurs. Il s’avère quece fut un choix judicieux, parceque la source des problèmes devoix des chanteurs était non avecle larynx mais plutôt avecl'oreille. Alors qu’il passait enrevue les résultats des tests audi-tifs des chanteurs, il a noté à quelpoint ils étaient semblables auxtests des ouvriers d'usine. Le Dr.Tomatis a fait ainsi une décou-verte étonnante. Les sons absentsde la voix des chanteurs étaientles mêmes sons qui manquaientdans les oreilles des ouvriers tra-vaillant dans le bruit. Suite à sesobservations, le Dr. Tomatis s’estposé une autre question. Est-ceque seule la voix peut reproduireles harmoniques contenues dansl'oreille ? Il s’est engagé dans unprocédé de recherches connusous le nom de théorie de base(Glasser et Strauss, 1966), danslequel on commence en posant

des questions, puis on recueilledes données qualitatives et quan-titatives et on raffine les ques-tions, et puis la théorie évolue. Ceprocessus est évident dans lesquinze livres que Tomatis a écrits,les nombreux articles et présen-tations lors de conférences, et lefonctionnement développé parles protocoles de propriété indus-trielle avec des milliers de clients.Cette question spécifique s’esttransformée en une théorie con-nue sous le nom d'effet de Toma-tis, avec deux corollairessupplémentaires, l’oreille électro-nique qui a evolué et a été utiliséeavec les chanteurs. L'effet Toma-tis sert de base à la méthodeTomatis. Loi 1 : La voix ne con-tient que les harmoniques quel'oreille peut entendre. Loi 2 : Sivous donnez la possibilité àl'oreille d’entendre correctementles fréquences distordues ou lessons qui ne sont pas entenduscorrectement, ceux-ci sontimmédiatement et inconsciem-ment reproduits dans la voix.

Loi 3 : En imposant pendantun certain temps une certaineaudition, on modifie de manièrepermanente l'audition et la pho-nation.

L'effet Tomatis a été scienti-fiquement prouvé indépendam-ment du Dr. Tomatis à l'universitéde la Sorbonne en 1957 à Paris.Après l'utilisation de la méthodeTomatis avec les chanteurs, cela afait émerger d’autres questions àsavoir si elle pouvait aider dansd'autres secteurs de communica-tion. La réponse fut « On peutessayer » et eut comme con-séquence plus d'observations etencore plus de questions qui ontcontinué à évoluer avec les appli-cations pour lesquelles la Méth-ode Tomatis peut être employée.

Tomatis a ainsi distingué l'écoutede l'audition et a reconnul’oreille dans le rôle principalqu'elle joue dans notre commu-nication et nos apprentissages.Même avant la naissance nousécoutons déjà et cela influence ledéveloppement du cerveau foe-tal, puisque le seul système sen-soriel à s'être entièrementdéveloppé avant la naissance, etcela des quatre mois et demi dela grossesse, est l'oreille. Il s'avèreque nos oreilles sont nécessairespour le développement appro-prié du cerveau. Plus de quatre-vingts pour cent des voies dans lecerveau sont reliées aux systèmesauditifs ou vestibulaires. Tomatisest le premier à avoir proposé cerôle de l'oreille foetale et a pris encompte cette information pourdévelopper les programmes util-isés dans l’application de méth-ode de Tomatis.

Le Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis alaissé pour héritage la méthodede Tomatis et a commencé ceque le Dr. Susan Andrews et moidécrivons comme «le champémergeant de l’utilisation du sondans la rééducation » (IEEE Engi-neering in Médecine et Biologie,Fév./Mars 1999). Les membres del'IARCTC rendent hommage auDr. Tomatis en poursuivant cetravail et en contribuant aufinancement et à la publicationde la recherche sur la méthodede Tomatis. Cette tâche estessentielle pour remporter dansle monde entier l’adhésion à laMéthode Tomatis par la commu-nauté scientifique et par ceux quidéterminent son introductiondans les programmes pour lespersonnes de tous les âges de lasociété. Tout au long de sa vie, leDr. Tomatis a oeuvré pour per-mettre aux personnes de



s’écouter et d’être à l’écoute desautres et de leur environnement.Les bons écoutants reçoivent leurinformation des autres et peu-vent également exprimer leurspropres opinions pour créer unmonde sonore sûr dans lequelvivre.

IN WÜRDIGUNG VON DR. ALFRED A. TOMATIS (1920 - 2001)Dr. Billie M. Thompson, Ph.D., RCTC, Vorsitzende der IARCTC

DR. ALFRED A. TOMATISentwickelte in der letzten Hälftedes 20. Jahrhunderts eine Meth-ode der Klangstimulation, dieseinen Namen trägt. Als ein fran-zösischer Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Spezialist, Philosoph, Autor, Psy-chologe und Erfinder war er welt-weit bekannt für die Vielfalt anAnwendungen seiner Methode.Er entwickelte ein patentiertesGerät, genannt ElektronischesOhr, das einen Eckpunkt derMethode darstellt.

Dr. Tomatis erntete sowohlWiderspruch als auch Vere-hrung, ersteres, weil er etablierteAnsichten hinterfragte und ihnenmanchmal auch widersprach,letzteres, weil seine Methodeviele ersehnte Lebens-veränderungen erleichterte. Erlud zum Nachdenken über dasmenschliche Potential und überdas Zuhören als grundlegendsteVoraussetzung für Kommunika-tion und Lernen ein. Das Wort„Person” stammt von „per” (für)und „son“ (Klang) ab und jederMensch wird dadurch charak-terisiert, wie er dem Klangzuhören und in der Sprache wie-dergeben kann. Unsere Ohrenbeeinflussen maßgeblich unsereBewegung im dreidimension-

alen Raum und wir auch unseremKörper zuhören, um uns gutbewegen zu können. Tomatisentwickelte einen Hörtest zurFeststellung der Stärken undSchwächen der Hörfähigkeit, umwichtige Informationen für dieEntwicklung der Tomatis-Pro-gramme zu erhalten. Damit kön-nen die in der Methodeausgebildeten Personen diewährend oder nach einem Hör-training auftretendenVeränderungen feststellen.Sowohl die Methode als auch derHörtest sind Gegenstand der indiesem Journal veröffentlichenForschungen.

Die ersten wissenschaftli-chen Erkenntnisse sammelte Dr.Tomatis in den 50er-Jahren, als erdas wissenschaftliche Prinziperforschte, das als der „Tomatis-Effekt“ bekannt werden sollte. Erstelle fest, dass einige Opern-sänger, die er behandelte,manche für ihre Stimme wichti-gen Klänge nicht mehr hervor-bringen konnten. Weil damit ihrBeruf in Gefahr war, suchte ernach Lösungen. Da die tradition-ellen medizinischen Methodenkeinen Erfolg bei der Verbesse-rung der Stimme zeigten, frage ersich: „Was sonst kann ich nochversuchen?“ Seine Gedankenwanderten zu den Audiometern,mit denen er üblicherweise dieGehörverluste von Fabrikarbeit-ern testete, und er entschied sich,auch das Gehör der Sänger zutesten. Dies war, wie sich her-ausstellte, eine richtige Wahl,denn die Stimmprobleme lagennicht an den Stimmbändernsondern an den Ohren. Als er dieHörtestergebnisse betrachtete,stellte er viele Ähnlichkeiten mitden Tests der Fabrikarbeiter festund Dr. Tomatis machte einer

erstaunliche Entdeckung. Die inder Stimme fehlenden Klängewaren ident mit den vom Ohrnicht wahrgenommenen Fre-quenzen.

Aufgrund dieser Entdeckungstellte sich Dr. Tomatis eineandere Frage. „Kann die Stimmenur Frequenzen produzieren, dieauch das Ohr wahrnimmt?“ Erging nach einem Forschung-sprinzip genannt „begründeteTheorie“ (Glasser & Strauss,1966) vor, bei der man sich zuerstFragen stellt, dann qualitativeund quantitative Daten sammelt,damit die Fragen weiter verfein-ert und schließlich eine Theorieentwickelt. Dieser Prozess ist ausden fünfzehn Büchern, die Tom-atis schrieb, ersichtlich, sowieaus den vielen Artikeln und Kon-ferenzvorträgen und aus den ver-traulichen Aufzeichnungen, dieaus seiner Arbeit mit Tausendenvon Klienten entstanden. Ausdieser spezifischen Frageentstand eine Theorie, Tomatis-Effekt genannt, die später umzwei Folgesätzen erweitertwurde, als das Elektronische Ohrentwickelt und mit Sängern eing-esetzt wurde. Der Tomatis-Effektist die Basis der Tomatis-Meth-ode.

Gesetz 1: Die Stimme enthältnur Frequenzen, die auch dasOhr wahrnehmen kann.

Gesetz 2: Wenn man demOhr die Möglichkeit gibt, dieschlecht gehörten Frequenzenwieder korrekt wahrzunehmen,dann sind diese sofort und unbe-wusst wieder in der Stimmeenthalten.

Gesetz 3: Durch eine übereinen bestimmten Zeitraum vor-genommene Stimulation desHörens kann das Gehör und die



Phonation dauerhaft verändertwerden.

Der Tomatis-Effekt wurde1957 unabhängig von Dr. Tomatisan der Sorbonne Universität wis-senschaftlich verifiziert. Nach-dem die Tomatis-Methode beiSängern Erfolge zeigte, stelltesich die Frage, ob sie auch inanderen Kommunikationsbere-ichen Verbesserungen herbe-iführen könnte. Die Antwort „Wirversuchen es“ führte zu weiterenBeobachtungen und zu weiterenFragen, die zu möglichen zukün-ftigen Anwendungen führen. DasZuhören wurde von Hören unter-schieden und seine wichtigeRolle bei Kommunikation undbei Lernprozessen festgestellt.Sogar vor der Geburt beeinflusstdas Hören die Entwicklung desfötalen Gehirns, da das Ohr nachviereinhalb Monaten derSchwangerschaft das einzige vorder Geburt voll entwickelte sen-sorische System darstellt. Es zeigtsich, dass das Ohr unabdingbarfür die Entwicklung des Gehirnsist. Über achtzig Prozent der neu-ronalen Vernetzungen im Gehirnsind mit den auditiven und vesti-bulären Systemen verknüpft.Tomatis zeigte als Erster dieseBedeutung des fötalen Ohres aufund bezog sie in die Entwicklungder Programme der Tomatis-Methode ein.

Dr. Alfred A. Tomatis überließuns als Vermächtnis die Tomatis-Methode und begründete das,was Dr. Susan Andrews und ichals “Das wachsende Feld dasKlangtrainings“ beschreiben(IEEE Engineering in Medicineand Biology, Feb/März 1999). DieMitglieder der IARCTC zollen Dr.Tomatis Anerkennung indem sieseine Arbeit weiterführen undForschungen betreffend die Tom-

atis-Methode finanzieren undveröffentlichen. Diese Aufgabe istfür die breite Anerkennung durchdie wissenschaftliche Gemeindeund durch jede, die über ihreNutzung für die Gesellschaftentscheiden, unabdingbar. Dielebenslange Arbeit des Dr. Toma-tis unterstützt alle, die auf sich,auf andere und auf ihre Umwelthören. Gute Zuhörer könnennicht nur besser Informationenvon anderen empfangen, sie kön-nen auch ihre Ansichten besserausdrücken, um so eine sichereund vernünftige Welt für uns allezu schaffen.

TRIBUTO DE LOS MIEMBROS DEL IARCTC AL DR. ALFRED A. TOMATIS (1920-2001)

EL DR. ALFRED A. TOMATISpasó la segunda mitad del sigloveinte desarrollando un métodode estimulación auditiva y con-sulta que lleva su nombre. FueOtorrinolaringólogo, filósofo,autor, psicólogo, educador einventor, conocido mundial-mente por una amplia variedadde aplicaciones en las que sumétodo funciona. Como empre-sario, creo el Oído Electrónico,una máquina que tiene variaspatentes en muchos países y quees la piedra angular de sumétodo.

El Dr. Tomatis generó tantocontroversias como alabos, loprimero porque cuestionó yamenazó creencias establecidas ylo otro porque su método facilitacambios deseados en la vida delas personas. Nos invitó a pensarde forma distinta acerca delpotencial humano y de como laEscucha es la habilidad másbásica de comunicación y apren-dizaje. La palabra persona se ori-

gina de "per" y "son" (sonido) ycada uno de nosotros estamosrepresentados por la forma en laque escuchamos y hablamos consonido. Nuestros oídos tambiénorganizan el movimiento en unespacio tridimensional y debe-mos escuchar a nuestro cuerpopara movernos bien. Tomatis dis-eño una prueba de escucha paragraficar las fortalezas y debil-idades en la forma de escuchar lacual provee de informaciónimportante para el desarrollo deun programa Tomatis. Esto per-mite a aquellos que tienen elentrenamiento, observar cam-bios que ocurren durante ydespués de la participación eneste programa. Tanto el Métodocomo la Prueba de Escuchapueden ser temas de investi-gación publicados en estarevista.

Las contribuciones del Dr.Tomatis comienzan en los añoscincuentas cuando descubrió unprincipio científico, conocidocomo Efecto Tomatis. Observóque un grupo de cantantes deópera con los que trabajaba, nopodían ya producir con su voz lossonidos, y requerían de una solu-ción ya que sus trabajos se veíanamenazados. Su descubrimientovino después de que los trata-mientos médicos tradicionalesfallaron en mejorar sus voces, ycomenzó a investigar preguntán-dose: Que mas puedo hacer? Suspensamientos se enfocaron alaudiómetro que utilizo para eval-uar la audición de los cantantes.Esto fue una casualidad, que,como ahora sabemos, la causadel problema de voz no era la lar-inge, sino, el oído. Al revisar losresultados de la audición de loscantantes, noto cuan similareran a los resultados de las prue-



bas aplicadas a los trabajadores y,el Dr. Tomatis hizo un gran des-cubrimiento. Los sonidos que fal-taban en la voz de una personaeran idénticos a los que faltabanen el oído de la persona (comomostraban las audiometrías).

El Dr. Tomatis se hizo otrapregunta basado en esta obser-vación: Puede la voz solo repro-ducir los armónicos contenidosen el oído? Se involucro en el pro-ceso de investigación llamado"Teoría Fundamentada" (Glaser& Strauss, 1996), en la cual unocomienza por preguntarse,después, recopila datos cualitati-vos y cuantitativos y refina laspreguntas, y de ahí, nace lateoría. Este proceso es visible enlos quince libros escritos porTomatis, los artículos, conferen-cias y protocolos desarrollados apartir del tratamiento de miles declientes. Esta pregunta especificaevoluciono en la teoría conocidacomo "Efecto Tomatis", con doscorolarios agregados al tomarforma el oído electrónico y serutilizado en los cantantes. ElEfecto Tomatis es la base para elMétodo Tomatis.

Ley 1: La voz contiene sololos armónicos que el oído puedeoír.

Ley 2: Si le das al oído laposibilidad de oír correctamentelas frecuencias distorsionadas desonido que no oye de forma cor-recta; estas son inmediata einconscientemente restituidas aloído.

Ley 3: La audición impuesta ymantenida por un tiempo sufi-ciente, resulta en la modificaciónpermanente de la audición yfonación.

El Efecto Tomatis fue científi-camente verificado de formaindependiente del Dr. Tomatis en

la Universidad de la Sorbona en1957.

A raíz de la consiguiente uti-lización del Método Tomatis concantantes, otros plantearon lapregunta de si podía ayudarlosmejorando otras áreas de comu-nicación. La respuesta: "Podemosintentar" resulto en mas observa-ciones y mas preguntas que con-tinúan en el futuro acerca de masaplicaciones.

La Escucha se distingue de laAudición y es reconocida por elimportante rol que juega en otrosprocesos de aprendizaje y comu-nicación. Desde antes de nacerestamos escuchando e influenci-ando el desarrollo del cerebrofetal, ya que el único sistema sen-sorial completamente desarrol-lado ante de nacer, apareciendo alos 4 meses y medio dentro delproceso, es el oído. Pareciera quenuestros oídos son necesariospara que el cerebro se desarrolleadecuadamente.

Mas del 80% de las vías neu-rales conectan con los sistemasauditivo y vestibular. Tomatispropuso este rol del oído fetal yconsidero esta información aldesarrollar los Programas delMétodo Tomatis.

El Dr. Alfred Tomatis dejo ellegado del Método Tomatis ycomenzó lo que describo como:"El Campo Emergente del Entre-namiento Auditivo" (IEEE Engi-neering in Medicine and Biology,Feb/Mar 1999). Los miembros dela IARCTC rinden tributo al Dr.Tomatis llevando el método haciadelante y promoviendo los fon-dos y publicación de la investi-gación sobre el Método Tomatis.Esta tarea es esencial para laaceptación de la comunidadcientífica en el ámbito mundial ypara aquellos que determinan su

inclusión en programas socialespara todas edades y tipos de gen-tes. El trabajo del Dr. Tomatis,apoya la escucha de la personamisma, de los otros y de sumedio ambiente. Los que sonbuenos para escuchar, puedenrecibir información de otros yexpresar también sus propiospuntos de vista para crear unmundo seguro y estable paravivir.



RETROSPECTIVE

The development of theTomatis Method is shown belowby a list of discoveries, publica-tions, and technology patents(examples from US shown to rep-resent timing of patents filedworldwide).

