Tomatis: “When Is Too Early, When Is Too Late?”
This is often the first question I’m asked as a Tomatis practitioner. The beautiful thing about our brains is that they’re open to change for much of our lives. The technical name for this is neuroplasticity. This means as long as you can learn, your brain can change. Tomatis is planned stimuli to create the change we’re looking for.
Babies & Toddlers:
Did you know that hearing through bone conduction begins in utero? The Tomatis Method incorporates bone conduction. With latest technology, we can now work with infants. Some infants are born irritable or dysregulated. They may have difficulty eating, eliminating or sleeping. I’ve used the Tomatis method in the NICU with premature, small, and sick babies. Later, babies may exhibit issues with:
- eye contact,
- babbling,
- reaching
- interest in their environment
The most common reason parents seek my services is that the child has issues with speech and language. Tomatis’ unique ability to connect the ear and brain, make it a logical choice at this time.
Attention difficulties are another common reason for seeking Tomatis. While high activity level is easy to recognize as you chase your child around, there are other kinds of attention issues where children just can’t focus even when sitting quietly.
Other young children have difficulty moving or crawling around their environment. All these things form the foundation for language, emotional connections, motor control, and learning.
Teens:
Being a teen is such a challenging time for anyone. Compounding this with the knowledge that you’re different than others can lead to bouts of sadness, opposition, anger or depression. It’s hard to form solid friendships when others don’t have the patience to hang around while you gather your thoughts and try to express them.
Adults:
Adults may have found they can’t maintain their attention. This can be in the conference room or with your spouse. As an aging adult, we notice a subtle shift in some of our faculties. There have been several books specifically highlighting the Tomatis Method to help you be the best you can be.
In this interview, Dr. Norman Doidge discusses the Tomatis method as useful in addressing difficulties that can hold back anyone. People are moving towards methods to better care for themselves. There are chapters in other books about using the Tomatis method during pregnancy for the betterment of the infant as well as the mother. We sometimes recommend that children and mothers train together for a special bonding experience. We have also found it of particular value to people who have had brain trauma and PTSD.
The Elderly:
Tomatis has a particular value for the aged. We don’t just hear through our ear, but we hear through our bones as well. For example, we’ve all had the experience of feeling drum beats through our bones.
Hearing is prone to deterioration with age, but our bone hearing remains more intact. Stimulating bone conduction helps your brain to rely more on that information, giving you the sensation that your hearing is better. We’ve all witnessed how music can “revive” people in their later years.
The Tomatis Method is not defined by an age group. For as long as you can learn, you can grow. Learning takes place in every stage of life. Your needs are addressed through individualized programs. Music lights up the brain, let it light up yours!