Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Theraputic Listening ?

I am curious if anyone has used this with their child. DD7's OT wants to give it a try with her. DD has a hard time listening in a large group. Such as in the classroom when general instructions are being given to the class. So the thought is that she needs some auditory intervention to help with this.

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

We might have tried it during the 'OT year' - but I can't quite remember - what exactly is it?

G

Aparently the child wears a headset that plays CD's of specific music that has certain enhanced frequencies while doing movement like swinging, rocking or spinning. It is part of the SPD theory.

On a lot of the SPD lists I belong to, it seems to get mixed messages - some people think it did wonders for their kid and others saw no difference....there are also different methods/programs of theraputic listening so do your research. It was suggested to us but of course insurance doesn't cover it (as well as vision therapy) and can be VERY, VERY expensive depending on the kind you do. So I would just suggest you do some research on-line and if insurance covers it then there is nothing to lose :-)

So far, they just want to try it in the clinic. We are already doing vision therapy and are seeing good results with that.

We were happy with the listening therapy my kids did along with their OT at the Star Center. You can read a little about it here http://www.starcenter.us/services-treatment.html

Indeed it is controversial as to whether it helps with auditory issues - it seems like it's a crapshoot, helping some kids and not others. As far as my kids' OT went, the purpose was to facilitate changes in the brain faster. One of my kids, who is still in speech therapy, saw some significant improvement with speech during that time, according to both the speech therapist and the teacher. I have the home CDs that I ended up buying from Integrated Listening, and I'm trying to get myself to make two of my kids do them over the summer, to see if it helps. http://www.integratedlistening.com/ (the cds that my kids used with OT came from this place, though the home ones I bought are somewhat different).

For us, I think it was around $40 extra per OT session to have the listening therapy. So it didn't seem like it was expensive since it was a fraction of what the OT was costing. For the home program, I paid around 500-600.

Wow - we sure wish that we could live in a place that offers better OT services!!! We have been quoted between $3-5,000.00 JUST for vision therapy since insurance doesn't cover it and between $2,000-$3,000.00 for the listening therapy - again thanks to insurance. We are very limited in our area for any services for children but wouldn't matter since our insurance doesn't cover either. You guys are SOOOOOOOOO lucky!!

We paid about $2500 for vision therapy (included 24 weekly visits and occasional progress checks with the optometrist). My sense was that was the going rate around here. If there is more than one provider near you, it would be worth calling around. ( www.covd.org )

OT was the big one, I think around $4000 per child for 20 sessions but I can't remember exactly what it was - about a year and a half ago. I think we got a small discount on the sibling.

No insurance coverage here either, but I guess we are lucky in that we happen to have some great services nearby. (by the way, the Star Center does have some sort of program for out of town clients that is even shorter/more intensive than the one we did)

It can be very hard to pay for OT. Our insurance was a bit more generous, but Mom and Dad each had to get their company plan and double-insure us for a while so that we could afford it. There are good services here. TEACCH is in my area, and there is also truly exceptional OT for those who have the money. Unfortunatly, that isn't everyone.

DH's insurance pays for 40 sessions per year with a $40 co pay. He also got them to "pay" for vision therapy with a $2000 deductable that the contribute 60% each visit. Clever how they figure that out so that they only pay the deductable and then the year is over and the deductable starts over. So we are paying out of pocket for vision therapy.

I will say that Vision Therapy has been worth every dime! OT, I am not sure about yet, as we are still in the "Throw it at the wall and see what sticks" phase.