1944 - 49• Audio-Vocal Cybernetics• Professional Deafness

among Singers

1949 - 51• Electronic Ear without Auto-

matic Balance• Applications Observed

1951 - 53• Electronic Ear with Gates

and Electronic Controls• Report to Professional Oto-

Rhino-Laryngologie SocietyParis

• Musical Ear Article PublishedFrench Journal ORL

• Correction of the SingingVoice Course at Faculty ofMedicine in Paris

1953 - 55• Intrauterine Listening• Ontogenesis• Phylogenesis• Publications in French Jour-

nals and Courses

1955 - 61• Applications in Other Fields –

Physiological Problems, Lin-

guistics, Articulation, Pho-netics, Academics,Psychological

• Listening Test• Tomatis Effect Proven Inde-

pendently at the Sorbonne,1957

1961 - 70• Mother's Voice• Intrauterine Life Problems• Infancy Profound Problems• L’Oreille et le Langage pub-

lished 1963• Dyslexia Article published

1967• “Integration of Living Lan-

guages” Article published1970

• US Patent 3,043,913 Appara-tus for the Re-education ofthe Voice

• US Patent 3,101,081 appara-tus for the Conditioning ofthe Auditory Lateralization

• US Patent 3,101,391 Appara-tus for the Acoustic-Ambi-ence Conditioning of aMedium

• Tomatis Method Made Avail-able at Child Study Centre atthe University of Ottawa1968-1979

1970 - 76• Bone Conduction Added

(Vibrators)• Auditory Physiology• Ménière

• Education et Dyslexie pub-lished 1971

• Le Libération d'Oedipe pub-lished 1972

• Music of the Child presentedat Regional Symposium ofMusic

• First Annual InternationalCongress for Audio-Psycho-Phonology

• Vers L’écoute Humaine. Tome1 and 2 published 1974

• “The Reeducation of theVoice – Different Methods ofTreatment” published in LaVie Médicale in 1974

• “The Role of the Ear in MusicTherapy” published in 1974

1976 - 78• Three Integrators • Listening Posture• Phono-Cutaneous Reflexes• Functional Neurology• L’Oreille et la Vie Published

1977• US Patent 4,021,611 Elec-

tronic Hearing Apparatus• APP Congress in Montréal,

1978• “Music and Neuro-Psycho-

Physiological Effects” at theInternational Society forMusic Education in London,1978

• Education and DyslexiaEnglish Translation by LouiseGuiney 1978 (first Englishtranslation about AA Toma-tis’ work)

Historical Development of the Tomatis Method


1978 - 85• Precession • US Patent 4,021,611 Audio-

Vocal Integrator Apparatus1980

• US Patent 4,327,252 Appara-tus for Conditioning Hearing1982

• Automatic, MechanicalMovements

• Begin work with MDS HealthGroup and set up TomatisElectronics Canada

• Toronto Listening Centreopens 1978

• “The Ear and The Child” Pre-sented at Conference at Uni-versity of Ottawa, 1979

• “The Ear and the Difficultiesof Learning,” Montreal, 1979

• Symposium on APP at Uni-versity of Potchefstroom,1980

• La Nuit Utérine Published1981

• “The psychological and sen-sory life of the fetus,” Milan,1984

1985 - 92• Worldwide Expansion of the

Method• US Patent 4,615,680 Appara-

tus and Method for Practic-ing Pronunciation of Wordsby Comparing the User’s Pro-nunciation with the StoredPronunciation

• First US Center opens inCleveland 1986, closes 1991

• Additional US Centers openin Phoenix and Tucson, AZ,Bethesda, MD, Dallas, TX,New Orleans, LA, Amherst,MA, Denver, CO, San Fran-cisco, CA

• Translations of Books IntoFive Languages

• L’Oreille et la Voix Published1987

• Les Troubles Scolaires Pub-lished 1988

• Neuf Mois Au Paradis Pub-lished 1989

• Vertiges Published 1989• Nous Sommes tous Nés Poly-

glottes Published 1991• About the Tomatis Method

published 1988 by Gilmor,Madaule, and Thompson, asEditors

• The Conscious Ear EnglishTranslation of L’Oreille et laVie by Billie Thompson, 1991

1992 � 94• AA Tomatis retires, Transfers

Ownership of Tomatis Inter-national, S.A. to ChristianTomatis

1994 � 2000• The Ear and Language

English Translation ofL’Oreille et la Langage byBillie Thompson, 1996

• Emergence of Diverse GroupsRepresenting Different Meth-ods and Equipment Based inthe Tomatis Method

• Various Court DecisionsRegarding Ownership ofRights and Right to Use Tom-atis Name

• Écouter l’universe published,1996

• “Emerging Field of SoundTraining” appears in IEEEEngineering in Medicine andBiology, Mr/Ap 1999, firstappearance in Medline ofTomatis Method

• Portable Mini Electronic Eardeveloped

• Set up Tomatis Developpe-ment S.A. in Luxembourg andtransfer ownership of allrights from Tomatis Interna-tional S.A.

• Establishment of Internetsites about the TomatisMethod by a variety of certi-fied and noncertified people

2001-2004• Formation of IARCTC and

adoption of Standards ofPractice for the Profession

• Death of Dr. Alfred A. Toma-tis

• Research protocols estab-lished for educational andclinical research

• Death of Christian Tomatis• Standards of Practice assists

Tomatis Consultant in aEuropean Union country todemonstrate TomatisMethod as a profession andto receive government fund-ing for a program

• Publication of Ricochet, Vol-ume 1, Number 1

Historical Development of the Tomatis Method


RETROSPECTIVE

Alfred A. TomatisExcerpt from The Ear and Language (Used by Permission)

The deepest thing in man ishis skin.

--Valery, L'Idée fixe

erhaps the best definitionof our concept of languageis communication with

another through the intermedi-ary of Self. When we speak, noone is more amply informed thanourselves. To succeed we have touse our whole body, because thatis what our world begins by. It isour body we first have to assureand convince of the truthfulnessof our discourse. Our body lendsitself to this game, and the wordplays on it like a resoundinginstrument with multiple chordsand infinite variations. The bodyobeys with incredible supple-ness all the extravagances of ourthoughts.

The human body is theinstrument of language, andhuman language is the song thatmakes it resound. Man's body isthe instrument man's thoughtuses to speak.

The body as a whole takespart in expression, simple as themeans of it may be. The bodycontributes to expressionthrough looks, through mime,through movements, throughattitude, through the whole of

our living and dynamic being.The body controls expression byhearing, by sight, by the skin, byall our senses sharpened to thisexercise that, since our penetra-tion into the world of sound, isthe one that has done the most tomake us human.

We transmit our languagethrough the whole body. What wemean to communicate are notsounds, words, sentences, noracoustic phenomena; what wewish to transmit are deeply feltsensations really lived within usby our sensory neurons, chordsthat our speech has soundedupon us with persuasion, preci-sion, warmth, and enthusiasm.

We want to stamp with ourseal the tactile impressions ourspeech makes upon the keyboardof our sensations.

We know vaguely andinstinctively that these samechords will be transmitted to ourlistener. If he is caught up in ourgame, he cannot help but use hiswhole body to interpret andtranslate us. He unconsciouslymatches his expression-sensingapparatus to ours, while we keephim in resonance by means ofour own chords.

To let our body sing is totransmit to other people ourproprioceptive sensations. If thesong is ample and harmonious, ifit is supple and easily produced,it will transmit the warmth of a

calm and powerful thoracicexpansion; if it is narrow andstrained, it will imprison uswithin the same anguish thatblocks its emission.

The image of our body, thatour spoken word permanentlyforms, is drawn and sculpted inits finest detail under our sonictouch.

We speak in order to giveourselves pleasure. We wrap our-selves in our acoustic mirror soas to get to know ourselves better.Our language models itself onour body, such as that body isdefined in us, such as we con-ceive of it thanks to the informa-tion that we have available. Thereis a relative interaction here thatreflects our own way of commu-nicating with ourselves. Ourchoice of control, the virtuositywith which we are able to exploitour sensory keyboard, will deter-mine the means by which weobtain information, which inturn will determine our means ofcontrol. A series of chain reac-tions all resulting from theircommon interreactions will thusunfold, accelerate, and enrichitself.

The image of our body, areflection of our speech, is pro-jected into space to the extentthat the image of our speechbursts out of the image of ourbody.

P

Language and Body Image


Our bodily knowledge, sumof the knowledge of our expres-sions, will be solidly structured inproportion to its adherence tothought, as far as such adherenceis humanly possible.

The resulting pyramidal anddynamic form of the Self thatsprings from this rests on themost substantively and uncon-sciously automatic corporealbases. Superposed on it is thewise and fragile scaffolding ofsensory control, master of thevoluntary act, master of regula-tion, originator of laterality. The

latter appears as the dynamiccentralization of the act of con-trol.

Clinical work offers us a casein point: a seven-year-old child isreferred to us by a colleague, apediatrician and psychiatrist, forconsiderable retardation in lan-guage associated with a seriousintellectual deficit. Examinationreveals a child of normal consti-tution, if anything, rather advan-taged in stature, puffy faced andof poor mobility, quite turbulentin his behavior, and absolutelyincapable of making himself

understood, as allhis words are mis-pronounced. Studyof his lateralityreveals bilateralresponses, whichare at the mercy ofour young subject'sfantasy and conve-nience. When wegive him a drawingtest and ask him todraw a man weobserve a circle witha central spot: theglobal representa-tion of his Self with-out differentiationof any part of hisbody. We decide toundertake an edu-cation of his lan-guage. As a result ofthis education,which is carried outunder specified con-ditions with the helpof electronic filters,we note languagedevelopment in thechild, despite hislow intelligencequotient. At the endof three months his

language becomes intelligible,right-handedness appears andthe drawings the child makes of aman assure us of the progress inhis body awareness. A head nowsurmounts the body and thelimbs detach from the body withprecision; feet and hands termi-nate the caricature. We return thechild to his family at that time,forgetting or rather not knowingthat he was to stay two or threedays with a grandmother whowas unconvinced or uninformedabout our techniques. In a fewhours, thanks to a few observa-


Figure 1: Picture of a man and family drawn before re-education.


tions, no doubt pertinentin a schooling context butcatastrophic for the psy-cho-sensory and psycho-motor faculties we hadtried to awaken in our lit-tle guy, his language fallsapart as if by a spell. Noth-ing is left of what we hadbuilt. Laterality is replacedby the initial ambiva-lence, while the bodyschema is again trans-lated by a poorly definedcircle without differentia-tion of any kind. Withoutlosing courage we takeback our little patient.Rapidly in a few dayseverything is built upagain, but we take the pre-caution of instructing thefamily.

Better than a long lec-ture, the experimentalreconstruction of lan-guage demonstrates theevolutionary parallelismof the double acquisitionof speech and body image.

It is from this reincar-nation of the word that thesound of a language isborn. As Father Joussesays, its rhythm and bal-ance depend on it; its phraseol-ogy is confirmed by it; its syntaxis founded on it; last but notleast, its memorization dependson it.

From language and from italone arises this conscious bodythat will speak. It is not withoutdanger that such a lovely edificeis built, and the risk involved isborn of the excessive pleasure wetake in listening to ourselves. Wethen quickly forget what wewanted to say, in order to seekonly the narcissist image incon-

sequentially stuck to the word, nolonger adhering to thought. It ishere that the myth of the tower ofBabel finds new strength. Every-one had been using languageonly in order to see their ownbody. As we know, this cult of theindividual was to put an end tothe only hope we had of under-standing ourselves and of con-veying to ourselves the seed ofunique and universal thought.

We would like to keep thereader with us, let him touch withhis fingers what we havedescribed, let him experience by

ever-renewed example each ofour chapters, elaborate for himin detail the clinical and thera-peutic characteristics onlytouched upon in these pages. Inshort, we would wish that bypracticing all these techniques,where speech reigns supreme,our reader would become initi-ated into the world of languagethat completely absorbs all thosewho venture into it. But thosewho speak the same language arenever completely separated fromone another, and since happily,everything hasn’t yet been said,


Figure 2: Picture drawn by the same child after fifteen hours of audiovocal conditioning.


the best of encouragements stillawaits us, i.e., that of a forthcom-ing encounter.

Have we managed to involvethe reader in our subject? Will heknow how to use his body tointerpret us, to translate us ontohis body? Have we ourselvesbeen sufficiently convinced toconvey to him in the rhythm ofthese resonances what we wouldlike him to feel? Shall we hearhim argue in his turn, with thesame enthusiasm: “When youspeak, sound pours from yourmouth like water overflowingfrom a basin. It inundates andspreads over your whole body.Without your knowledge butnonetheless assuredly, syllablewaves break and wash againstyou. The whole surface of yourbody marks their progress by theskin's sensitivity, which is con-trolled as if by a keyboard sensi-tive to acoustic touch.”



RETROSPECTIVE

Billie M. Thompson, Ph.D., RCTC(Expanded version of the AFTERWORD of the English Translation of The Ear and Language by Alfred A. Tomatis (1996)

ONE COULD GENERALLYdescribe the Tomatis Method as asound stimulation and educa-tional intervention that improvesthe functioning of the ear, com-munication through language,desire for communication andlearning, body image awareness,audio-vocal control, and motorcontrol. It begins with an InitialAssessment, which includes testsof listening and lateral domi-nance and drawings. A consulta-tion follows to review the resultsof the assessment and thedetailed personal history, todetermine appropriate goals forthe person, and to recommend aprogram if one can be helpful inachieving the goals.

The human ear has the func-tional capabilities to do at leastthe following:1. Perceive sound,2. Process sound without dis-

tortion,3. Discriminate between higher

and lower sounds,4. Perceive spatial origin of

sounds,5. Attend to sounds we want to

hear and tune out ones wedon't want,

6. Transmit energy (corticalcharge) to the brain,

7. Integrate information frommuscle movement,

8. Establish balance/equilib-rium,

9. Stimulate neuro-vegetativebalance,

10. Control phonation,11. Control musical ability.

These functions can bealtered at any age by accident, ill-ness, or emotional trauma. Byusing the Method developed byDr. Tomatis, it is possible torestore to the ears their essentialeffectiveness when the cause isnot conductive or sensorineuraldamage. It should be noted thatsometimes what appears to besolely an organic or sensorineu-ral difficulty can be at least partlydue to poor functioning, delayeddevelopment, or one's emotions.When poor functioning occurs,poor self-esteem, low motiva-tion, and even depression mayfollow.

A well functioning ear isdescribed as a good listening ear.It can tune in across the entiresound spectrum to sounds itwants to hear and tune out thoseit does not. It can perceive andanalyze every part of the fre-quency spectrum with maximumspeed and precision. It integratesmuscle movement received fromthe entire body. A good ear ismirrored by a voice with good

tone and quality. That is, a goodvoice reflects a good ear. We lis-ten, speak, sing, read, write, andlearn with our ears.

The Listening Test identifiesthe ears' functional abilities byevaluating strengths and weak-nesses. It is possible to compare aperson's listening to the idealgood functioning ear based onthe following criteria:1. Hearing threshold within

normal range.2. An open auditory selectivity

to identify and comparehigher and lower frequen-cies of sounds.

3. A precise auditory spatializa-tion to identify the directionof the source of the sound.

4. An ascending curve slope upto 3000-4000 Hz with stabili-zation at this level and aslight drop in the highest fre-quencies, to allow easier dis-crimination between sounds.

5. An attention to externallyperceived sounds we want tohear and the ability to tuneout those we do not want,and the parallel perceptionof bone and air conductedsounds over the frequencyspectrum.

6. Evenness of reception and anabsence of distortion andstress in the response curveof the ear.

The Tomatis Method, Listening Test,and Electronic Ear


7. Balance of bone and airreception within andbetween both ears.

8. A right audio-vocal lead earfor the neurologically mostefficient pathway directly tothe speech center in the leftbrain hemisphere.

9. Vestibular integration ofmuscle and sensory informa-tion for effective motor coor-dination.

10. Reception of high frequencysounds to energize the brain.The failure of one or several

of these parameters provokes adisharmony that results inimpaired listening and, conse-quently, deficient learning andself-esteem. Others who know aperson (such as parents, teach-ers, and employers) can observesymptoms of poor listening inareas of receptive language,expressive language, motor con-trol, and behavior/attitude.

According to Tomatis, a lis-tening problem that is not theresult of organic lesion is gener-ally associated with a psychologi-cal origin. In thousands of casestudies he observed that manyclients experienced or describedtimes in their early lives whenthere were refusals or reluctanceto accept certain stimuli from theenvironment, specifically thoseof spoken language. Theseincluded separations from thenatural mothers at an early age,disruptive home environments,physical and emotional abuse,and difficult births or pregnan-cies. These were times of emo-tional trauma, possibly coupledwith physical trauma, and theclosing out of such informationwas used as protection.

Shutting out information isactually possible. It manifests

itself at the physiological level bya relaxation of the muscles of themiddle ear. This state of flaccid-ness, akin to a “blinking” of theear, considerably impedes thepassage of sound. Unfortunately,it is not as easy for the ear as it isfor the eye to open again. If themuscles of the middle ear areinactive for too long, they losetheir muscle tone. Sounds areimprecisely perceived and, as aresult, incorrectly analyzed. Inother words, listening is im-peded.

In order to assist the humanear to establish or re-establish itsfull potential, Dr. Tomatis devel-oped and patented componentsof the Electronic Ear, specialheadphones with bone and airconduction, and special audiotapes to use with the ElectronicEar. He holds patents throughoutthe world, including seven in theU.S. (See The Conscious Ear for alisting of U.S. patents.)

The Electronic Ear and head-phones use four mechanisms:1. Filters to regulate sound so

that the information isaltered or modified inside thespecific band of the goodfunctioning ear in order tosuppress distortion. Besidessettings to extend the rangeof listening and speech aswide as possible, the filterscan be set to improve recep-tion for a particular languageand to develop a musical ear.

2. The Electronic Gate en-ablesthe ear to attune itself auto-matically and spontaneouslyfor listening. Stimulation ofthe middle ear is effected bythe alternating passage ofsound from one channel thatrelaxes the muscles toanother channel that tenses

or focuses the muscles. Thealternation from one channelto another is automaticallyregulated by an electronicgate that opens and closesitself according to the vary-ing signal. Repetition of theaction over time maintainsthe ear's ability to perceiveand analyze sound properly.

3. Balance control prepares theright ear for becoming thelead ear. Sound intensity fedvia headphones to the left earis progressively reduced.

4. Timing of sound reception iscontrolled to allow for grad-ual change to more efficientpatterns of reception andprocessing.Sessions with the Electronic

Ear and interim tests and consul-tations are scheduled followingthe Initial Assessment. Usually itis better to begin with an inten-sive training, but a moreextended initial program over alonger period can be used insome instances.

Each listening program hasthree phases: auditory (recep-tive) training, breaks for integra-tion, and audio-vocal(expressive) training.

The first phase is primarilypassive and opens up the ear todevelop a better listening.

The second phase allows theperson time to experience, inte-grate, and habituate the new lis-tening patterns.

In the third phase, the personcontinues at a prescribed rateover several more weeks todevelop the audio-vocal controlnecessary to maintain the gainsindependently of the ElectronicEar. This occurs with sufficientactive session practice with one’sown voice heard with a good

The Tomatis Method, Listening Test, and Electronic Ear


quality through the ElectronicEar and may require severaleight-day audio-vocal intensives.This goes back to the premisecited in this book, that the voicecan only produce what the earcan hear.

The length of program variesdepending on the person's moti-vation, degree of difficulty, andneurological maturity and age.With many people who are verycut off from others (of which theautistic are the most discon-nected) or who have sufferedcentral nervous system damage,the treatment may extend over ayear or longer with many breaksfor integration. A typical length ofprogram is 60 hours of listeningsessions spread over severalmonths, with the actual lengthdetermined at reassessment. Onetypically starts with a 15-dayintensive, followed by a break ofthree to four weeks, then aneight-day intensive, followed byanother break of four to sixweeks, and another eight-dayintensive.

During the training the per-son listens through the ElectronicEar to sounds of music and voicethat have been electronically fil-tered to stimulate the improvedfocusing ability of the ear. Byincreasing the selective power ofthe ear, the person can perceivesound with less distortion andanalyze it more precisely over thewhole frequency range, from fun-damental frequencies to thehighest harmonics.

For a non-trained ear, thefundamental frequency of asound too often masks its har-monic spectrum, and the personhas difficulty in controlling voicetimbre (the mix of higher har-monics). Consequently, the voice

stays flat, with no modulation. Byimproving listening, the speakerhas the opportunity to improvevoice quality, fluency, modula-tion, and articulation, for theirown personal benefit and otherswho listen. Implications for edu-cation and the workplace arevast. When one's voice conveysenergy and interest to others, theinvitation to listen is more readilyaccepted.The program can helpthe musician who is unable toadjust his or her ear to listen tothe harmonics of the soundsemitted by voice or instrument tobetter regulate the melody. By lis-tening to filtered music throughthe Electronic Ear, the muscles ofthe middle ear are trained toaccommodate or attune to thehigher harmonics of any soundsource and gradually improvecontrol of voice timbre.

