Sent by Jo-Anne, Canada
My nine year old son Rhone was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 4. When we heard about the AIT program and how it was especially beneficial to those with autism we decided to give it a try. Rhone had AIT therapy at 7 years of age and at first there seemed to be little change. But by 6 months later and starting the new school year Rhone was a much different boy. His focus was the greatest achievement in the program and his meltdowns had diminished almost completely.
I believe AIT to really helped achieve this. Rhone developed into the higher functioning boy that he is today.
From Ava (parent in Ireland)
By day 7 of the 10 day programme I noticed an increase in vocabulary and improved fluency. Since completing the course I find her ‘spontaneous conversation’ has also improved. Before the FST what Ava said was often in response to a question or was one of her many ‘rehearsed/learnt off’ phrases but many comments are now free flowing and spontaneous. Overall definitely worth doing.
By Ruth (parent in Ireland)
Thank you so much… it worked a treat. I’ve been telling everyone about our success with the FST and will recommend it to others. It’s truly been amazing the results. I’m communicating with Jane in a way I never have before. So thank you!
By AnneMarie de Bruin (Practitioner and Trainer, SA)
I wrote this on the morning I got feedback from the mother of an autistic boy who was on the home based programme of Filtered Sound Training, the newly developed (by Rosalie Seymour in 2008) software version to apply Bérard AIT. I was overjoyed and want to share with you:
Today is one of those amazing days, one of those WOW-days. Little Mikael, an Autistic boy of 3 years, said his first 6-word sentence. This happened on the 4th day of FST (Filtered Sound Training). But then, this is only one of many WOW-experiences that I see all the time.
Children in my Child Development Centre & pre-school who have poor or no social skills, poor or no interaction with peers or teachers, who put their hands on their ears and/or cry the minute some activities get a bit loud; those who are “hyperactive” and can’t concentrate, cannot colour in between the lines, are slow to carry out instructions, etc.; these suddenly start blooming, becoming happy little kiddies after or even while they are still in FST training. Concentration, alertness, just in general, their abilities improve.
Here are just a few examples:
Tylah* also 3 and a half years old, would come in to school and put her bag in her locker. Then she would stand in front of it:- no interaction or socialising with peers nor teachers; always in the outer circle, watching without any expression on her face with no participation. In the first week of FST, she started talking nonstop. This quiet little girl, who did not take any risks, nor participate in any activities, became a girl who started singing and dancing with the others, climbing the jungle gyms, even trees… and she seemed to realise she has muscles in her face and was having fun making faces!
Rudolph was 13 when he first encountered AIT (Auditory Integration Training) – the earlier form of FST. At that point he could not climb stairs, his mother used to carry him up and down the stairs. He had poor balance and rhythm. Together with AIT, Rudolph had six months of Visual Therapy. Things turned out very differently for him. For example, he held the record for the 100m and 200m at the SA Championship for the Physically Disabled. At present he is an accomplished archer using the compound bow, and regularly competes.
I could go on and on …. “ Amazing”.
By Philippa (parent in Ireland)
Thanks for getting in touch. FST is going great, he is being a model student – as long as he has something to keep him busy he seems to actually enjoying sitting and playing with my undivided attention – also the kinder chocolate eggs with the little toy inside make all the difference – he gets the toy and I eat the chocolate so we’re both happy!
I’ve been doing the second session of the day in the evening after his bath when it’s actually a nice little wind down before bed. Both my husband and I feel he’s using better sentences, a few new words and he’s started remembering words of songs and singing with very nice clarity for the first time (his kiddie songs). I also sense he’s understanding me a little better, in a way our communication is a tiny bit easier.
Thanks so much, Rosalie, you’ve made something possible for us that I didn’t think we could ever try, I do feel we’ve seen enough positive signs that we’d be wanting to give it another go in 9 months.
Momentum 94.5 Cycle Challenge: 21 November 2010
Fundraiser for Jacoba
Jacoba O’Connell-Maritz is 22 years old and she is autistic. Her communication skills are limited but she is high-functioning.
Jacoba’s brother, Joshua will be riding the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge with a purpose this year. He will be pulling Jacoba behind him on her custom-built trike.
Joshua, 23, is a seasoned road cyclist, mountain biker and spinning instructor and this is not the first time he will be riding an unusual bike in this event for a good purpose. Last year he completed the event on a small BMX to raise funds for a sick baby.
This year’s ride will be to raise funds for Jacoba to receive Auditory Integration Training (AIT) which is an expensive treatment for autism but has proved to be effective.
“Jacoba received her first session of AIT in 1994,” explains her mother, Lesley. “She benefited enormously and started talking and communicating with people, albeit in her own limited way.” “We feel that she will benefit greatly from more sessions of AIT. Perhaps she may then become a little more self-sufficient if she could “come through” a bit more,” she said.
PS… this fundraiser for Jacoba was most successful, and she received her FST system in January 2011! Congratulations Joshua!
Aidin* came to my Centre when he was 3 and a half years old. When he arrived in the morning and saw the group of children around him, he would start walking in circles talking to himself in his own unintelligible language, on and on, or go and lie down in a corner and fall asleep. If left he would sleep the whole day. On the 6th day of FST, he started to participate in activities such as Monkeynastix, singing, jumping, taking risks, etc. His concentration started to kick in, his speech, balance and rhythm got better. At this stage we realised how very intelligent this little boy is, with his amazing vocabulary and general knowledge. He still receives some speech-, visual- and occupational therapies. We must remember that we need to see the different therapies in a holistic way, each as a part of the puzzle to make up the whole picture.
Matteo of Switzerland, written by his mother.
After the first FST: “He began to speak in 4-word sentences. We’re doing well. Matteo speaks a lot and is very happy”
After the second FST: “ Hello how are you? We are just back from Spain. We spent our Spring holiday there. Maybe you don’t believe it, but Matteo speaks every day more words. At the moment 5 or 6 -word sentences. We are very happy” 