Auditory Integration Training

by Dr. Arturo M. Volpe

I am now offering a new therapy called Auditory Integration Training or AIT. I first heard about this therapy from parents who raved about it and also told me that it was hard to find in the Houston area.

AIT was developed by French physician Dr. Guy Berard. Although it was originally developed to treat hearing disorders, over his 30 years of practice Dr. Berard discovered that it was beneficial also for children with the disorders listed below. While these children do not have hearing loss, they suffer from distortions in the way their brains process different sounds and these distortions contribute to their symptoms.

This therapy has proven benefits for:

  • Sensory Integration issues
  • Autism
  • Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)
  • Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)
  • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
  • Dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia
  • Depression
  • Other communication disorders or developmental delays
  • Non-verbal disorders

AIT is administered twice daily over two consecutive weeks, Monday to Friday each week. At that point it is discontinued, although parents may wish to repeat it approximately six months later. Improvements are usually significant and permanent.

AIT has proven beneficial in the vast majority of cases. This is explained in detail in Dr. Berard’s book Hearing Equals Behavior that was originally published in French in 1982. A revised edition was published in English in 1993 by Keats Publishing, Inc. (ISBN: 0-87983-600-8).