Besides the ear, the wholebody listens. Good listenersbecome aware of and acquirecorrect listening posture duringthe auditory-vocal training phaseof the program. They develop anerect but not stiff spine, a slightforward tilt of the head with eyesclosed, a relaxed neck and jaw,and open chest to allow amplebreathing. The posture is easiestwhen sitting on a high stool orstanding with the small of theback against a wall and when lis-tening to the high frequencysounds of the filtered music.

Tomatis explored the manyfunctions of the human ear andcovered what follows in otherbooks that followed L’Oreille et leLangage. For him, the ear is pri-marily a system to effect a corti-cal charge and to increase theelectrical potential of the brain.Sound is transformed into ner-vous influx by the cells of the

Organ of Corti in the inner ear,sent on to the brain cortex, andfrom there to the entire body totone up the whole system andimpart greater dynamism. Not allsounds give this charging effect.Tomatis points out that on thebasilar membrane the cells ofCorti are much more denselypacked in the area responsive tohigh frequencies than in the arearesponsive to low frequencies.Therefore, high frequencysounds are more energizing thanlower ones. In contrast, low fre-quency sounds not only supplyinsufficient energy to the cortex,but they may even tire the personby inducing motor responsesthat absorb more energy than theear can provide. People who tendto be tired or depressed oftenhave dull, toneless voices withvery little high-frequency con-tent. The energizing effect ofhigh frequency music is helpfulfor people who have sufferedstrokes or other physical difficul-ties resulting in low energy.

Increased cortical chargefrom listening to high frequencyfiltered sounds results inimproved motivation, greaterease in work, lower level offatigue, increased sense of vital-ity, improved attention, concen-tration, and memory, and lessrequired sleep. All of these fac-tors, but particularly theincreased abilities of concentra-tion and of memory, can help theperson considerably in improv-ing communication and learn-ing.

Tomatis demonstrates thatthe vestibular (balancing) andcochlear (decoding of sound)functions of the ear are joined ina single system. Anatomically,the vestibular nerve presents



itself at every level of themedulla, and is thereby directlyconnected with all the muscles ofthe body. Stimulation of the earby filtered music affects bodyimage and has many implica-tions for learning, which requiresawareness and control of thebody, arms, wrists, hands, andfingers. Also, the vestibular sys-tem controls temporal-spatialawareness, which is required forrhythm and equilibrium.

Tomatis describes how thevagus nerve, the sensory auricu-lar branch of the pneumogastricnerve, regulates through itsbranches the larynx, the pharynx,and the organs of the body. Theauricular branch connects to theouter surface of the eardrum,thus forming a link between ourinner, neuro-vegetative life, andthe outside world. Clients oftenexperience a balancing of theneuro-vegetative system, includ-ing sleeping and eating patterns,and must adjust medicationdoses as the nervous systembecomes more efficient.

Sounds stimulate emotionalstates (such as fear) and somati-zations (such as angina pectora,gastric and intestinal troubles,overeating, and anorexia). Listen-ing to filtered music through theElectronic Ear enhances the ten-sion of the tympanic membranewhich, when tensed, attenuatesthe amplitude of the vibration ofthe sensory auricular branch,and in turn regulates the vagusnerve. This regulation is generallyexperienced as a sensation ofwell-being by the person, as a lib-eration from a heavy load with anill-defined content. The clientbecomes more self-confident,more aware of abilities, morewilling to use his or her voice

from a position of empowermentrather than from inadequacy.

Audio-vocal sessions consistof repetition of words andphrases alternated with sessionsof singing and music (filtered ornon-filtered). The words andphrases progressively train theear to listen for the entire har-monic range of sound informa-tion. During repetition, theclient's voice is picked up by amicrophone and modified by theElectronic Ear and instanta-neously fed back to him or her bythe earphones. The filters adjustthe voice over the entire speechand musical spectrums to givehigh quality control and moreefficient analysis of the sound.Because the larynx emits onlythose harmonics that the earhears (proven at the Sorbonne in1957 and known as the TomatisEffect), the word, sentence, ormusical phrase is emitted withgreater control. When the ear lis-tens well, the whole body isinvolved. Learning becomes eas-ier, and more potential skill andintelligences can be developed.

As a follow-up to the audio-vocal program, the person isstrongly advised to practice somephonatory exercises every day fora minimum of half an hour. Theclient is given an exercise of read-ing aloud while maintaining goodaudio-vocal posture and holdingthe right hand close to the right ofthe mouth to strengthen rightaudio-vocal dominance so thevoice quality, rhythm, and flowwill improve.

Once the person has com-pleted just the passive phase ofthe program, he or she is muchmore able and motivated to workwith teachers and other profes-sionals, such as psychologists

and psychiatrists, speech lan-guage pathologists, physical andoccupational therapists, osteo-paths and physicians whose spe-cialties involve using language,posture, motivation, and motorcontrol. The person is better ableto learn in the formal traditionaleducational settings and todevelop skills easily that oncewere very difficult.

While many researchers arejust beginning to investigate andreport on the impact of the ear inour lives, this book shows thatTomatis developed not just a the-ory but also a practical methodto work at the source of manyfunctional, emotional, and rela-tional problems – that of poor lis-tening. It is a Method that issurprisingly quick and has manylong-range impacts on a person'shealth and well-being.



ONGOING RESEARCH

Susan R. Andrews, Ph.D., RCTC

A double-blind researchstudy was approved for partialfunding by the IARCTC ResearchBoard. The study director is Dr.Susan R. Andrews, Ph.D., RCTC,who is a Clinical Neuropsycholo-gist. Also on the research teamare Dr. Michelle Trumps, DC,LOTR, RCTC and Dr. BillieThompson, Ph.D., RCTC. Thelocation is a public charterschool in the USA.

The Board awarded supportof two types to the research team:

1. Equipment to provide theTomatis Method to the subjectsin the study.

2. Funds to pay for pre andpost tests by blinded testers.

The study began in January2004 in a public charter school inthe USA. The study was com-pleted in May 2004, and theresults will be published in afuture issue of Ricochet.

The full title of the study is“The effectiveness of the TomatisMethod of Listening Training inimproving auditory processingand pre-reading skills in normalkindergarten and first grade chil-dren, using a less intense pro-gram of stimulation that fits intonormal school curriculum.”

The purpose of the researchis to demonstrate the effective-ness of Educational ListeningTraining in improving the learn-

ing abilities and reading readi-ness of a normal population ofyoung school-aged children. Amajor goal of this research is toprove that a less intense programof stimulation can be effective fornormal, young, pre-readingschool children. The obviousimportance of this proposal isthat if improvements in pre-reading skills can be demon-strated using only an hour a dayfor 60 days, then it becomes pos-sible for the Tomatis Method tobe integrated as a normal part ofthe reading curriculum in class-rooms all over the world.

The areas of pre-reading thatare expected to improve are thefollowing:1. Auditory processing 2. Visual memory3. Basic attention and concen-

tration

Effectiveness of the Tomatis Methodin Improving Auditory Processingand Pre-Reading Skillsin Normal K and First-grade Children

IJTMR May 2004 � Vol. 1 No. 1 60606060 © 2004 IARCTC

ONGOING RESEARCH

Kuniko Murase, RCTC

Kanto Kokusai High Schoolin Tokyo, Japan provides trainingin the foreign languages ofEnglish, Chinese, Russian, andKorean. In 2003, Kanto KokusaiHS was selected as ìSuper EnglishLearning High Schoolî by the Jap-anese Ministry of Education andScience and received financialaid for a three year pilot programto use the Tomatis Method forteaching English as a foreign lan-guage. A ten-week TomatisMethod pilot program was pro-vided by teachers Yoko Miyoshiand Kana Matsumura betweenApril 15 and July 10, 2003 to oneclass of students in their regularclassroom (n = 40). Three otherclasses (in = 120) used ClassicalEnglish Language Training. Thefive Tomatis Electronic Ears,headphones with bone and airconduction, and other relatedequipment were put away andnot available to the ClassicalEnglish Language Groups whenthey used the classroom in whichall four classes met.

In the pilot study it wasassumed that the two groupswere at the same pre treatmentlevel before the training. Despitethe lack of standardized preassessment for both groups, theinitial pilot study provides sev-eral outcomes of value. Theresearchers were able to test the

equipment, train the teachers touse it, preview test administra-tion, observe studentsí reactionsto the equipment and materials,and integrate Tomatis Methodtraining into the classroom andcurriculum. These are importantfindings related to school use ofthe Tomatis Method. Also, theperformance of the students inthe Tomatis Method group isencouraging because theyadvanced in every measure onthe assessments provided. Thisfirst year of the pilot programprovides information from whichto make a more rigorous researchdesign for the third year.

Reported here is informationabout the results of the first yearpilot that indicate a more rigor-ous study could be done.

DESCRIPTION OF TOMATIS METHOD TRAINING

Several types of listening andvocal training practice were usedonly with the Tomatis Methodprogram:1. Listening through the Elec-

tronic Ear for 45 hours (4.5hours per week) to a varietyof filtered and non-filteredsounds. The content of thesound was provided by themanufacturer, TomatisDëveloppement, on CDs andconsisted of the following:a. Portions of the English

translation of The Little Prince

read aloud by a native NorthAmerican English speaker, usedfor passive listening.

b. Text, words, and phrasesspoken by North American andCanadian voices, used for repeti-tion by the students.

c. American folk songs forchildren for passive listening.

d. Mozart for passive listen-ing.

e. Gregorian Chant for pas-sive listening.2. Instruction for using good

listening posture.3. Homework of reading aloud

Japanese text.One type of audio-vocal

practice (practice speakingEnglish with Native AmericanEnglish teachers) was used 50minutes each week by the Toma-tis Method Group and 100 min-utes by the Classical EnglishLanguage Group.

PRE AND POST MEASURES FOR TOMATIS METHOD GROUP ONLY

Tomatis Listening TestPre and post Tomatis Listen-

ing Tests were completed by Cer-tified Tomatis Consultants for theTomatis Method Group. Stu-dentsí individual thresholds oflistening perception for each airconduction and bone conduc-tion frequency stimulus weremeasured pre and post English

Year 1 Pilot Study: Use of Tomatis Method with Japanese High School Students Learning English as a Foreign Language



language training and then com-bined to make group average preand post threshold curves shownseparately for right and left ears(Figure 1).

The post Tomatis ListeningTests indicated improvement ingroup ability to more easily per-ceive the sounds spoken in thetarget language, which for Ameri-can English is in the range of 750Hz through 3000 Hz, with theovertones of the English languageextending upward. T-Tests com-pared pre and post individualcombined frequency scores ofresults in Figure 1 and showedsignificant improvement of per-ception at least at the .05 level forthe frequency range of 2000 Hz to6000 Hz in the left ear and 4000Hz in the right ear. This is indica-tive of improved perception inthe English language range andalso in the overtones of the lan-guage in the left ear. It is interest-ing that most of the changes arein the left ear, which supports thetheory that the right brain con-trols more learning a second lan-guage, while the left braincontrols more using oneís nativelanguage.

SonogramsStudents in the Tomatis

Method Group each recordingtheir voices speaking English onaudiotape as a sonogram. Spe-cific reception curves for severallanguages were identified by Dr.Alfred A. Tomatis using sono-grams, and they were reported inLíOreille et la Vie, 1977, and NousSommes Tous Nés Polyglottes,1991. According to Tomatis,native speakers of a languagehave a more attuned listeningperception to a specific range offrequencies emphasized withintheir native language. At the sametime, a language spoken nativelyin one country may sound differ-ent spoken natively in anothercountry. For example, AmericanEnglish spoken in the UnitedStates sounds different than Brit-ish English spoken in the UnitedKingdom.

Native American Teachers,who were not blind to the treat-ment, evaluated three aspects ofEnglish speaking competencyfrom the sonograms (fluency,pronunciation, and intonation)with the pre and post resultsshown in Table 2.

PRE AND POST MEASURES FOR COMPARING TOMATIS METHOD GROUP WITH CLASSICAL ENGLISH LANGUAGE GROUP

School English Comprehension Proficiency Test

Kanto Kokusai High Schooltested the Tomatis MethodGroup and one of the ClassicalEnglish Language Groups on acompetency of general Englishcomprehension shortly after thepilot program started. Table 3shows English language profi-ciency group average percentagescores and the number of treat-ment hours completed by eachgroup prior to test. This isincluded here to document thatone third the time was neededfor the Tomatis Method Group toscore slightly higher than theClassical English LanguageGroup.

Figure 1. Averaged Group Listening Perception Thresholds from Pre and Post Individual Tomatis Listening Tests of Tomatis Method Group (n = 40)



Table 3: Two Group Comparison of English Language Proficiency Test by % of Correct Answers

Assessment of Communicative English (Authorized Official Test)

Assessment of Communica-tive English published by theAssociation for English LanguageProficiency Assessment wasgiven at Kanto Kokusai HighSchool students on April 30, 2003(after nine hours of TomatisMethod training) and again onJanuary 18, 2004 (after comple-tion of Tomatis Method train-ing). This 80 minute timed testhas norms for Junior HighSchool, High School, College, andUniversity levels. 98 questions aredivided into Part 1: Listening (300points) and Part 2: Vocabulary,Grammar (300 points) and Read-ing (300 points) for a total of 900points.

Group Hrs of Classically Taught Lessons Prior To Test

% Correct Answers

Tomatis Method Group (N = 40)

11 78%

Classical Eng-lish Lan-guage Group (N = 39)

33 72%

Pre and Post Scores showedthe Tomatis Method Groupimproved to a higher rankingover the nine months followinginitial testing, going from 8th to5th rank, whereas the ClassicalEnglish Language Group did notadvance as much, going from11th to 10th rank.

An informal report said sev-eral students in the ClassicalEnglish Language Group hadrecently returned from the USA,which gave some ranking advan-tage over the Tomatis MethodGroup, in which none of the stu-dents had studied abroad.

CONCLUSIONSThe data indicates support

for setting up a rigorous researchdesign for the third year of thepilot study, which begins April2005 and ends March 2006. Thedesign could include several preand post standardized measures,blind assessment, and randomassignment to establish greatersignificance of results. A gooddescription of both treatments isalso necessary.

Table 2: Group Average Improvement of Pronunciation

Aspect of competency Point maximum Pre Tomatis Post TomatisFluency 5 3.25 3.5Pronunciation 5 2.98 3.57Intonation 5 2.98 3.82Average total items 3.08 3.80Standard deviation 0.78 0.57 (>.001)


RESEARCH

Du Plessis, W. F. D.Phil., Associate Professor, School of Psycho-Social Behavioural Sciences, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa, email: [email protected]

Vermeulen, C. M. MA, Regional Clinical Psychologist, Department of Health, West Coast/Winelands Region, Private Bag X17, Malmesbury, 7239, South Africa.

Kirsten, D. K., Senior Lecturer, School of Psycho-Social Behavioural Sciences, North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus), Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa, email: [email protected]

ABSTRACTTHIS INVESTIGATION WAS

AIMED at evaluating whether theTomatis Method (TM) and a Psy-cho-Educational Program (PEP)would reduce weight preoccupa-tion, decrease negative moodstates and enhance psychologi-cal well-being among weight pre-occupied, female students ofNorth-West University, a peri-urban institution. A three-group,pre-post-assessment design wasused. Twenty-one students meet-ing criteria for weight preoccupa-tion were recruited. Assessmentinvolved the Profile of Mood

States, Sense of Coherence Scale,Tennessee Self-Concept Scaleand Eating Disorder Inventory.Participants were assigned non-randomly to Group 1 (TM + PEP),(n = 7); Group 2 (PEP only), (n =7) and a non-intervention con-trol group (Group 3, n = 7).

Group 1 attended 40 half-hour sessions of Tomatis stimu-lation, followed by a brief psy-cho-educational program. Group2 only attended the PEP.

Since both programs resultedin significantly reduced weightpreoccupation and enhance-ment of aspects of psychologicalwell-being, while negligiblechange occurred within the con-trol group, their efficacy was par-tially proved. Limited by timeconstraints, program specificstrengths need expansion and re-scrutiny in further research withlarger, multicultural samples ofweight preoccupied females.

RÉSUMÉCette recherche vise à éval-

uer si l’association de la Méthodede Tomatis, programmed'intégration neurosensorielle etun programme Psychopéda-gogique a pour effet de diminuerle souci concernant le poids, deréduire les états d'esprit négatifset d’améliorer le bien-être psy-chologique parmi des étudiantessoucieuses de leur poids. Larecherche s’est faite sur trois

groupes avec une évaluation préet post expérience. On a recrutévingt et une étudiantes, quiprésentaient des problèmes depoids et s’en tracassaient. Lesoutils d’évaluation suivants ontété utilisés: le Profil des Etatsd'Esprit, l'Echelle de Cohérence,l'Echelle du Concept de Soi deTennessee et l'Inventaire desDésordres alimentaires. Les étu-diantes ont été réparties en 3groupes :

Groupe 1 (Méthode Tomatis+ le programme Psychopéda-gogique), (n=7);

Groupe 2 (le programme Psy-chopédagogique seulement),(n=7)

et un groupe de contrôle nebénéficiant d’aucune interven-tion (Groupe 3, n=7).

Le Groupe 1 a participé à 40séances d’une demie heure avecla Méthode de Tomatis, pendantune période de trois semaines eta ensuite assisté à 4 séances duprogramme Psychopéda-gogique. Le Groupe 2 a seule-ment bénéficié du programmePsychopédagogique. Le niveaud’inquiétude concernant le poidsa significativement diminué dansles deux groupes expérimentaux,mais le niveau du bien-être psy-chologique est resté inchangédans les deux groupes. L'utilitédes deux programmes a été par-tiellement prouvée, du fait quetous les deux ont induit une dim-

The Impact of a Combined Tomatis and Psycho-Educational Program on Weight Preoccupied, Female South African Students


inution significative de la préoc-cupation concernant le poids.L'étude ayant été limitée due àdes contraintes de temps, il faud-rait faire une recherche plusextensive et minutieuse en ten-ant compte des qualités dechaque programme et en l’appli-quant sur des échantillons plusgrands et multiculturels, avec desétudiantes concernées par leurpoids.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDiese Untersuchung zielt

darauf ab festzustellen, ob eineAnwendung der Tomatis-Meth-ode (TM) und eines psycho-päd-agogischen Programms (PEP) dieGewichtsprobleme verringern,den schlechten Stimmungs-zustand reduzieren und das psy-chische Wohlbefinden beiStudentinnen der Nord-West-Universität, einer stadtnahenInstitution, verbessern könne.Ein Verfahren mit drei Versuchs-gruppen in einem Vorher-Nach-her-Vergleich wurde eingesetzt.Es wurden einundzwanzig Stu-dentinnen, die den Kriterien derGewichtsprobleme entsprachen,ausgewählt. Die Evaluierungumfasste das „Profil der Stimmu-ngslagen“, die Skala „Sense ofCoherence“, die „Tennessee-Skala des Selbstkonzepts“ unddie „Klassifikation vonEssstörungen“. Die Versuchsper-sonen wurden nicht-zufällig inGruppe 1 (TM + PEP), (n=7),Gruppe 2 (nur PEP), (n=7) undeine Kontrollgruppe ohne Inter-vention (Gruppe 3, n=7) auf-geteilt. Die Gruppe 1 nahm an 40halbstündigen Tomatis-Sitzun-gen teil, gefolgt von einemkurzen psycho-pädagogischenProgramm. Gruppe 2 besuchtenur an das PEP.

