Brainstem auditory evoked potentials in children with autism and speech development disorders before and after the Tomatis training
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2687-0223-2019-1-2-98-106Keywords:
autism, speech development disorder, Tomatis, brainstem auditory evoked potentials, central auditory processing disorderAbstract
The article assesses the efficacy of the audio-psycho-phonology training developed by A. Tomatis on the auditory processing in the brain stem in two groups of children. The first group included children with autism while children in the second group had speech development disorders and autistic behavior. Before the training children were diagnosed by a psychiatrist, a neurologist, and a speech therapist.
The training used Besson of Switzerland equipment. During active sessions with a microphone, the children listened to acoustically modified music of Mozart, Gregorian chants, their mothers’ voice recordings as well as the recordings of their own voice. The program was tailor-made and developed after an audiometer-assisted auditory attention test.
The efficacy of the Tomatis training for autistic children and children with speech development disorders stands high on the agenda. The program is widely used all over the world, however, computer-assisted research to evaluate its impact is insufficient.
The efficacy of the training was analyzed through electrophysiological diagnostics — the assessment of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP). The examination was prescribed by a neurologist as a diagnostic procedure and was carried out in a child neurology clinic. Besides the classical BAEP test, we conducted a modified test that allows to measure the latency of an auditory signal from the cochlea to the medial geniculate nucleus of the thalamus, that is recording of peak VI. The test was carried out before the Tomatis training as well as after the first and second training sessions.
The results of the BAEP test before the training showed that children demonstrated considerably slow auditory processing in the brainstem with central auditory processing disorder as a possible reason for that condition. The modified test revealed a statistically significant improvement in BAEP results already after the first training session. After the second session the results improved. The obtained data allow us to suggest that the Tomatis neuroacoustic training speeds up the morphofunctional development of auditory centers and paths in the brainstem of autistic children as well as children with speech development disorders.
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