“Unstuck”: Aiden’s Sound Therapy Success

During the last 13 years the use of sound therapy has enabled many of my students to make faster progress, releasing them to grow academically, socially, and emotionally. If you have explored this website, you understand that sound therapy is the applied use frequencies (especially arranged and engineered recorded classical music) applied to the inner ear and the brain with bone conduction amplification. It sounds like listening to beautiful music, but over months of regular listening it can be powerful.

Today I am writing about progress of a particular 6th grade student, Aiden. Aiden has a diagnosis of Intellectually Challenged and has a speech impediment. In the past year he showed good progress through the iLs Focus programs. Then we decided to take a higher step. With a custom-designed iLs ProAmp program for six weeks, his progress really ramped up.

Following are some of Aiden’s mother’s comments.

• September 9: He asked his aunt to take him to get his mother a birthday present and used his own chore money to buy it. On his mother’s birthday, he was the first one to wish her "Happy Birthday!" in the morning and gave her hugs repeatedly during the day.
• November 12: Aiden has a new interest in board games. He is coloring with his sister. He actually stayed overnight for a sleepover. He used an appropriate “thank you” to his auntie. His vocabulary is expanding.
• November 15: Aiden is asking about college! The family visited the College Living Experience in Austin. Aiden said he wants to live in an apartment on campus. [This shows motivation and planning.]
• December 6: Aiden demonstrated a clear understanding of opposites for the first time. His speech therapist said that his articulation is much better.
• December 13: The improvements continue. Aiden is paying attention to conversations around him. He is much more confident and is becoming very independent. He engages verbally with people much more. He is open to new things and new foods. He is completing his bedroom routine and getting to bed independently. He helps “babysit” the younger children when mom is at home. Aiden is showing more age-appropriate maturity and staying on top of his chores.
• January 17: Mother reports that he is not a picky eater this week. Aiden really got into the Cowboys football game!
• January 24: [my notes] Aiden entered my office with good eye contact and said “Hello, how are you?” He read a mid-first grade level book with good inflection, showing good comprehension and much improved visual memory for words. His fluency and articulation while reading were much improved. He enjoyed reading and dramatizing his voice for some of Fox’s antics.

Witnessing his progress brings much joy and satisfaction to those of us who know and love Aiden.

Every student has unique needs, and sound therapy brings different results for each person’s uniqueness. I’m happy to be able to assist and to witness my students’ progress getting “unstuck” and moving forward into a more productive and satisfying lives.