Da beide Programme dieGewichtsprobleme deutlichreduzierten und das psychischeWohlbefinden signifikant ver-besserten, während die Kon-trollgruppe vernachlässigbareÄnderungen zeigte, wurde ihreEffektivität teilweise bewiesen.Zeitliche Einschränkungen unddie Auswertung programmspezi-fischer Stärken erfordern ausge-dehntere Untersuchungen inweiteren Forschungsarbeiten mitgrößeren, multikulturellenProben von Studentinnen mitGewichtsproblemen.

RESUMENEsta investigación esta

dirigida a evaluar si una combi-nación del Método Tomatis deentrenamiento de integraciónsensorioneural y un ProgramaPsico-Educacional, pudieranresultar en una reducción de lapreocupación relacionada con elpeso, disminución de estados deanimo negativos y aumento debienestar psicológico en estudi-antes del sexo femenino.

Se utilizo un diseño pre-postevaluación en tres grupos. Sereclutaron veintiún estudiantesque cumplían el requisito de pre-ocupación por su peso. La evalu-ación se llevo a cabo por mediode los siguientes instrumentos:Perfil de Estados de Animo,Escala de Sentido de Coherencia,Escala Tennessee de Auto Con-cepto y el Inventario de Trastor-nos de la Alimentación. Despuésse asignaron en forma no aleato-ria al Grupo 1 (Método Tomatis yPrograma Psico Educacional)(n=7); Grupo 2 (Programa Psico-Educacional) (n=7); y un grupocontrol sin intervención (Grupo3) (n+7).

El Grupo 1 atendió 40sesiones de media hora delMétodo Tomatis durante 3 sem-anas y después 4 sesiones delPrograma Psico Educacional. ElGrupo 2 atendió solo las 4sesiones del Programa Psico Edu-cacional. La preocupación por elpeso se redujo en forma signifi-cativa en los dos grupos experi-mentales pero el bienestarpsicológico no mostró cambio.

La utilidad de ambos progra-mas se comprobó parcialmente,ambos resultaron en reducciónsignificativa de la preocupacióncon el peso. Como el estudiotenia limitaciones de tiempo, lafortaleza especifica del pro-grama necesita expandirse yrevisarse en investigación sobremuestras mayores y multicul-turales son la misma preocu-pación sobre el peso.

INTRODUCTION

EATING DISORDERS ANDeating disorders not otherwisespecified (APA, 1994), includingweight preoccupation, representa significant health concern inmodern Western society. This isparticularly true amongst stu-dents, men and westernizedblack women (Biby, 1998; Brazel-ton, Greene, Gynther & O'Mell,1998; Butters & Cash, 1987).Western women are often per-ceived as successful, beautifuland acceptable only when meet-ing the “thin ideal” female bodyimage, often totally unrealistic,and hence unattainable (Brazel-ton, et al., 1998; Brownell, 1991).Failure leads to body dissatisfac-tion, associated with chronicdieting, weight preoccupationand compromised psychologicalwell-being (Brownell, 1991; Har-



ris, 1995; Polivy & Herman, 1987;Senekal, 1994). A diminishedsense of psychological well-beingmay manifest itself in poor self-acceptance, inability to resistsocial pressures, low self-esteem,lack of vigor, anxiety, depression,and difficulties in forming mean-ingful relationships and facinglife's challenges.

Extensive research has beenconducted on causes, effects, andtreatments of eating disorderslike anorexia, bulimia nervosa,and obesity. However, researchon weight preoccupation per séhas been limited, presumablysince society accepts it as beingnormal (Polivy & Herman, 1987).Given the high incidence ofweight preoccupation amongfemale clients/students, the highrisk of developing full-blown eat-ing disorders, and the fact that nosingle effective treatment withlasting effect has been devised,our study was deemed appropri-ate. We resolved to evaluate theimpact of a twofold interventionon weight preoccupied students.It was assumed that the soundtraining and consultation of theTomatis Method (TM) (Tomatis,1987, 1991, 1994) would relaxweight preoccupied persons andrekindle their inner motivation,thus enhancing openness to abrief Psycho-Educational Pro-gram (PEP), based upon an eclec-tic, integrated approach.

Eating disorders, sub-clinicaleating disorders, weight preoccu-pation, and body dissatisfactionare terms often used in combina-tion or intertwined, causing con-fusion as to what is implied.Weight preoccupation is definedby Garner et al., (1984) in termsof cognitive aspects (i.e., a persis-tent over-concern with body

shape and weight) and behav-ioral aspects (i.e., chronic dieting)resulting in negative affect (affec-tive aspects). In differentiatingeating disorders from weight pre-occupation, Nylander (1971) sug-gested a continuum hypothesisafter finding that the majority ofadolescent girls in his study per-ceived themselves as being over-weight, while only 10% presentedwith eating disorders. Thus,weight preoccupied individualsdo not necessarily meet criteriafor eating disorders, whereas allindividuals diagnosed with eatingdisorders are weight preoccupied(Oates-Johnson & De Courville,1999).

Since eating disorders implyweight preoccupation, partiallyoverlapping etiologies may beassumed. Societal pressure, per-fectionism, family dynamics,including overemphasis onachievement and physicalappearance, and genetic predis-position are reported as etiologi-cal causes of eating disorders,thus possibly also accounting forweight preoccupation. Addition-ally, irrational thoughts andbeliefs about body shape andweight impair conceptualizationof realistic self- and body imagesor attitudes associated with con-trol of bodily and eating behavior(Mintz & Betze, 1988; Senekal,1994). Irrational beliefs are alsoassociated with poor self-aware-ness and inability to regulatemood and affect, leading to feel-ings of inadequacy, negative self-concepts, negative body imagesand self-ideal-discrepancies.(Brazelton et al., 1998; Butters &Cash, 1987; Philips, 1991). Per-sonality traits also increase therisk of weight preoccupation.Oates-Johnson and De Courville

(1999) identified 'sociotropic'individuals, presenting withexaggerated needs for love, affec-tion, approval, and encourage-ment; oversensitive tointerpersonal criticism andattempting to gain self worth bypleasing others, and rigidlyadhering to traditional femaleroles.

Due to multifactorial causesand complexities associated withtreatment of eating disorders andweight preoccupation, a bur-geoning array of therapies hasbeen developed, some of themalso relevant for WP. Psycho-edu-cation, cognitive behavior ther-apy, narrative therapy,interpersonal therapy, familytherapy and pharmacologicaltherapy, have all been used par-tially successfully in treating eat-ing disorders, yet often withoutlasting effects (Balthrop, 1996;Butters & Cash, 1987; Garrett,1998). Clearly an innovative,holistic approach is called for.Since weight preoccupation con-sists of cognitive, behavioral andaffective aspects it was decidedto combine the TM with a PEP,assuming they would comple-ment each other.

Though the training manualof the TM acknowledges itsapplicability to eating disorders,(Centre Tomatis, 1995) no ratio-nale is therein provided. How-ever, high anxiety, low self-esteem, poor self-awareness(interoceptive) and perfection-ism is prevalent in potential eat-ing disordered and weightpreoccupied individuals (Davis,1996). The TM is associated withanxiety reduction (Du Plessis &Van Jaarsveld, 1988) and self-esteem enhancement (Gilmor,1982; Rourke & Russel, 1982).



Thus, if the sound stimulation ofthe TM could result in anxietyreduction, it might induce low-ered perfectionism, which couldrender participants more suscep-tible for the impact of the PEP,tailored to issues underlyingweight preoccupation

Since recent studies involv-ing the TM have demonstratedthat reduction of negative affectcoincided with enhanced psy-chological well-being (Coetzee,2001; Akakios, 2002), albeit withnon weight preoccupied individ-uals, it was decided to include ameasure of general psychologi-cal well-being, too. Conceptual-izations of psychological well-being, an elusive construct, havelead to various holistic models,mainly focusing on a combina-tion of intra-psychic as well asinterpersonal qualities, includ-ing affective, spiritual, physical,cognitive, self and social aspects(Antonovsky, 1993; Diener,Emmons, Larsen & Griffen, 1985;Roothman, Kirsten & Wissing,2003; Ryff & Keyes, 1995; Ryff &Singer, 1996; Suominen et al.2000; Wissing & Van Eeden, 2002;Witmer & Sweeny, 1992). Theseauthors have proposed that psy-chological well-being essentiallyentails life satisfaction, a sense ofcoherence (a sense that life ismeaningful, manageable andcomprehensible) as well as pur-posefulness in life. It also entailsthe absence of severe forms ofnegative affect such as anxietyand depression, affect balance, aswell as a general attitude of opti-mism or positive life orientationand good physical health(Diener, 2000; Ryff & Singer1998). Other characteristics ofpsychological well-being are theability to regulate behavior and

social pressures from within(autonomy), to allow improve-ment in self and behavior overtime (personal growth), as well asthe ability to face up to life’s chal-lenges (Ryan & Deci, 2001; Ryff &Keyes, 1996). Self-acceptance,positive self-regard, as well asquality and meaningful connec-tions to others, and being able tomanage everyday affairs and rela-tionships are also emphasized(Ryan & Deci, 2000; Ryff & Keyes,1996).

The brief Psycho-EducationalProgram, constructed from rele-vant threads of current eating dis-order therapies and presentedwithin a psycho-educational con-text, was grounded in the follow-ing assumptions:1. Expanding participants’

awareness of subtle, unceas-ing media enticements toconform to society's unrealis-tic thin ideal, would reducetheir defensiveness andincrease motivation to articu-late an informed, personalstand to protect themselvesfrom societal/media“onslaughts.” Numerousexamples from popular localfashion magazines wouldexplicate the situation.

2. Increasing awareness of irra-tional thoughts and beliefsassociated with weight preoc-cupation and stimulatingcognitive restructuring, bymeans of cognitive behav-ioral methods, would breakthe vicious cycle of low self-esteem, dysfunctional think-ing, and abnormal eatingbehavior (Beck, 1991).

3. Societal pressure furtherreduced by exploring alterna-tives for problem identitiesthrough a narrative approach

(Balthrop, 1996; Garrett,1998).

4. Addressing adverse effects offamily dynamics, i.e., a needfor love and approval (“I'mOK”) and tendencies to gainself-worth by pleasing others(“games”) by transactionalanalytic methods (Berne,1964). Learning to allow a sit-uation to determine which ofthe three ego states ought tobe in control, so that an evenbalance among the threemight be achieved, couldlead to self-nurturing behav-ior, self-approval, diminishedsensitivity to criticism, and awell-adjusted life. In light of these assumptions,

the investigation was aimed atassessing whether a combinedTomatis and PEP would lead to:(a) statistically significant reduc-tions in weight preoccupationand negative mood states,exceeding that of Group 2 (thePEP-only group) and Group 3(the control group); (b) statisti-cally significant enhancement ofpsychological well-being,exceeding that of Group 2 (PEP-only group) and Group 3 (thecontrol group). The followingwas hypothesized: (a) participa-tion in a combined Tomatis andPEP would reduce weight preoc-cupation and negative moodstates, and enhance psychologi-cal well-being; and (b) that dif-ferences would significantlyexceed the impact of the PEP,applied on its own.

METHOD

Research designA three-group pre-post-

assessment design was used.



ParticipantsTwenty-one weight preoccu-

pied female students from North-West University’s Potchefstroomcampus were recruited andassigned (non-randomly,because of their schedules) toGroup 1 (Tomatis stimulation +PEP), (n = 7); Group 2 (PEP only),(n = 7); and Group 3 (controlgroup), (n = 7).

Inclusion criteria(i) Signs of both body dissat-

isfaction (as measured by theBody Dissatisfaction and Drivefor Thinness subscales of the Eat-ing Disorder Inventory (EDI) withhigher scores reflecting moresevere manifestations of weightpreoccupation;

(ii) Repeated attempts to loseweight;

(iii) Not meeting the DSM IVcriteria for formal eating disor-ders like anorexia and bulimianervosa (American PsychiatricAssociation, 1994).

ProcedureThe study was introduced in

undergraduate psychology stu-dents' contact sessions and infemale dormitories. Prospectiveparticipants completed the Eat-ing Disorder Inventory (EDI) anda biographical questionnaire,individually or in small groupsafter confirming interest in theproject. Items were scoredaccording to EDI guidelines. Of27 prospective participants ini-tially screened, one was excludedfor meeting the criteria forbulimia nervosa. Twenty-onecompleted the pre-post assess-ment.

Written informed consentwas obtained from participantsafter being informed about the

study. Pre-assessment followed.Group 1 commenced with thecombined program. Forty half-hours of the TM were attended,followed by the brief PEP. Group 2attended only the PEP. Group 3was a non-intervention controlgroup. Post-assessment was com-pleted at one month post-pro-gram.

Measuring instrumentsThe Eating Disorder Inven-

tory (EDI) is a 64-item self-reportinstrument consisting of 8 sub-scales designed to assess psycho-logical and behavioralcharacteristics associated withanorexia and bulimia nervosa(Garner, Olmsted & Polivy, 1983).Three subscales (Drive for Thin-ness, Bulimia, and Body Dissatis-faction) assess attitudes andbehaviors regarding eating,weight and body shape. Theremaining subscales (Ineffective-ness, Perfectionism, Interper-sonal Distrust, InteroceptiveAwareness, and Maturity Fears)reflect psychological traits rele-vant to eating disorders. TheDrive for Thinness items assessexcessive concern with dieting,preoccupation with weight, andfear of weight gain (Garner, Olm-sted & Polivy, 1983). Items werescored according to EDI guide-lines, with higher scores reflect-ing more severe manifestations. Areliability coefficient of 0.90 wasreported by Garner et al. (1983).In the current study an alphacoefficient of 0.80 was obtained,indicative of high reliability.

The Profile of Mood States(POMS) is a checklist of 65 items,measuring mood states includingTension-Anxiety, Depression-Dejection, Anger-Hostility, Vigor,Fatigue and Confusion (McNair,

Lorr & Droppleman, 1992). Ade-quate test-retest reliability, inter-nal consistency and constructvalidity are reported (McNair etal., ibid.). In the current study,high Cronbach alphas wereobtained for Tension-Anxiety(0.87), Depression-Dejection(0.95), Anger-Hostility (0.92),Vigor (0.86), Fatigue (0.82), andConfusion (0.82), comparing wellwith Coetzee's (2001) finding ofCronbach alphas of: Tension-Anxiety (0.87), Depression-Dejection (0.89), Anger-Hostility(0.89), Vigor (0,49), Fatigue (0.88)and Confusion (0.64).

The Sense of CoherenceScale (SOC) of Antonovsky(1993), a reliable indicator ofgeneral psychological well-being,measures a global, pervasive ori-entation to life, grounded in theidea that life events are compre-hensible, manageable and mean-ingful. In this study, an alphacoefficient of 0.93 was obtained,which compares favorably withinternal consistency indicesranging from 0.74 to 0.93reported by Antonovsky.

The Tennessee Self-ConceptScale (TSCS) of Roid and Fitts(1989) incorporates five compo-nents to attain a global indica-tion of self-concept, including:Physical Self, Moral-Ethical Self,Personal Self, Family Self andSocial Self. In the current study, ahigh reliability coefficient of 0.71was obtained.

The Tomatis programGroup 1 attended the Toma-

tis program over a three-weekperiod, listening to four soundstimulation sessions per day, fourdays a week but merely averaged41 half-hour sessions, due toapproaching year-end examina-



tions. The Tomatis program con-sisted of:1. The passive phase of listen-

ing to Mozart's violin concer-tos, during which lowfrequencies were graduallyfiltered from the music bymeans of the Electronic Ear(Model A1). During thisphase the participants’ hear-ing was exposed to “micro-earobics,” an exercise of themiddle ear muscles toenhance listening. The soundwas also progressivelyfocused on the right ears, toestablish or strengthen rightear dominance (Madaule,1994; Tomatis, 1991).

2. The active phase of audio-vocal stimulation followed,during which the partici-pants sat upright and articu-lated sentences intomicrophones, while theirvoices were enriched in themiddle and high frequenciesby the Electronic Ear (Toma-tis, 1991; 1994). Rapid transi-tion from passive to activephase was in keeping withthe training philosophy ofthe Paris Tomatis Center(Altar, 1995). To prepare par-ticipants for the PEP, whichinvolved, inter alia, positiveself-talk, they read brief, self-affirming statements condu-cive to stimulating positiveattitudes and expectations(Cameron, 1999), whichwould arguably orient thempositively for the PEP. Read-ing activity commenced atsession 30, took place everyfourth session and lasted 10minutes, after which theyresumed listening to non-fil-tered music, followed by fil-tered sound.

Psycho-educational programThis component consisted of

four group sessions, of one-and-a-half hour's duration each. Ini-tially six sessions were planned,but the program was condensed,in view of participants' tight aca-demic schedules and time spentattending Tomatis sessions.

Aims and techniques of thefour sessions were:Session 1

Clarifying the group struc-ture, rules and role of groupleader; exploring core issuesunderlying weight preoccupa-tion, i.e., media portrayal of ide-alized female figures; challengingparticipants to adopt a personalstance.Session 2

Expanding awareness of irra-tional thoughts underlying nega-tive self-worth and self-image,and challenging them to recon-struct rigid self-perceptions andenhance interoceptive aware-ness.Session 3

Encouraging transcendenceof constraints associated with WPby reapportioning daily activitiesin terms of cognitive, physical,social and spiritual activities tofocus away from themselves.Session 4

Teaching behavioral and cog-nitive skills associated with eat-ing, by engaging in a surpriseparty with calorie enrichedrefreshments; elucidatingadverse family dynamics byapplying TA principles; discern-ing ego states dominating eatingbehavior, i.e., impulsive child,critical parent, adapted childuncritically “swallowing” socialexpectations, and rational adult,eating in terms of realistic, selfcontrolled eating behavior; and

role playing various ego states, toamplify the learning experience.

RESULTS

Statistical computationThe SAS/STAT System for

Windows release 6.12 (1996) wasused for the statistical analyses.Descriptive statistics and Cron-bach alpha reliability indiceswere computed for each scaleand/or subscale. Significance ofdifferences within groups wascomputed by means of Wil-coxon's sign rank test, andbetween groups by means of Posthoc comparison (Cohen, 1977).Although the use of p-values wasirrelevant, since the study wasbased on availability samples, p-values were noted, together withCohen's d-values (Cohen, 1977).Effect sizes of (d>0.5) wereregarded as indicative of a ten-dency towards practical signifi-cance, while an effect size of(d>0.8) indicated large practicaldifferences.

Pre-treatment group equivalence1

Pre-treatment group equiva-lence was clearly established forweight preoccupation, as indi-cated by the EDI subscales ofDrive for Thinness and Body Dis-satisfaction. A limited number oflarge practical differencesoccurred on other indexes ofpathology as well. On the Profileof Mood States (POMS), Depres-sion-Dejection and Anger/Hos-tility scores were practicallysignificantly higher in Groups 1and 2 than in Group 3. On theTennessee Self-concept scale

1. Full statistical data available from princi-pal author.



(TSCS) Moral-Ethical Self andFamily Self scores were practi-cally significantly higher inGroup 2 than Group 1. Signifi-cantly, all participants, includingthe Control Group, obtainedscores below the 30th percentileon the Tennessee Self-ConceptScale. This supported Polivy &Herman's (1987) findings thatextremely low self-esteem is adiscriminating characteristic ofeating disordered patients and,according to the study sample of

the current investigation, ofweight preoccupied female stu-dents as well. On general psycho-logical well-being the groupswere similar on Vigor and Senseof Coherence.

