A RATIONALE FOR INCLUDING JOHANSEN INDIVIDUALISED AUDITORY
STIMULATION WITHIN A TEACHING AND THERAPY PROGRAMME
OUTLINE:
 Current understanding of Auditory Processing and the Links between Auditory
Processing and Learning Difficulties
 The links between music and language
 Music Based Auditory Stimulation programmes
 Johansen Individualised Auditory Stimulation
AUDITORY PROCESSING
Hearing is a sense. It is the ability to perceive sound through the ear. The potential
is innate provided the physical structures are intact. Hearing thresholds can be
mechanically measured.
Listening is a behaviour. It is the conscious attention to sound. It is dependent on
adequate experience of sound and is a learned skill.
Auditory processing is the medical term for listening. Auditory processing describes
the central pathways from the ear within the brain that enable us to interpret the
sounds we hear. It is a vital part of speech and language perception and
understanding.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) has been defined by both the American Speech
and Hearing Association (2004) and the British Society of Audiology (2007). It is
characterised by poor perception of both speech and non-speech sounds. Its origin
is in impaired neural function. It impacts on everyday life primarily through a
reduced ability to listen, and so respond appropriately to sounds.
APD affects the ability to concentrate, understand and function effectively in school,
the workplace and social situations. People with APD find it particularly difficult to
discriminate between similar words, follow language at speed and focus effectively
on a speaker when there is background noise.
Auditory Processing Disorder is a collection of symptoms that usually co-occur with
other neurodevelopmental disorders i.e. they are often found alongside other
diagnoses involving language, literacy, attention, autistic spectrum condition. This
variation makes simple assessment difficult. Because there is not yet a consensus on
the most reliable tests for identifying auditory processing disorders, the accepted
best protocol is for appropriately trained individuals to use a range of checklists,
observation and behavioural tests in order to identify auditory processing
difficulties, and then proceed to plan teaching and therapy programmes that focus
on individual profiles of ability.
People with Auditory Processing Difficulties report a wider range of problems. Some
problems, such as hypersensitivity to particular frequencies or misinterpreting social
language may be related to a common cause such as developmental delay or an
Autistic Spectrum Condition. Other problems are associated more specifically with
efficient processing of sound heard e.g. locating where sound is coming from,
listening, especially in background noise, staying focussed while listening,
understanding when listening to speech, remembering instructions and processing
sounds in words to support reading, writing and spelling.
AUDITORY PROCESSING AND LEARNING DIFFICULTIES
Following population research studies The British Society of Audiology (2010) stated
that Auditory Processing Disorders are a collection of symptoms that usually cooccur with other neurodevelopmental disorders i.e. because there are interactive
links with cerebral dominance, language processing, attention, memory, emotion,
vision, movement, balance and spatial awareness, auditory processing difficulties
can be associated with all developmental and specific learning difficulties.
People with COMMUNICATION difficulties associated with autism or speech and
language impairment may not pick up the detail in sound to support auditory
discrimination. They may not process sound fast enough to support auditory
memory. They may not recognise the patterns of sounds or the intonation that give
clues to grammar and social meaning. They may be hypersensitive to certain sounds
or to background noise.
DYSLEXIC people’s auditory attention, spoken language comprehension and
phonological awareness may be more inefficient or inconsistent than you might
expect for their overall ability, the quality of their teaching and from dyslexia alone.
ATTENTION DEFICITS can deprive people of the consistent and sustained practice in
responding to sound that underpins classroom listening and educational progress.
Poor listening attention and slower processing of language information contributes
to auditory memory difficulties. Information ‘fades’ before meaning is worked out.
MOVEMENT AND CO-ORDINATION DISORDERS often have co-occurring Auditory
Processing Difficulties. People may fail to develop efficient sound location to
support auditory attention and discrimination and spatial awareness. They may
struggle with the rhythmic elements of language that underpin auditory memory
and social understanding. They are often unable to ‘listen and do’, or to learn in
background noise.
Common underlying immune system issues can result in people with specific
learning difficulties also having persistent UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS
AND GLUE EAR. Research has shown long term influences on auditory processing
and an additional ‘risk factor’ for social and educational underachievement. (Bishop
DVM 1997, Peer L 2002, Moore DR et al (2003)
MUSIC AND LANGUAGE
There is now a significant body of research reporting changes in the neural
processing networks involved in language as a result of musical training. Pitch,
rhythm, timing, speed and pattern perception for music and language share
underlying processing networks in the human brain. Research highlights specific
links between processing music and different aspects of language, including
Phonological awareness (Goswami U et al 2002, Forgeard et al 2008), Stress, timing
and intonation (Morgan J. et al 1976, Forde Thompson W et al 2006,) Auditory
Memory span (Wallace WT 1994) and reducing anxiety (Khalfa S. et al 2006).
Ongoing studies also show enhanced attention, working memory and language
abilities following regular engagement with music.
MUSIC BASED AUDITORY STIMULATION
When the brain is deprived of effective auditory input because of attention and
processing difficulties this can act as negative training, gradually reducing the brain’s
ability to process effectively (Popescu M & Polley DB 2010). Research into neural
plasticity and sensory stimulation has demonstrated changes in neural processing
and behaviour following specific stimulation programmes. Auditory stimulation
programmes provide a ‘second chance’ to notice and effectively process the detail
and sequences heard, stimulating the different functions of the auditory system.
There are 5 main programmes used across Europe. Individuals listen through
headphones to enhance spatial effects and ensure good sound quality. Most
programmes use modified classical music. There are group and case study reports
of progress for a wide range of age groups and conditions.
JOHANSEN INDIVIDUALISED AUDITORY STIMULATION
Johansen Individualised Auditory Stimulation is the only programme using
specifically composed music, and is the only programme where music CDs are
selected and customised according to the individual person’s profile of laterality
development and their responses to a listening audiogram. This customisation
means that listening time is focused for maximum benefit in reorganising the
auditory system. Individual customisation also allows the flexibility to produce a
very simple and slowly graded programme for a hypersensitive listener or a more
sophisticated programme for a listener with subtle or very specific areas of
inefficient auditory processing.
In order to ensure correct customisation and listening protocols the programme
must be delivered by a trained, accredited provider using approved quality of
equipment.
Camilla Leslie, Diana Crewdson 2011
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