Weight preoccupation wasclearly contextualized by demo-graphics. The majority of partici-pants (76.2%) fell within the 20-24 year old category and only2.38% were younger than 20years. Although 9.5% were mar-

ried, almost half (47.6%) of themwere not romantically involved.

Seventy-six percent wereusually dieting, thus confirmingheightened weight awareness.Four percent were constantlydieting and 19% sometimes.Interestingly, each of the subjectshad at some stage attemptedweight reduction, even thoughthe vast majority (85.7%) onlyweighed between 50-70 kg, i.e.,within their normal weightrange. Nobody wanted to weigh


M-pre: Mean pre-assessment score; M-post: Mean post-assessment score; M: Mean; SD: Standard deviation; p: Statistical signifi-cance: Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test; d: Practical Significance: Wilcoxon Test; EDI: Eating Disorder Inventory; D: Drive for Thinness; B: Bulimia; BD:Body Dissatisfaction; INEF: Ineffectiveness; PERF: Perfectionism; INT: Interpersonal Distrust; INC: Interoceptive Awareness; M: Maturity Fears;SOC: Sense of Coherence Scale. POMS: Profile of Mood States; T: Tension Anxiety; D: Depression; A: Anger; V: Vigor; F: Fatigue; CF: Confusion;TSCS: Tennessee Self-Concept Scale; PHS: Physical Self; MES: Moral-Ethical Self PS: Personal Self; FS: Family Self; SS: Social Self; T: Total.

* p ≤ 0,05 ** p ≤ 0,01 *** p ≤ 0,001¤ d > 02 = Small effect ¤¤ d > 0,05 = Medium effect ¤¤¤ d > 0,8 = Large effect

Table 1: Pre-Post Differences within Groups 1 & 2Group 1 (N =7) Group 2 (N =7)

Variable M-Pre M-Post M-Diff SD p d M-Pre M-Post M-Diff SD p dEDID 10.714 6.429 -4.286 3.592 0.032* 1.193¤¤¤ 8.429 5.714 -2.714 3.251 0.125 0.835¤¤¤B 6.571 4.714 -1.857 3.436 0.250 0.540 4.714 2.714 -2.000 1.291 0.031* 1.549¤¤¤BD 20.000 15.714 -4.286 4.821 0.078 0.889¤¤¤ 17.714 11.429 -6.286 3.946 0.015* 1.593¤¤¤INEF 8.571 5.857 -2.714 3.251 0.093 0.835¤¤¤ 5.714 2.857 -2.857 3.625 0.125 0.788¤¤PERF 7.143 5.143 -2.000 3.266 0.265 0.612 5.714 5.143 -0.571 3.047 0.469 0.187 INT 3.714 2.714 -1.000 3.366 0.750 0.297 2.429 2.143 -0.286 1.380 1.000 0.207 INC 4.857 3.286 -1.571 1.397 0.062 1.125¤¤¤ 5.286 3.429 -1.857 2.673 0.250 0.69¤¤¤M 3.000 2.571 -0.429 1.718 0.687 0.249 3.000 2.857 -0.143 2.795 0.344 0.051 SOC 124.286 127.857 3.571 10.952 0.469 0.326 125.571 131.143 5.571 13.138 0.375 0.424Variable M-Pre M-Post M-Diff SD p d M-Pre M-Post M-Diff SD p dPOMST 22.429 17.286 -5.143 2.795 0.015* 1.840¤¤¤ 18.857 11.143 -7.714 5.219 0.016* 1.478¤¤¤D 32.000 28.286 -3.714 8.321 0.328 0.446 20.429 12.286 -8.143 6.492 0.047* 1.355¤¤¤A 27.429 24.429 -3.000 10.083 0.734 0.298 16.571 12.714 -3.857 9.582 0.234 0.403 V 13.857 15.714 1.857 6.619 0.766 0.281 15.000 17.714 2.714 5.823 0.250 0.466F 16.286 15.714 -0.571 6.188 0.484 0.092 16.286 10.286 -6.000 3.958 0.031* 1.516¤¤¤¤CF 15.857 12.714 -3.142 2.911 0.031* 1.079¤¤¤ 12.857 8.286 -4.571 1.618 0.016* 2.825¤¤¤Variable M-Pre M-Post M-Diff SD p d M-Pre M-Post M-Diff SD p dTSCSPHS 53.714 51.000 -2.714 3.302 0.094 0.822¤¤¤ 52.286 52.714 0.429 5.159 1.000 0.083

MES 58.714 60.286 1.571 5.192 0.469 0.303 61.571 61.857 0.286 4.071 1.000 0.070 PS 50.714 52.429 1.714 4.231 0.406 0.405 48.143 51.571 3.429 4.353 0.063 0.788¤¤FS 50.714 55.714 5.000 8.083 0.063 0.616 54.286 55.571 1.286 3.988 0.531 0.322SS 51.429 54.714 3.286 8.826 0.625 0.372 50.000 51.286 1.286 2.429 0.219 0.529¤¤T 265.286 274.143 8.857 20.748 0.313 0.427 266.286 273.000 6.714 17.182 0.734 0.391


more than 60 kg, though 61.9% ofthem exceeded a weight of 60 kg,indicating overall body andweight dissatisfaction.

In their struggle to reduceweight, the majority (71%) usedmedication like appetite sup-pressants or laxatives. Family his-tories of eating disorders werereported by 23.8%. Thus, in termsof psychometric scores, espe-cially weight preoccupation, anddemographics, pre-treatmentgroup equivalence was clearlyconfirmed across groups.

Pre-post findings in Group 1 and 2

Table 1 provides Pre-PostDifferences within Group 1 and 2.

According to Table 1, the Pre-Post findings within Group 1showed that a large, practicalreduction of weight preoccupa-tion occurred, in terms ofreduced Drive for Thinness(d=1.193); Body Dissatisfaction(d=0.889) and Ineffectiveness(d=0.835). Enhanced Interocep-tive Awareness (d=1.125) wasindicative of increased auton-

omy, i.e., increased internal regu-lation of behavior and ability tocontrol thoughts – suggestive ofenhanced psychological well-being, according to Ryff & Keyes(1995). Negative mood states onthe POMS involving Tension/Anxiety (d=1.840) and Confusion(d=1.079) were likewise practi-cally significantly reduced. Physi-cal Self scores on the TSCS werelowered practically significantly(d=0.822). However, no increasewas noted in general psychologi-cal well-being in terms of Senseof Coherence.

Pre-post differences withinGroup 2 (Table 1) showed a largepractical reduction of weight pre-occupation in terms of Drive forThinness (d=0.835), Bulimia(d=1.549) and Body Dissatisfac-tion (d=1.593). Tendenciestowards reduced Ineffectiveness(d=0.788) and InteroceptiveAwareness (d=0.695) alsooccurred. Negative mood statesinvolving Tension/Anxiety(d=1.478), Depression-Dejection(d=1.355), Fatigue (d=1.516) andConfusion (d=2.825) were like-wise practically significantlyreduced in Group 2. On the TSCSPhysical Self (d=0.788) and SocialSelf (d=0.529) scores showed ten-dencies towards improvement.Though general psychologicalwell-being scores showed nochange, enhanced interoceptiveawareness indicated that well-being was improved in certainrespects.

In Table 2 the pre-post differ-ences within Group 3 aredepicted. (See “Table 2: Pre-PostDifferences within the ControlGroup”.)

According to Table 2, pre-post differences within Group 3showed a large practical reduc-


M-pre: Mean pre-assessment score; M-post: Mean post-assessment score; M: Mean;SD: Standard deviation; p: Statistical significance: Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test; d: Practical Signifi-cance: Wilcoxon Test; EDI: Eating Disorder Inventory; D: Drive for Thinness; B: Bulimia; BD:Body Dissatisfaction; INEF: Ineffectiveness; PERF: Perfectionism; INT: Interpersonal Distrust; INC:Interoceptive Awareness; M: Maturity Fears; SOC: Sense of Coherence Scale; POMS: Profile ofMood States; T: Tension Anxiety; D: Depression; A: Anger; V: Vigor; F Fatigue, CF Confusion,TSCS: Tennessee Self-Concept Scale, PHS: Physical Self, MES: Moral-Ethical Self, PS: Personal Self,FS: Family Self, SS: Social Self; T: Total

* p ≤ 0,05 ** p ≤ 0,01 *** p ≤ 0,001¤ d > 0,2 = Small effect ¤¤ d > 0,5 = Medium effect ¤¤¤ d > 0,8 = Large effect

Table 2: Pre-Post Differences within the Control GroupVariable M-Pre M-Post M-Diff SD p dEDID 8.571 8.429 -0.143 3.848 0.625 0.037 B 5.571 7.143 1.571 5.653 1.000 0.278 BD 18.000 18.143 0.143 2.268 0.750 0.063 INEF 7.714 8.714 1.000 2.646 0.406 0.378 PERF 8.000 8.571 0.571 1.618 0.500 0.353 INT 5.571 5.571 0.000 1.291 1.000 0.000 INC 7.000 6.286 -0.714 1.496 0.375 0.477 M 4.429 4.714 0.286 0.488 0.500 0.586 SOC 126.286 124.143 -2.143 8.820 0.813 0.243POMST 19.000 15.429 -3.571 2.760 0.063 1.249¤¤¤D 14.429 19.286 4.857 8.552 0.188 0.568¤¤A 13.143 18.000 4.857 7.175 0.156 0.677¤¤V 16.429 14.571 -1.857 3.891 0.406 0.477 F 11.143 13.286 2.143 4.140 0.375 0.518¤¤CF 10.857 10.714 -0.143 3.761 0.781 0.038 TSCSPHS 51.857 53.714 1.857 5.080 0.563 0.366 MES 60.143 59.571 -0.571 3.552 1.000 0.161 PS 50.000 49.714 -0.286 1.889 0.844 0.151 FS 53.714 53.429 -0.286 3.946 1.000 0.072 SS 49.571 50.143 0.571 4.541 1.000 0.126 T 265.286 266.571 1.286 14.303 0.563 0.089


tion of Tension/Anxiety(d=1.249). Depression-Dejection(d=0.568), Anger-Hostility(d=0.677) and Fatigue (d=0.518)tended towards an increase. Noindication of enhanced generalpsychological well-beingoccurred.

Pre-post differences betweenthe three groups showed thatchanges within groups were alsoconfirmed by changes betweengroups. The large practical reduc-tion of Body Dissatisfaction(d=1.754), Depression-Dejection(d=1.213) and Confusion(d=0.837) in Group 2 exceededthat of Group 3 (Control group).The reduction of Ineffectiveness(d=0.893) and Perfectionism(d=1.249) in Group 1 exceededthat of Group 3 (control group).

DISCUSSIONThe results of the study pro-

vided psychometric support forthe hypothesis that participationin a combined Tomatis and PEPwould result in reduced weightpreoccupation and negativemood states in weight preoccu-pied female students. Partialenhancement of psychologicalwell-being also occurred inGroup 1 and 2. However, theresults of the combined programwere not significantly better thanthe results of the PEP. Though thetwo outcomes were highly com-parable, notable program-spe-cific findings also occurred.

Outcome of the combined Tomatis and Psycho-educational program in Group 1

Results of the combined pro-gram confirmed an advantageover the PEP-only Group, exceptfor Depression-Dejection and

Fatigue. Practically significantchanges, over and above signifi-cantly reduced weight preoccu-pation, also occurred inIneffectiveness and InteroceptiveAwareness, indicative of partiallyenhanced psychological well-being. The latter result might bespecifically associated with theTM. The resultant “rewiring of thebrain” based on neurologicalconnections between ears, brainstem and brain, stimulated dur-ing the process, is also associatedwith body image improvement.Improved Interoceptive Aware-ness is a further result, possiblyalso suggesting heightenedawareness of inner dialogue. Sim-ilarly, the significant improve-ment of Physical Self on theTSCS, can be attributed to favor-able body image changes.

Reduction of Tension-Anxietyon the POMS perhaps reflectedthe relaxation effect of the TM, isconsistent with previous findingsconcerning the reduction of anxi-ety by means of the TM (Akakios,2002). The significant reductionof Confusion (POMS) reflectedthe cognitive stimulation effect,which further prepared the par-ticipants for the PEP.

While a more favorable out-come was expected of this pro-gram, its optimal potential couldnot be tapped, due to unforeseenconstraints. Conducted duringspring, it was anticipated thatprospective weight preoccupiedparticipants, eager to swim andtan, but inhibited because oftheir body dissatisfaction, wouldrespond favorably to the pro-gram, in view of approachingvacations possibly to be enjoyedat beach resorts. A good initialresponse from prospective par-ticipants was obtained. At the

onset of the listening sessions,participants were warned againstexpecting sound stimulation tobe a “quick fix” for weight preoc-cupation, but rather to see it as ameans of relaxation and enhanc-ing their openness in preparationfor the psycho-educational com-ponent. However, despite theresearcher spending time dailywith each individual during thelistening sessions, the partici-pants were increasingly reluc-tant to attend the PEP, claimingthe approaching year-end exami-nations to be the problem. Toensure completion of the com-bined program, Tomatis listeningsessions were reduced to 40instead of a minimum of 60 half-hours. Despite attempting toaccommodate participants inthis way, attendance of the PEP,following completion of theabbreviated Tomatis stimula-tion, was unsatisfactory. Threeparticipants missed half of thesessions. It was assumed thatdespite sufficient warning, theparticipants willingness to com-plete the combined programdeclined because the desiredoutcome was not yet perceivedduring the TM. Possibly fear ofacademic failure was alsoinvolved.

The strength of the TM is thatsound stimulation prepares theground for individual consulta-tion. Due to its energizing, relax-ing and communicationenhancing impact, it facilitatesopenness to engage in a thera-peutic journey through the prob-lem to be dealt with. Given the“recalcitrance” of eating disor-ders like bulimia and anorexia(Bellack & Hersen, 1990) and,possibly of weight preoccupationtoo, each participant's specific



context, personal strengths, andweaknesses around weight pre-occupation ought to have beenclarified, as a prerequisite forovercoming weight preoccupa-tion and stimulating psychologi-cal well-being with assistancefrom the researcher.

Unfortunately, given the timeconstraints, these uniquestrengths were underutilized andalthough participants enjoyedincreased relaxation, they werenot focused on personalizedgoals related to weight preoccu-pation from the onset of the lis-tening component of thecombined program. Thus, valu-able opportunities to committhemselves to their individualstruggle with weight preoccupa-tion were lost. Underutilizationof participants' conscious com-mitment possibly explains whychange was limited to reducedweight preoccupation, Tension/Anxiety, Confusion, Ineffective-ness, and improved InteroceptiveAwareness.

The necessity of individual-ized, structured consultationwith each participant, informedby pre-assessment findings, as ameans of preparation for the PEPand optimizing the total impact,thus emerged as mandatory forfurther research.

Outcome of the Psycho-educational Program in Group 2

Overall, the program provedsurprisingly successful, in view ofits much briefer duration of four90-minute meetings. Besides sig-nificant reductions in Drive forThinness and Body Dissatisfac-tion, it also led to significantlyreduced bulimia, indicative ofimproved self-esteem and behav-

ior, which according to Ryff andKeyes (1995) also represents adimension of psychological well-being. The latter possibly resultedfrom insights gained duringgroup meetings. The tendencytowards reduced Ineffectivenessand Interoceptive Awarenessmight likewise be a result ofexpanded awareness. Signifi-cantly less negative affect, i.e.,significantly lowered Tension/Anxiety, Depression-Dejection,Fatigue and Confusion alsooccurred. On the TSCS, PersonalSelf and Social Self tendedtowards improvement. Thus, theopportunity afforded by the PEPto obtain information relevant toweight preoccupation andexplore new aspects of them-selves in an informal context ofacceptance by researcher and co-participants, resulted in reducedweight preoccupation and emer-gent new self-perceptions. Aninteresting explanation arosefrom a Transactional Analyticperspective. Assuming thatimmediate gratification was rep-resented by bulimic tendenciestowards bingeing, and Body Dis-satisfaction and Drive for Thin-ness were associated with aCritical Parent ego state, theresults implied that participants'rebellious child ego states wereput to rest, as their Adult egostates started taking control (viacognitive restructuring of irratio-nal thoughts), and enhancementof autonomy in order to resistsocial pressures.

The specific strength of thePEP was its awareness raisingthrust, based on clarifying themedia onslaught and experientialintegration of cognitive-behav-ioral, narrative therapeutic, andTA concepts, challenging partici-

pants to take control. Its presen-tation to Group 2 was possiblyeven more effective as theresearcher/therapist reportedfeeling more at ease than duringpresenting it to Group 1, sinceGroup 2 participants attendedregularly and participated morespontaneously.

Partial enhancement of psychological well-being

Previous evaluations of theTM with clinical (Coetzee, 2001)and non-clinical groups (DuPlessis, Burger, Munro, Wissing &Nel, 2001), indicated that reduc-tion of pathology or negativeaffect, concurred with enhance-ment of psychological well-being. Thus, partial enhance-ment of general psychologicalwell-being, despite reductions inweight preoccupation and nega-tive affect in the current study,suggested the presence of under-lying problems not adequatelyconfronted by the programs.Although both Group 1 and 2responded somewhat in terms ofself-concept, (Group 1 by signifi-cantly enhanced Physical Selfand Group 2 by tendenciestowards improved Personal andSocial Self), general psychologi-cal well-being would probablyonly be enhanced significantly ifthe negative self-perceptionsunderlying poor self-conceptscould be confronted moreintensely by cognitive methods.

CONCLUSIONSConceptualized in the litera-

ture as a condition comprisingDrive for Thinness and Body Dis-satisfaction, weight preoccupa-tion is clearly distinguishablefrom full-blown eating disorders.The viability of both the com-



bined Tomatis and PEP, as well asthe PEP-only program, wasproved, as both rendered suc-cessful outcomes in terms ofsymptomatic reduction andhighlighted program specificstrengths needing to be appor-tioned appropriately in furtherresearch.

Although encouraging, theresults of this pilot study alsorevealed the following designlimitations: (i). The high scoreson weight preoccupation, espe-cially in Group 1, and low self-concept scores suggested thatweight preoccupation moreclosely represented eating disor-ders not further specified. Thus,the absence of Body Mass Index(BMI) is a distinct limitation, as itwould have clarified participants'status as being over- or under-weight. (ii). The condensed PEPhad almost the same impact asthe combined TM and PEP,although in the latter case theTomatis program had to bereduced and attendance of thePEP was unsatisfactory. (iii). Par-tial enhancement of psychologi-cal well-being across Groups 1and 2 was probably related toparticipants’ very low self-esteem, which was not addressedadequately, given the time con-straints. (iv). Both programs suf-fered from brevity, given the highrisk of losing participants of thecombined program in the face ofapproaching year-end examina-tions. (v). The lack of a multicul-tural group and absence offollow-up investigation were lim-iting too, and psychological well-being was not measured opti-mally.

Recommendations for fur-ther research include the follow-ing: (i) replicating current

findings with larger, multiculturalsamples, embedded in first term,based on a more extensive pro-gram, and prominently dealingwith self-concept enhancement;(ii) follow-up assessment todetermine retention effects; and(iii) evaluating the impact of arestructured, combined programwith mild to moderately over-weight students.

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RESEARCH

Zdzislaw M. Kurkowski Ph.D.,

RCTC1,2

Agata Szkielkowska, MD Ph.D.1

Joanna Ratyñska MD1

1 Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warsaw, Poland2 University of Maria Curie-Sklodowska, Lublin, Poland

ABSTRACTIn the etiology of articula-

tion disorders, the most fre-quently mentioned auditoryperception disorders includeimpairments of the receptive(hearing) function and disordersof speech sound discrimination(disorders of phonemic hearing).One should not, however, disre-gard the disorders of other audi-tory functions that can affect theprocess of articulation. It istherefore interesting to examineauditory attention (selection andintensification of sound stimuliprocessing) in patients with dys-lalia and try to determine itsimpact on the perception ofspeech sounds: exogenous andone’s own. No less significant isthe assessment of the ability todiscriminate sound pitches andthe evaluation of auditory later-alization in children with articu-lation disorders. The authors

seek to present this problem onthe basis of empirical studiescovering a group of ninety-fourPolish children aged five to four-teen years.

RESUME

Le Rôle du Contrôle Auditif dans le Processus d'Articulation

Dans l'étiologie des troublesarticulatoires, le plus fréquem-ment cité parmi les désordres deperception auditive incluent destroubles de la fonction réceptive(audition) et les troubles de ladiscrimination sonore (troublesde l’audition phonémique).Cependant on ne devrait pasignorer les troubles d'autresfonctions auditives qui peuventaffecter le processus de l'articu-lation. Il est par conséquentintéressant d’examiner l'atten-tion auditive (la sélectivité etl'intensification de l’intégrationde stimuli sonores) chez lesmalades souffrant de dyslalie etd’essayer de déterminer sonimpact sur la perception desons émis lors de l’expressionlangagière : dans le cas de situa-tion à la fois exogène et propre ausujet lui même. Non moins sig-nificative est l'évaluation de lacapacité à discriminer des hau-teurs de sons et l'évaluation de lalatéralisation auditive chez lesenfants présentant des désor-

dres articulatoires. Les auteurscherchent à présenter ceproblème en se basant sur lesétudes empiriques couvrant ungroupe de 94 enfants polonaisâgés de 5 à 14 ans.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

Die Rolle des Gehörs bei der Artikulation

In der Etiologie von Artikula-tionsstörungen umfassen die amöftesten festgestellten auditivenWahrnehmungsstörungen Bee-inträchtigungen der Empfangs-funktion (des Hörens) undStörungen der Sprachgeräus-chunterscheidung (Behinderun-gen des phonemischen Hörens).Man sollte aber nicht Störungenanderer Gehörfunktionen über-sehen, die die Artikulation beein-flussen können. Es ist daherinteressant, die Gehöraufmerk-samkeit (Auswahl und Intensiv-ierung der Verarbeitung derauditiven Stimulation) beiPatienten mit Dyslalie zu unter-suchen und seine Auswirkungauf die Wahrnehmung derSprachlaute festzustellen: exo-gene und die eigenen. Nichtweniger signifikant ist die Fests-tellung der Unterscheidungs-fähigkeit der Tonhöhen und derLateralisation des Gehörs beiKindern mit Artikulationsstörun-gen. Die Autoren versuchen,dieses Problem anhand

The Role of Auditory Controlin the Articulation Process


empirischer Studien mit einerGruppe von 94 polnischerKindern im Alter von 5 - 14Jahren darzustellen.

RESUMEN

El Rol del Control Auditivo en el Proceso de articulación.

En la etiología de los desor-denes de articulación, los desor-denes de percepción auditivamas frecuentemente discutidosincluyen trastornos de la funciónreceptiva (audición) y desor-denes de discriminación de soni-dos de lenguaje (desordenes deaudición fonemica). Uno no

debe, por tanto, descartar los des-ordenes de otras funciones audi-tivas que pueden afectar elproceso de articulación. Esentonces interesante, examinar laatención auditiva (selección eintensificación de procesa-miento de estímulos de sonido)en pacientes con dislalia, y tratarde determinar su impacto en lapercepción de sonidos de len-guaje, los propios y los externos.No menos significativa es la eval-uación de la habilidad para dis-criminar tonos y la evaluación delateralización auditiva en niñoscon trastornos de articulación.Los autores buscan presentar este

problema en base a los estudiosempíricos que cubran un grupode noventa y cuatro niños pola-cos entre los 5 y los 14 anos.

INTRODUCTIONIn terms of auditory percep-

tion, the articulation processdepends on two factors: theacquisition of auditory patternsin the process of exogenousutterances perception as well asthe auditory control of articula-tion. The theory of logopedics,and particularly its practice,studies the ability to perceiveexogenous utterances, i.e. thoseexternal to an individual. A num-ber of studies examine the artic-ulation disorders generated bylimited sound perception (Styc-zek 1978, Emiluta-Rozya 1994,Krakowiak 1995, Kurkowski1996), or describe articulation incases of phonematic, or pho-nemo-phonetic, hearing disor-ders (Styczek 1982, Kania 1982,Roclawski 2001).

The present article does notaim at discussing the ambiguitiesin terminology and approachesreferring to the process of exoge-nous utterance perception. Theauthors wish to focus on thequestion of one’s own utteranceperception as an integral part ofthe articulation process. It seemsnoteworthy to recall L. Kacz-marek’s speech model represent-ing the point of auditory controlin the speech process. Also, thedefinition of speech hearing as“the ability to discriminate andidentify the elements phonologi-cally relevant and to reject thoseredundant in exogenous as wellas one’s own utterances” indi-cates the distinction between thetwo phenomena: exogenousutterance perception (phone-

Role of Auditory Control in the Articulation Process

Figure 1: L. Kaczmarek�s speech model

Aud Auditory Analyzer L Language1 Motor Centers MP Motor Programming2 Kinesthetic Centers Art. Articulation3 Auditory Centers Ks Kinesthesis4 Visual Centers Kn KinesisEF Emotional Filter Ac Acoustic SignalP Perception B2 Kinesthetic ControlC Cerebration B3 Auditory Control


matic hearing) versus one’s ownutterance perception (phonetichearing) (L. Kaczmarek 1982, p.280). A similar approach hasbeen represented before byauthors such as Van Riper (1970)and Lewina (1968) (after: Kania,1982).

Lewina distinguishes fivestages of development of phone-matic hearing. At the third stagein the kindergarten period, thechild becomes aware of the dif-ference between correct andincorrect speech.

In Van Riper’s opinion, thechild is not aware of his/her ownincorrect speech. The childknows that his/her speech isfaulty but cannot name the prob-lem nor cannot point out theincorrect sounds present in his/her speech.

Jelinkova examined 80 chil-dren with dyslalia, distinguish-ing six groups based on eachchild’s sound perception abilities.In one of the groups, the childrendid not recognize mistakes intheir own speech, but they wereaware of faulty speech in otherpersons (after: Kania 1982)

Kaczmarek’s speech model,presented in Figure 1, empha-sizes the importance of auditorycontrol in speech production. InKaczmarek’s model the auditoryinput is single-channel (i.e., withno difference made betweeninformation provided by rightand left ear). An acoustic speechsignal in this model is deliveredby air conduction.

The logopedic practiceseems to disregard the aboveapproach. Speech therapistsoften encounter major difficul-ties in speech correction exer-cises on provoked sounds, whichare not associated with the

impaired motor performance ofthe speech organs. The results ofthe authors’ study may explainthe above problem.

MATERIAL AND METHODSThe study group had ninety-

four dyslalic children aged sevento ten years, who presented sub-stitutions, deformations, andambiguous articulation of mainlyfront alveolar and front dentalsounds.

The motor performance ofthe speech organs in terms of ver-tical and horizontal tonguemovements, which are crucial forthe articulation of the Polish lan-guage sounds, was incorrect inforty-two of the examined(44.7%). Twenty-three individu-als displayed impaired verticalmovements of the tongue front,which determine the realizationof front alveolar sounds. In theremaining nineteen children areduced precision and speed oftongue movements wasobserved. The malocclusion ofteeth was diagnosed in three chil-dren, and shortening of the fre-num (tongue-tie, ankyloglossia)in another three.

Phonemic hearing, i.e. theability to discriminate phonemicstructures, was evaluated bymeans of J. Kostrzewski’s Scale ofAuditory Perception of Words.Only four children (4.3%)achieved the results below theaverage, whereas twenty-onechildren had slight difficultiesdiscriminating nonsense words.Phonemic hearing evaluation byRoclawski method was negativeonly in one child.

Classical methods of logope-dics do not allow clear determi-nation of the causes of retardedor disrupted development of

articulation in younger school-children.

A high percentage of childrenwith positively evaluated phone-mic-phonetic hearing may leadto the false conclusion that artic-ulation difficulties are not deter-mined by the lowered auditoryperceptive performance. This isproved by the fact that no motorfactors possibly responsible forarticulation problems have beenidentified in some children (inthe studied group there wereabout 51% of children withoutmotor difficulties or phonemichearing disorders).

The widely employed tech-niques of phonemic, phoneticand prosodic (i.e. speech sounddiscrimination) hearing evalua-tion assess only the ability ofexogenous sounds perception,i.e. the sounds reaching a childfrom the outside. They do notevaluate, however, the ability tocontrol one’s own articulation.This ability develops later thanexogenous sounds perceptionand it is determined by both airand bone conduction percep-tion. Everyone perceives his orher own speech recorded on anaudiotape or videotape as some-body else’s (exogenous) speechbecause listening to one’s ownvoice through bone conductionimpacts perception of one’s ownspeech.

In this respect, the TomatisMethod has contributed signifi-cant progress toward diagnosis.The Tomatis Method seems,therefore, indispensable in diag-nosing individuals with articula-tion disorders in order to accountfor problems of asynchronicitybetween the air and bone con-duction perception, disorders ofsound pitch discrimination, and



dysfunction of auditory lateral-ization.

The diagnostics involvedusing the Tomatis Listening Test,which included assessment ofexternal perception of sounds (byair conduction) and internal per-ception of sounds (by bone con-duction), is directly connected tothe ability to assess one’s ownspeech. Sound discriminationwas assessed with the “soundselection test,” which requiredthe tested subject to differentiatesounds in half octave steps. Lat-

erality of one’s dominant ear usedfor speech control was assessedusing the Tomatis Audiolaterom-eter.

In studying auditory percep-tion in the group of ninety-fourchildren with dyslalia, incorrectauditory attention (listening abil-ity) was diagnosed in eighty-eightof those examined, more often inthe left ear. Incorrect internalcontrol within the speech bandwas mostly identified in left earperception, with increased errorsin 43.8% of those studied and

fewer in 30.9% of cases. Unstableinternal and external auditoryattention in speech band (47.8%)or lowered internal attention(39.1%) was more often identi-fied in right-ear perception, asdetermined by the Tomatis Lis-tening Test.

Further results obtained inthe Tomatis Listening Test wereidentification of disorders ofsound pitch discrimination inspeech band, which were dis-played by 82.9% of the examined,and by as many as 98.9% of casesabove 2000 Hz

These frequencies, therefore,seem crucial to front alveolar andfront dental sounds.

70.2% of the examined dis-played left-ear or ambiguous lat-eralization. Four individuals werediagnosed as left-handed (4.3%)and two as ambidextrous (2.1%).Two left-handed children hadbeen ‘switched’ to right-handed-ness, i.e. there was no integrationof activities within one hemi-sphere, as determined by Toma-tis’s auditory laterality test andZazzo’s tests of handedness[Zazzo, 1960].

DISCUSSIONThe process of articulating

speech sounds is influenced byphonemic and phonetic hearingof exogenous utterances (exter-nal phonemic and phonetichearing) as well as phonemic andphonetic hearing of one’s ownutterances (internal phonemicand phonetic hearing). The typi-cal methods employed thus far ofphonemic hearing evaluation(Roclawski 2001, Styczek 1976)and tests of auditory perception(Kostrzewski, 1976) allow theassessment of external phonemichearing exclusively. No tools exist


Figure 2. Audiophonological speech model

R Right Side SC Sequential CodingL Left Side MP Motor ProgrammingCo Conduction (Middle Ear) EF(P) Emotional Filter (Positive Emotions)R Reception (Inner Ear) EF(N) Emotional Filter (Negative Emotions)P Perception M MotoricsGD Global Decoding Ks KinesthesisSD Sequential Decoding Art ArticulationC Cerebral Processing BC Bone ConductionGC Global Coding AC Air Conduction


for the evaluation of internalphonemic and phonetic hearing.

Tomatis’ diagnosis of audi-tory attention may indicate low-ered auditory attention in speechband as the root cause of phone-mic perception disorders.

Correct sound pitch discrimi-nation plays an important role inthe development of the articula-tion process. The process of hear-ing is known to be related to thedevelopment of the auditory ana-lyzer, whereas the process of lis-tening is formed gradually andconsists mainly in the acquisitionof the ability to discriminatesound pitches. This process isvery often impeded, and difficul-ties in discriminating particularsound pitches arise. Problemswith frequency discrimination inspeech band have a considerableimpact on the articulation pro-cess.

The dominance of the lefthemisphere and, in conse-quence, right-side lateralizationis crucial to control of the speechprocess. Ambiguous lateraliza-tion (mainly auditory) or cross-lateralization may affect the pro-cess of speech perception andexpression.

For the purposes of logope-dics, Kaczmarek’s speech modelmay be modified as shown in Fig-ure 2.

The main differencesbetween Kaczmarek’s SpeechModel and the Audiophonologi-cal Speech Model are the desig-nation of two-channel (left andright ear) input of speech and ofauditory speech control by airand bone conduction, which isindependent of perception ofexternal stimuli.

References1. Emiluta-Rozya D. (1994). Wymowa dzieciniedoslyszacych. W: Red. S. Grabias. Glu-chota a jêzyk. Lublin: UMCS, PZG. [Pro-nunciation of a hard of hearingchild]Jelinková Z. [1960]. Nekteré sensorickéa motorické zvlá¹tnosti u detí s dyslalií. W:Dyslalie. Sbornik predná¹ek o porucháchvýslovnosti Praha.2. Kaczmarek L. (1981). Nasze dziecko uczysiê mowy. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Lubelskie.[Our child learns to speak]3. Kania J.T. (1982). Szkice logopedyczna.Warszawa: WsiP. [Logopedic Sketches]4. Kostrzewski J. (1976) Skala pomiaru per-cepcji sluchowej slów, Uniwersytet £ódzki.[Scale of Auditory Perception of Words]5. Krakowiak K. (1995). Fonogesty. Lublin:UMCS. [Cued speech]6. Kurkowski Z. M. (1996). Mowa dziecisze�cioletnich. Lublin: UMCS [Speech of sixyear old child]7. Kurkowski Z.M. (2001). Stymulacja audio-psycho-lingwistyczna � Metoda Tomatisa.�Audiofonologia� 19, 197-202 [Audio-psy-cho-linguistic stimulation]8. Lewina R. J. (red.). [1968]. Osnowy tieoriii praktiki logopiedii. Moskwa: Izdatielstwo�Proswieszczenye�.9. Mendel L. L., Danhauer J. L. (1997). Audi-ologic Evaluation and Management andSpeech Perception Assessment. San Diego,London: Singular Publishing Group, Inc.10. Moore B. C. J. (1999). Wprowadzenie dopsychologii slyszenia. T³. A. Sêk, E. Skrodzka.Warszawa-Poznañ: Wyd Naukowe PWN.[Introduction to psychology of hearing]11. Roclawski B. (2001). S³uch fonemowy ifonetyczny. Teoria i praktyka. Gdañsk: Glot-tispol. [Phonemic and phonetic hearing.Theory and practice]12. Styczek I. (1976). Badanie i ksztaltowaniesluchu fonematycznego (komentarz itablice). Warszawa: WsiP. [Research andforming of phonematic hearing]13. Tomatis A. (1977). L�oreille et la vie. Paris:Laffont. [The ear and my life]14. Tomatis A. (1989). Les troubles scolaires.Paris: Ergo Press. [Learning problems]15. van Riper C., Irwin J. V. [1970]. Artikula-tionsstörungen. Diagnose und Behand-lung. Berlin-Charlottenburg: Carl MarholdVerlagsbuchhandlung.16. Zazzo R. (1960) Manuel pour l'examenpsychologique de l'enfant. 2 vol., Delachaux-Niestlé, Neuchâtel [Manual of psychologicalexamination of the child].



REVIEW

Pronunciation and the Adult Learner: Limitations and Possibilities, ed. Ulrike A. KaunznerCLUEB (Bologna, Italy) 2000.203 pages. 16.53 Euro, paper.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Joiner, Ph.D., RCTC and Craig Callender, University of South Carolina

Since 1990, the European Union has promotedthe languages of member nations by funding stu-dent exchanges and other language-related projectsthrough its Lingua-Socrates program. One suchproject, called Audio-Lingua, was designed to testthe Tomatis Method applied to language learning.The results of the experimental study, reported forthe first time in 1997 at a conference on pronuncia-tion and the adult learner, constitute the first of theten articles that make up this volume. The volumealso includes an introduction and a listing of bio-graphical entries of the contributors.

The adult learner as defined here is anyoneattempting to learn a foreign language beyond theso-called critical period, after which achievingnative-like pronunciation is quite rare. The title issomewhat misleading, however, because the arti-cles go beyond mere sound production to treat theentirety of oral communication including soundperception, listening comprehension, and oralexpression. Most of the contributors are associatedwith European universities and represent areas suchas language, linguistics, or speech communication.A few, however, are connected to institutions in theprivate sector. The latter include specialists in voicetraining, hearing, language training for businesses,and educational measurement. In the spirit of theLingua-Socrates program, the articles are written inseveral European languages (English, German, Ital-

ian and Spanish), each preceded by an English-lan-guage abstract.

The first three articles of the collection aredirectly related to the Audio-Lingua Project, whichhad two goals: (1) to test the effectiveness of acous-tical stimulation in developing receptive compe-tence and oral expression and (2) to developdidactic materials in the languages involved. Thethree articles complement and support each othernicely. The first is a detailed account (46 pages inEnglish) of the experimental study which comparedlanguage training with the Sound PerceptionTrainer (a version of the Electronic Ear) to trainingwith conventional language laboratory methodsand found in favor of the Tomatis Method. In it, deJong and Kaunzner (also the editor of this volume)support their findings with extensive charts, graphs,and tables. While the introductory remarks of thelead article deal with models of language profi-ciency, principles of language learning, and thebasic assumptions underlying sound perceptiontraining, it is Gianni, writing in Italian, who providesthe most complete account of the theoretical basisfor using sensory stimulation to enhance foreignlanguage acquisition. Further, he presents an excel-lent description of the Sound Perception Trainerand its functioning. In the third article of the trilogy,Beheydt deals with the Dutch pronunciation coursethat was developed as part of the Audio-LinguaProject. Writing in English, he discusses criteriaused for the selection of a pronunciation norm andpresents the basic tenets of the course, one of whichis that accurate pronunciation is based upon pre-liminary accurate perception.

The other articles in the volume, while notdirectly related to the Audio-Lingua Project, arelinked to it conceptually in that they are all relatedto sound perception and the primordial role ofsound in language learning. Prosody (intonation,rhythm, etc.) is a prominent theme in articles by

Pronunciation and the Adult Learner: Limitations and Possibilities, ed. Ulrike A. Kaunzner


Missaglia (in German), Pearce (in English), andFernández García (in Spanish). Missaglia, whoargues that language students should be treated asbilinguals from the beginning of instruction, pre-sents a model for early training in prosody using thenative language as a starting point. Pearce’s article,though somewhat theoretical in that it cites recentresearch in anthropology and psychology to high-light the most salient points of commonalitybetween music and language, nevertheless showshow these can be applied in the classroom throughpoetry, dance, and drama. Fernández García, too,chooses poetry as an important instructional tool inthe service of prosodic phonology. Drawing on theliterature of neurolinguistics, she argues for the nec-essary involvement of both brain hemispheres inthe work of professional interpreter.

The premise of strengthening language net-works connecting the two hemispheres underliesthe functioning of a machine developed by Warnkeand described by him in an article written in Ger-man. Unlike the two channels of the Electronic Ear,the channels of Warnke’s machine (one channelwith a model voice, the other with the student’svoice) change at regular intervals. Technology alsoplays a role in Stolze’s article (in German) on tonalconsciousness training for choir singers, a practicewhich he believes could be useful for second lan-guage learning. This training focuses on partials, orovertones, and is accomplished by means of a com-puter.

While most of the articles, apart from the leadarticle, are not research-oriented, Sendlemeier’scontribution (in German) to the volume describesseveral informal experiments. These studies, whichhe conducted to test prototype theory with respectto phonological acquisition, lead him to concludethat the prototype functions as a perceptual mag-net, i.e., sounds similar to the prototype are per-ceived as the prototype and that learners benefitfrom broad variation of input regarding speaker andphonological context. He also connects speakingdifficulty to problems in the area of listening.

Sound perception is the theme of the book’sfinal article, written in German by Rauen, whoreflects on the words used to designate acousticevents in German and Italian and speculates thatnative speakers of the two languages perceivesounds differently. She hypothesizes that language

may affect perception by acting as a sort of filteramong ear, sound, and mind.

This collection of articles is somewhat uneven,varying as it does from the impressive lead article,which is highly quantitative, to the reflective medi-tation that closes the volume. Most of the articlespresent theory-based practices and approaches, fewof which are supported by evidence other than theauthor’s own observations and experiences. Somereaders will wish for more quantifiable data. It isunfortunate, too, that the collection was publishedthree years after the conference at which the articleswere presented. Further, the book would have bene-fited from more careful proofreading. The most fla-grant of a number of typographical errors is themention of the fetus at twenty-four months! Thelack of an index is somewhat frustrating as well,although this would have been difficult to establishin a multilingual publication. Indeed, the presenta-tion of articles in several European languages makesthe book challenging to all but polyglots.

On the positive side, organizing a conference,and the resulting publication, around the theme ofpronunciation and the adult learner was a timelyidea in this age of global communication. The editorof the volume is to be congratulated on this initia-tive. The varied approaches, technologies, and the-ory presented here make for thought-provokingreading, and the publication delay, while regretta-ble, allowed some of the authors to update theircontributions by incorporating references to workspublished after 1997. Because its scope includessound perception as well as the spoken and sungvoice, this book is of interest not only to teachers ofsecond and foreign languages but to all profession-als who deal with sound perception and production.It is worth purchasing even if one reads only thelead article, which lends strong support to the use ofthe Tomatis Method to enhance and facilitate lan-guage learning.

Pronunciation and the Adult Learner: Limitations and Possibilities, ed. Ulrike A. Kaunzner


REVIEW

Kuniko Murase, RCTC

A series of books published in the Japanese language has stimulated a great deal of interest in Japan, especially in the use of the Tomatis Method for the application of learning foreign languages:

Takizawa, T. & Oiwa, M. (2000), Theory and practice of audio-psycho phonology. City: Surugadai Syppansya, 173 pp.

This book was published with the state subsidyfor scientific researches from the Japanese govern-ment in 1999. In spite of recent innovations in theforeign language teaching field, such as LanguageLaboratory equipment, the recruitment of nativespeakers to teach a language so that the studentshear the correct intonation, sounds, and rhythm ofthe language in their first learning experience hasmade it difficult to get effective results until theintroduction of the Tomatis Method in Japan. Thishas been partly due to the fact that not enoughemphasis has been put on learners listening prob-lems as well as on the correlation found in themechanism of listening and speaking. However, theaudio-psycho-phonology theory of Dr. Alfred A.Tomatis has helped us to overcome this problem,and this book describes the benefits of the Elec-tronic Ear used with Japanese subjects.

Murase, K. (1996). The most efficient method for learning foreign languages. City: Nihon Jtsugyou Syuppansya, 230 pp.

The author provides an account of how she setout to work with the Tomatis Method. Many refer-ences are made in the form of anecdotes about Dr.Tomatis. The book describes the difficulty Japaneselearners experience when learning English andgives an insight of the listening differences that

learners from various ethnic groups may experi-ence. Just as Dr. Tomatis did, the author highlightsthe importance of the ear mechanism.

The secret to acquiring a native-like ability tospeak a foreign language is to first acquire a nativeear. For Japanese learners to acquire a foreign lan-guage, they must acquire the ear of the nativespeaker of that language by going through the samelistening acquisition phases for the new languagethat they did for their mother tongue. The Elec-tronic Ear created by Dr. Tomatis accelerates therate at which this can be done for foreign languages.This book presents the Tomatis Method and its ben-efits for learning language in a very comprehensiveway. To have a good ear is foremost to have a saneand stressless nervous system, as well as the correctlistening posture to best allow sound energy to stim-ulate the brain.

Sasabe, T. (2002). Enjoyable preparation for birth with music. City: Clinic obstetrics gynecology 210 pp.

Dr. Sasabe is an obstetrician who devoted hislong career to finding and developing the easiestbirth techniques for both mother and child. Heintroduced the Tomatis Method for pregnant moth-ers as suggested by Alfred Tomatis and provided it toseven pregnant women at his hospital, with the sup-port and assistance of Tomatis Japan. This bookcontains surveys of these mothers talking about thepositive results of their listening sessions. Analysesthat were carried-out in relation with the TomatisListening Test showed improvement in severalareas:• Balance • Relaxation• Communication• Expression• Energy level (tiredness)

Reviews of Japanese Language Books


• Creativity• Attitude

The mothers’ comments indicated the followingobservations about this program:• Improved physical and mental relaxation• A sense of self-confidence and trust to become a

mother thanks to communication with the fetus• No worries about the birth process• Pleasure and satisfaction in taking care of the

child• The baby’s stability and communication with

the mother.

Reviews of Japanese Language Books


IARCTC Application For Tomatis Method Research Funds And/ Or Equipment1. RESEARCH TOPIC:

2. DATE OF APPLICATION: DATES OF RESEARCH:

3. COUNTRY LOCATION OF RESEARCH: EQUIPMENT AND/OR AMOUNT REQUESTED:

4. REGISTERED CERTIFIED TOMATIS CONSULTANT(S) INVOLVED:

5. APPLICATION THROUGH (PERSON, AGENCY, COMPANY, FOUNDATION):

6. RESEARCH SUBJECTS (NUMBER OF SUBJECTS, AGES, PRESENTING CONDITION OR QUALIFIER FORPARTICIPATION IN STUDY):

7. LOCATION OF PROJECT (WHAT IT IS (SCHOOL, TOMATIS CENTER, HOSPITAL, UNIVERSITY, COM-PANY, OTHER)) AND NAME:

8. TYPE OF RESEARCH (DESIGN):

9. DURATION OF PROJECT IN MONTHS:10. DURATION IN HOURS OF EACH SUBJECT’S PROGRAM: 11. NUMBER OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS IN TREATMENT:12. NUMBER OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS IN CONTROL:13. NUMBER OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS IN PLACEBO:14. HOURS OF LISTENING FOR EACH SUBJECT: PASSIVE _____ ACTIVE _____15. TOTAL HOURS OF LISTENING TIME ON ELECTRONIC EARS / MINI NTS FOR PROJECT: 16. ARE YOU ALSO REQUESTING USE OF EQUIPMENT AS PART OF YOUR APPLICATION FOR ASSIS-

TANCE? YES NO17. MEANS OF DOCUMENTATION OF OUTCOME: (VIDEO, LISTENING TEST, OTHER TESTS OR ASSESS-

MENTS, OBSERVATIONS, SURVEYS)

18. RESOURCES TO BE USED (SUCH AS ELECTRONIC EARS (MANUFACTURER), LISTENING TESTMACHINE, CD PLAYERS, COMPUTERS, SPACE):

19. APPROVAL BY INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD OR OTHER AGENCY:NO ____ YES _____ IF YES, DESCRIBE AGENCY:

20. PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR WRITING FINAL REPORT FOR RICOCHETTM ABSTRACT IF SUBMITTEDTO PROFESSIONAL JOURNAL OUTSIDE IJTMR OR FOR WRITING RESEARCH ARTICLE FOR IJTMRUSING APA PUBLICATION GUIDELINES:

21. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT (THIS COVER PAGE PLUS NO MORE THAN 20 PAGES, DOUBLE SPACED,12 PT. ARIAL WITH REFERERENCES (AT LEAST ONE TOMATIS PEER REVIEWED PUBLISHED REFER-ENCE REQUIRED).:

___________________________________ DATE: SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED PERSONAGENCY REPRESENTED (IF ANY):


MEMBERS

IARCTC BOARD OF DIRECTORS*Dr. Billie Thompson. Ph.D., RCTCPresident, IARCTCPresident, Sound Listening Corporation1635 E. Seldon LanePhoenix, AZ 85020Telephone: [1] 602-381-0086 Fax: [1] 602-870-8353E-mail: [email protected]

*Francoise Nicoloff, MA, RCTCVice President, IARCTCDirector, The Australian Tomatis Method6031 46-56 Kippex StreetSurry Hills NSW 2010Telephone: [61] 2 92 80 33 03Fax: [61] 2 92 80 3002E-mail: [email protected]

*Maria Lundqvist, RCTCVice President, IARCTCPresident, Tomatis Nordiska ABStupvägen 119142 SollentunaTelephone: [46] 8 59 47 77 90 Fax: [46] 8 59 47 77 99E-mail: [email protected]

Thierry GaujarenguesTreasurer, IARCTCGeneral Manager, Tomatis Developpement SA22, Boulevard RoyalL-2449 LuxembourgTelephone: [352] 26 27 20Fax: [352] 26 27 20-25E-mail: [email protected]

Joachim Kunze, RCTCPresident, Tomatis Institut HamburgBüschstr. 1220354 HamburgTelephone: [49] 40 35 74 480Fax: [49] 40 35 74 48 50E-mail: [email protected]

*Valerie Drouot, RCTCRepresentative of TD to IARCTCEditor, IARCTC NewsletterCentre de l�Ecoute et de la Voix4 Rue Chauveau Lagarde75008, Paris, FranceTelephone: [33] 1 40 06 04 60Fax:[33] 1 40 06 04 70E-mail: [email protected] tomatis.com

Emilia Flores, RCTCRepresentative, Member at Large, IARCTCPresident, The Listening Centre12800 Hillcrest Road, Suite B-101Dallas, TX 75230Telephone: [1] 972-404-8152 Fax: [1] 972-392-0532E-mail: [email protected]

*Valerie Gas, RCTCRepresentative Member at Large, IARCTCDirector, Tomatis Écoute Communication41, rue Cardinet75017 ParisTelephone: [33] 01 56 79 06 05 Fax: [33] 01 56 79 08 12E-mail: [email protected]

*Kuniko Murase, RCTCRepresentative Member at Large, IARCTCTomatis Center4-2-11 KudanKita Chiyoda-Ku102-0073 TokyoTelephone: [81] 35 216 43 31Fax: [81] 35 216 43 30E-mail: [email protected]

Peter TinklRepresentative of TD to IARCTCPresident, Tomatis International Deutschland GMBHHolstenwall 1020355 HamburgTelephone: [49] 40 3 57 69 90 Fax: [49] 40 35 76 99 10E-mail: [email protected]

Sophie TomatisRepresentative of TD to IARCTCParis, France

IARCTC MEMBERS

Australia*Kay Distel, RCTCSound EducationPO Box 2112541 Bomaderry, NSWTelephone: [61] 244 231140Fax: [61] 246 742013E-Mail: [email protected]

*Martha Mack, RCTCListen & Learn Centre523 Burke RoadCamberwell, VIC 3124Telephone: [61] 3 98 22 00 39Fax: [61] 3 98 22 03 17E-Mail: [email protected]

*Francoise Nicoloff, RCTCVice President, IARCTCDirector, The Australian Tomatis Method6031 / 46-56 Kippex StreetSurry Hills NSW 2010Telephone: [61] 2 92 80 33 03Fax: [61] 2 92 80 3002E-mail: [email protected]

* Founding Member* Founding Member* Founding Member* Founding Member


Austria*Anna Liebhart, RCTCTomatis NiederoesterreichDachsberggasse 4A-3500 Krems an der DonauTelephone: 43 [0] 2732 71300 Fax: 43 [0] 2732 71300 44E-mail: [email protected] www.tomatis-center.at

*Guenther Liebhart, RCTCTomatis NiederösterreichDachsberggasse 4A-3500 Krems an der DonauTelephone: 43 [0] 2732 71300 Fax: 43 [0] 2732 71300 44 E-mail: [email protected] www.tomatis-center.at

*Werner Pelinka, RCTCTomatis Horch Und SprachpadagogikGusenleithnergasse 30/141140, WienTelephone: [43] 1 9124290Fax: [43] 1 9124290E-mail: [email protected]

*Guido Rath, RCTCTomatis Institut LinzBrucknerstrasse 20A-4020 Linz, AustriaTelephone: [43] 732 60 29 90Fax: [43] 732 66 30 99E-Mail: [email protected]

*Peter Röck, RCTCTomatis Sprachakadmie WienAnnagasse 5 / 108 / 1010, WienTelephone: [43] 19 69 06 17 Fax : [43] 19 69 06 18E-mail: [email protected] www.sprachakademie.at

*Karla Sommerauer, RCTCTomatis Institut SalzburgWeizensteinerstrasse 5 / 5020Salzburg, AustriaTelephone: [43] 662 88 06 83Fax: [43] 662 88 06 83E-mail: [email protected]

*Hilde Tinkl, RCTCTomatis Institut WienSerravagasse 6/61140 Wien, AustriaTelephone: [43] 18 47 42 87Fax: [43] 18 97 43 46E-mail: [email protected] www.tomatis.at

Belgium*Guy Delhaye, RCTCEcoute Et Langage Asbl-Methode TomatisRue de Montreuil sous Bois, 18 / 7022, Mons, Belgique Telephone: [32] 69 84 12 01Fax: [32] 65 34 81 27E-Mail: [email protected]

*Lutgart Van Ballaer, RCTCCentre De La Voix Et De La CommunicationCESER CVBAKraanstraat, 11 / 1703Dilbeek, BelgiqueTelephone: [32] 25 67 10 60Fax: [32] 25 67 11 10E-mail: [email protected]

Canada*Larry Mynatt, RCTCTomatis Now921 St. CatherineCP 32176Montréal, Quebec, Canada H2L2E5Telephone: [1] 514 574 1248Fax: [1] 419 730 2926E-Mail: [email protected]

Colombia*Helga Lopez, RCTCCentro Tomatis Colombia � Proyecto WinnieCarrera 14 # 88-49BogotaTelephone: [57] 1 236 11 38Fax: [57] 1 52 62 610E-Mail: [email protected]

Silvia Lozano, RCTCCentro Tomatis ColombiaAvenida J3 #81-50-of-IOIParalela AutopistaBogotaTelephone/Fax: 57 [email protected]

Denmark*Mirjam Bertschinger, RCTCVilla Musica / Lyttecenter Tomatis InstitutVibekevej 53400 HillerodTelephone: [45] 48 24 57 001Fax: [45] 48 24 57 03E-Mail: [email protected]

*Ole Hummelgaard, RCTCDansk Lyttecenter - Tomatis InstitutVibekevej 53400 HillerodTelephone: [45] 48 24 57 01Fax: [45] 48 24 57 03E-Mail: [email protected]

Mette Riemer, RCTCMr Sang Og Lyttetraening - Tomatis StudioAbildhoj 94700 NaestvedE-Mail: [email protected]

France*Florence Bucourt, RCTCCentre Audio Pedagogique37 rue Jules Lecesne / 76600Le Havre, FranceTelephone:[33] 2 35 21 16 78Fax: [33] 2 35 21 16 78E-mail: [email protected]

*Marie-Claire Charles, RCTCLangage - Écoute - Communication2 Quai Colonel Serot88000 EpinalTelephone: [33] 03 29 34 15 [email protected]

*Florence Chaveroche, RCTCCentre Du Langage & Pedagogie De L'ecouteMéthode Tomatis7 rue François Fabié83000 ToulonTelephone: [33] 04 94 91 08 67Fax: [33] 04 94 29 53 [email protected]

*Bruno Cirodde, RCTCCentre Tomatis6 Rue Des Carmélites14000 CaenTelephone: [33] 02 31 23 49 23

*Jean-Claude Dahan, RCTCCentre D'application De La Methode Tomatis6/8 Rue Saint-Just51100 ReimsTelephone: [33] 03 26 88 68 91Fax: [33] 03 26 88 71 54E-Mail: [email protected] www.tomatisreims.com

Members


*Beatrice De Rostolan, RCTCCentre Tomatis9 Rue Michelet3700 ToursTelephone: [33] 02 47 31 90 31Fax: [33] 02 47 05 81 36E-Mail: [email protected]

*Valerie Drouot, RCTCIARCTC Board MemberCentre de l�Ecoute et de la Voix4 Rue Chauveau Lagarde75008, Paris, FranceTelephone: [33] 1 40 06 04 60Fax:[33] 1 40 06 04 70E-mail: [email protected]

*Claudine Dupessey, RCTCCentre D�ecoute Et De Communication53 Cours Renestang38200 VienneTelephone: [33] 04 74 31 66 83Fax: [33] 04 74 58 83 54

*Valerie Gas, RCTCSecretary of IARCTCTomatis Ecoute Communication41, rue Cardinet / 75017Paris, FranceTelephone: [33] 01 56 79 06 05Fax: [33] 01 56 79 08 12E-mail: [email protected]

*Geneviève Gaufres, RCTCValmedica221 Rue Claude-Nicolas Ledoux30900 NimesTelephone: [33] 04 66 84 76 18 Fax: [33] 04 66 87 66 25E-mail: [email protected]

*Jean-Pierre GranierCedil Centre Tomatis21 Place Alexandre Labadie13001 MarseilleTelephone: [33] 04 91 64 79 41Fax: [33] 04 91 84 42 56E-mail: [email protected]

*Louisette Kerbart, RCTCCabinet D'orthophonie431 Rue Paradis13008 MarseilleTelephone: [33] 04 91 22 61 01

*Roger Mignot, RCTCCentre Audio-PedagogiqueRue Jules Lecesne76600 Le HavreTelephone: [33] 02 35 21 16 78Fax: [33] 02 35 21 16 78E-Mail: [email protected]

Veronique Passas, RCTCTomatis Chevreuse4 rue Farman / 78460Chevreuse, France Telephone: [33] 01 30 52 39 82E-mail: [email protected]

*Marie-Elisabeth Roblin, RCTCLes Moulins94 Chemin de l�olete74240 Menthon St. BernardTelephone: [33] 04 50 60 00 88E-Mail: [email protected]

*Jean-Jacques Theulier, RCTC24 Voie De La Résistance93500 PantinTelephone: [33] 01 48 45 80 74Fax: [33] 01 48 45 97 87

*Maryaline Varanfrain, RCTCCentre Tomatis4 Avenue De L'ecole D'agriculture34000 MontpellierTelephone: [33] 04 67 52 13 13 Fax: [33] 04 67 54 22 88E-Mail: [email protected]

*Sophie Varanfrain-Miailhes, RCTCCentre Tomatis4, Av de l'Ecole d'Agriculture, 34000, Montpellier, FranceTelephone:[33] 4 67 52 13 13Fax: [33] 4 67 54 22 88E-mail: [email protected]

Germany*Gerd Bellmann, RCTCTomatis Studio SaselRedder 5122393 HamburgE-Mail: [email protected]

*Rudolf Höffken, RCTCMuenchener Strasse 116 B, C47249 Duisburg Telephone: [49] 203 792 704Fax: [49] 203 792 [email protected]

*Friedrich Huchting, RCTCTomatis Institut EutinMöhlenkampsweg 523701 Gothendorf / EutinTelephone: [49] 45 21 70 99 40Fax: [49] 45 21 70 99 48E-Mail: [email protected]

*Barbel Knopp, RCTCTomatis Institut KönigsteinKlosterstr. 561462 KonigsteinTelephone: [49] 61 74 223 33 Fax: [49] 61 74 223 13E-Mail: [email protected]

*Dietmar Knopp, RCTCTomatis Institut KönigsteinKlosterstr. 561462 KonigsteinTelephone: [49] 61 74 223 33 Fax: [49] 61 74 223 13E-Mail: [email protected]

*Ingrid König, RCTCTomatis Institut MünchenBauerstrasse 15D-80796 MünchenTelephone: [49] 89 27 37 05 70 Fax: [49] 89 27 37 05 72E-Mail: [email protected]

*Joachim Kunze, RCTCTomatis Institute HamburgBuschstr. 1220354 HamburgTelephone: [49] 40 35 74 480Fax: [49] 40 35 74 48 50E-Mail: [email protected]

*Bettina Kuppels-Wichelo, RCTCTomatis Institut NettetalHaupstr. 2941334 NettetalTelephone: [49] 21 53 409 112 Fax: [49] 21 53 409 114E-Mail: [email protected]

*Edzard Mercker, RCTCTomatis Institut BerlinBrandenburgische Strasse 3810707 BerlinTelephone: [49] 30 89 09 21 27Fax: [49] 30 86 09 21 28E-Mail: [email protected]

*Manfred Schiffers, RCTCNeckarweg 1534131 Kassel

Members


Telephone/Fax: [49] 561 32 512 *Svetlana Treichel, RCTCTomatis Institut WormsMendelssohnstr. 1067551 WormsTelephone: [49] 62 47 90 53 64Fax: [49] 62 47 90 53 65E-Mail: [email protected]

*Anne Von Senfft, RCTCTomatis Institut Bad RothenfeldeSchloenbachstr. 1449214 Bad RothenfeldeTelephone: [49] 54 24 360 602 Fax: [49] 54 24 360 603E-Mail: [email protected]

*Irmgard Winkelnkemper, RCTC Tomatis Institut AlheimHeinebacherstr. 12 36211 Alheim-NiederellenbachTelephone: [49] 56 64 61 09 Fax: [49] 56 64 61 09E-Mail: [email protected]@gnx.de

*Constanze Wittich, RCTCTomatis Institut ErfurtLutherstrasse 599094 ErfurtTelephone: [49] 361 644 5923Fax: [49] 361 644 5924E-Mail: [email protected]

GreeceTony Evangelopoulou, RCTCCentre Of Audio-Psycho-PhonologyT. Evangelopoulou & Company79 Alexandras Avenue11474 AthenesTelephone: [30] 16 43 34 87 Fax: [30] 16 42 93 79 E-Mail: [email protected] www.soundtherapy.gr

GuadeloupeMarie-Thérèse Picard, RCTCCentre D'etude PolyvalentCitée ChanzyLocal 400397110 Pointe A PitreTelephone: [590] 83 01 47Fax: [590] 89 43 55E-Mail: [email protected]

IrelandM. Pascal Maher, RCTCGreenlea Clinic118, Greenlea RdTelephone: [353] 01 458 48 00E-mail: [email protected]

Israel*Debby Klieger, RCTCIsrael Tomatis Listening Center Mikshevet.Ltd130/11 Weizman Street44203 Kfar SabaTelephone: [972] 97 66 81 91Fax: [972] 97 66 81 94E-Mail: [email protected]

*Angela Ney-Goldenberg, RCTCIsrael Tomatis Listening Center Mikshevet.Ltd130/11 Weizman Street44203 Kfar SabaTelephone: [972] 97 66 81 91Fax: [972] 97 66 81 94E-Mail: [email protected]

ItalyLucia Galentino Reeducation A L'ecouteVia Giolitti 3735129 PadovaTelephone: [39] 0 49 80 74 328 Fax: [39] 0 49 80 74 328

Japan*Hiromi Imai, RCTCTomatis Center161-1-803 Yamashita-cho, Naka-tuYokohama-choTelephone: [81] 045 224 7821Fax: [81] 045 224 7822E-Mail: [email protected]

*Kuniko Murase, RCTCTomatis Center4-2-11 KudanKita Chiyoda-Ku102-0073 TokyoTelephone: [81] 35 216 43 31Fax: [81] 35 216 43 30E-mail: [email protected]

*Eriko Murase de Monzon, RCTC1-3-16-4 Sonezakishinchi, KitakuOsaka-Shi 530-0002Telephone: [81] 6 4797 1031Fax: [81] 6 4797 1033E-Mail: [email protected]

*Yumiko Nakajima, RCTCCentre Tomatis Nagano1343 Miwata-ChoNagano-Shi380-C816 Nagano-KenTelephone: [81] 262 34 5661Fax: [81] 262 33 [email protected]

*Yukari Shinohara, RCTCTomatis Ishikari56 6jo 1 chome Hanakawa minamiIshikari-city, Hokkaido 061-3206Telephone : [81] 13 37 45 420Fax : [81] 13 37 45 420E-mail: [email protected]

Yuko Sugihara, RCTCTomatis Listening Center3-6-6 KamitokoenNashinomya 662-0813-H4060563-0214 OsakaTelephone: [81] 07 985 755 28Fax: [81] 07 985 755 [email protected]

*Miyoe Takemoto, RCTCCentre Tomatis Sakura2-26-16 OujidaiSakura-Shi285 Chiba-Ken

Yasuko Tarui, RCTCTomatis Listening Center Kobe4f Yamanote Syaruman Build. 4-1-14Nakayamate Dori Chuou-Ku Kode-Shi650-0004 HyogoTelephone: [81] 783 92 33 14 Fax: [81] 783 92 33 14

Martinique*Marie-Ange Cenatus Massee, RCTCAire TomatisRoute De L' Entreaide97200 Fort De FranceTelephone: [596] 79 48 64Fax: [596] 79 40 11E-Mail: [email protected]

Mexico*Gloria Assmar, RCTCCentro Tomatis Lomas Santa Fe S.C.Sierra Mojada 329Lomas De Chapultepec11000 Mexico D.F.G.Telephone: [52] 55 40 20 93 Fax: [52] 55 20 09 47 E-Mail: [email protected]

Members


Yolanda Carrillo-Vasquez, RCTCCentro Tomatis HermosilloCalle de la Parroquia, 7Colonia Villa SateliteTelephone: [52] 662 218 94 08E-Mail: [email protected]

*Virginia Chenillo, RCTCCentro De Estimulacion Auditiva Del Sur, ScChimalcoyotl N°169Col. Toriello Guerra-Tlalpan14050 Mexico D.F.Telephone: [52] 56 06 26 99 Fax: [52] 56 06 26 99 E-Mail: [email protected]

Leticia Varela Ruiz, RCTCCentro Tomatis HermosilloCalle de la Parroquia, 7Colonia Villa SateliteTelephone: [52] 662 220 20 38E-Mail: [email protected]

Netherlands*Monique Blok-Wildschut, RCTCTomatis Instituut YmuidenKennemerplein 271972 Ew YmuidenTelephone: [31] 255 52 57 32 Fax: [31] 255 519 541E-Mail: [email protected] www.tomatis-ijmorden.nl

Luce Olminkhof, RCTCTomatis InstituutBurgemeester Falkenaweg 18a8442 Ld HeerenveenTelephone: [31] 513 626 988 Fax: [31] 513 625 995E-mail: [email protected]

*Hans Pekelharing, RCTCTomatis Instituut NederlandRichterslaan 603431 Ak NieuwegeinTelephone: [31] 30 60 55 135 Fax: [31] 30 60 90 306E-Mail: [email protected]

NorwayJorunn Fiveland, RCTCLogopedisk InstitutHegdehangsveien 350350 05L0Telephone: [47] 2260 8830Fax: [47] 2260 6940E-Mail: [email protected]

*Vigdis Nygard, RCTCTomatis Center TrondheimTrondheim Lytte OG LaeresenterPostboks 3584 Hospital Slokkan, KonsulLorcks Gt 16, 7419, TrondheimTelephone: [47] 73 80 83 30Fax: [47] 73 80 83 31E-Mail: [email protected]

*Brynjulv Simonsen, RCTCTomatis Center TrondheimTrondheim Lytte OG LaeresenterPostboks 3584 Hospital Slokkan, KonsulLorcks Gt 16, 7419, TrondheimTelephone: [47] 73 80 83 30Fax: [47] 73 80 83 31E-Mail: [email protected]

Panama*Eve Wiznitzer, RCTCCentro Auditivo TomatisApartado 978Panama City 1Telephone: [507] 213 81 72 Fax: [507] 263 27 31E-Mail: [email protected]

PolandHenryk Skarzynski, RCTCInstitute Of Physiology And Pathology Of HearingUl. Pstrowskiego 101 943 WarzawaTelephone: [48] 22 83 55 214 Fax: [48] 22 83 55 214

Spain*Juan Antonio Timor Pineda, RCTCNeser S.L.c/o Maria Zombrado, 6 #4-B50001 ZaragozaTelephone/Fax: [34] 976 73 07 70E-Mail: [email protected]

Sweden*Helena Bowin, RCTCTomatis Nordiska A Stupvagen.1, 19142, Sollentuna, Sweden Telephone:[46] 859477790Fax:[46] 859477799E-mail:[email protected] www.tomatis.se

*Kristina Edstrom, RCTCTomatis NordiskaAB Stupvagen, 119142 Sollentuna, Sweden Telephone: [46] 8 594 777 90Fax: [46] 8 594 777 99E-mail:[email protected] www.tomatis.se

*Ewa Hermansson, RCTCAudiamus LyssningscenterEkholmsvägen 3612748SkärholmenTelephone: [46] 08 740 41 80Fax : [46] 070 604 09 76E-Mail: [email protected]

*Antonia Jacobaeus, RCTCTomatis NordiskaStupvagen 119142 SsollentunaTelephone: [46] 08 59 47 77 90Fax: [46] 08 59 47 77 99E-Mail: [email protected]

*Maria Lundqvist, RCTCTomatis NordiskaabStupvagen 119142 SollentunaTelephone: [46] 08 59 47 77 90Fax: [46] 08 59 47 77 99E-Mail: [email protected]

Switzerland*Virginie Devaud, RCTCCentre TomatisRue Saint Pierre 121700 FribourgTelephone: [41] 26 322 75 20 Fax: [41] 26 322 75 20

*Alain Martin, RCTCCentre D�ecoute et de Sante Fleur17 Chemin du Couchant1180 RolleTelephone: [41] 21 825 34 62Fax: [41] 21 825 34 67

*Denise Moreau, RCTCCentre du Langage Sarl21 rue du Mont Blanc1201 GeneveTelephone: [41] 22 738 22 37Fax: [41] 22 738 26 33www.tomatis-geneve.com

Members


*Antoinette Patry, RCTCCentre du Langage Sarl21 rue du Mont Blanc1201 GeneveTelephone: [41] 22 738 22 37Fax: [41] 22 738 26 33www.tomatis-geneve.com

*Isabella Robadey, RCTCCentre TomatisSalita Dei Frati 3a6900 LuganoTelephone: [41] 91 921 27 21 Fax: [41] 91 923 24 50E-Mail: [email protected]

*Elke Schlaeppi, RCTCCentre D'écoute Et De Santé "Fleur"17, Chemin Du Couchant1180 RolleTelephone: [41] 21 825 34 62Fax: [41] 21 825 34 67

*André Zermatten, RCTCCentre De Pedagogie De L'ecouteRue Des Remparts 251950 SionTelephone: [41] 27 323 72 71Fax: [41] 27 322 51 [email protected]

United States*Susan Andrews, Ph.D., RCTCListening Center2626 N. Arnoult StN. Causeway Blvd, Ste 601Metairie, LA 70002 Telephone: [1] 504-831-0109 Fax: [1] 504-834-8892 3525 E-Mail: [email protected]

Lillian Chen-Byerley, MS, OTR, RCTC550 Frontage RoadNorthfield, IL 60093Telephone:[1] 847-446-9484 Fax:[1] 847-446-9484E-mail:[email protected]

*Dorinne Davis, RCTCThe Davis Center For Hearing, Speech & Learning98 Rt. 46 WestVillage Green AnnexBudd Lake, NJ 07828Telephone: [1] 973-347-7662Fax: [1] 973-691-0611E-Mail: Davis@The Daviscenter.Com

*Valerie M. Dejean, RCTCThe Spectrum Center4715 Cordell Ave.Bethesda, MD 20814Telephone:[1] 301-657-0988 Fax:[1] 301-657-0989E-mail: [email protected]

*Emilia Flores-Elizondo, RCTCThe Listening Centre12800 Hillcrest Rd, Suite 101Dallas, TX 75230Telephone: [1] 972 404 8152Fax: [1] 972 392 0532E-Mail: [email protected]

*Elizabeth Joiner, Ph.D., RCTCDept Of French & ClassicsUniversity Of South CarolinaColumbia, SC 29208Telephone: [1] 803-777-3893Fax: [1] 803-776-0824E-mail: [email protected]

Caroline McCauley, RCTCOptimal Health & Learning Center 2180 North Park Ave., Ste 328Winter Park, FL 32789Telephone: [1] 407 644 3593Fax: [1] 407 644 1713E-mail: [email protected]

Larry MynotDiscovery Learning88 Pine StreetCambridge, MA 02139Telephone: [1] 617 497 1214

*Ursula J. Palmer, EdD, LPC, RCTCThe Listening Center12800 Hillcrest Rd # 101Dallas, TX 75230E-mail: [email protected]

John Tatum, MD, RCTCOptimal Health & Learning Center2180 Park Ave., Ste 328Winter Park, FL 32789Telephone: [1] 407 644 3593Fax: [1] 407 644 1713E-mail: [email protected]

*Billie Thompson, Ph.D., RCTCPresident, IARCTCPresident, Sound Listening Corporation1635 E. Seldon LanePhoenix, AZ 85020Telephone: [1] 602-381-0086 Fax: [1] 602-870-8353E-mail: [email protected]

*Michelle A. Trumps, DC, OT, RCTCTotal Health Network525 Metairie RoadMetairie, LA 70005 Telephone: [1] 504 835 3535Fax: [1] 504 835 3550E-mail: [email protected] www.TotalHealthNetwork.net

*Len YoungListening Clarity, Inc.9267 East Vaquero DriveScottsdale, AZ 85258Telephone: [1] 480 998 [email protected]

IARCTC ASSOCIATESGeorge MackListen & Learn Centre523 Burke Road, 3124Camberwell, VICAustraliaTelephone: [61] 3 98 22 00 39Fax: [61] 3 98 22 03 17E-Mail: [email protected]

*Simone NicoloffVilla KarinyaCarreurade d�Allauch13400 AugagneFrance

Charles SchlaeppiCentre D'écoute Et De Santé "Fleur"17, Chemin Du Couchant1180 RolleSwitzerlandTelephone: [41] 21 825 34 62 17 Fax: [41] 21 825 34 67

Paul SopperDiscovery Learning88 Pine StreetCambridge, MA 02139Telephone: [1] 617 497 1214United States

Members


Leo WiznitzerCentro Auditivo TomatisApartado 978Panama City 1Telephone: [507] 213 81 72 Fax: [507] 263 27 31Panama

HONORARY MEMBERSDon CampbellDon Campbell, Inc.PO Box 417980306 Boulder, COUSATelephone: [1] 303 440 8046Fax: [1] 303 440 3353E-mail: [email protected]

*Wynand Du Plessis, RCTCNorth-West UniversityPotchefstroom CampusPB99 X60012520 PotchefstroomSouth AfricaTelephone: [27] 148 299 11 11 Fax: [27] 148 299 17 30 Pb 99 X6001E-Mail: [email protected]

Thierry GaujarenguesTreasurer, IARCTCGeneral Manager, Tomatis Developpement SA22, Boulevard RoyalL-2449 LuxembourgTelephone: [352] 26 27 20Fax: [352] 26 27 20-25E-mail: [email protected]

Fredrik MoëllTomatis Nordiska ABStupvägen 119142 SollentunaSwedenTelephone: [46] 8 59 47 77 90 Fax: [46] 8 59 47 77 99E-mail: [email protected]

Peter TinklRepresentative of TD to IARCTCPresident, Tomatis International Deutschland GMBHHolstenwall 1020355 HamburgTelephone: [49] 40 3 57 69 90 Fax: [49] 40 35 76 99 10E-mail: [email protected]

Sophie TomatisParis, France

Members

I . A . R . C . T . C .I n t e r n a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f R e g i s t e r e dC e r t i f i e d T o m a t i s C o n s u l t a n t s

Y o u w e r e p r e s e n t a t t h e C o n v e n t i o n s i n F r a n c e a n d A u s t r i a .

N o w , f o r 2 0 0 5 , y o u r A s s o c i a t i o n I . A . R . C . T . C . i s p l e a s e dt o i n v i t e y o u t o :

T h e n e x t I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n v e n t i o no f t h e

C e r t i f i e d T o m a t i s C o n s u l t a n t s

I n S e g o v i a , S p a i n

F r o m M a y 5 t h t o 8 t h , 2 0 0 5

F o r i n f o r m a t i o n o r r e g i s t r a t i o n , p l e a s e c o n t a c t u s a t :

i a r c t c @ v o l . l u o r a t + 3 5 2 2 6 2 7 2 0

discovering more about the ear and life through tomatis - iarctc

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