The way we perceive the world through our senses is essential for the proper development of our abilities. If any of these systems functions inadequately, the person’s abilities and, consequently, various areas of their life may be compromised. In the case of hearing, especially when we talk about **auditory sensitivity in children**, if we perceive and process sounds incorrectly, this generates a delay in brain signals, causing **learning difficulties**.
Auditory Sensitivity and Re-education in Children
**Guy Berard**, a French ENT specialist and creator of the method in the 1950s, discovered that students with learning difficulties have **poor auditory quality** due to certain anomalies. The first case he resolved was his own daughter who, at fourteen years old, with **dyslexia**, understood almost nothing in class and had **speech problems**. Berard detected that the girl easily heard some frequencies but needed more decibels to hear others. As a result, many messages reached her incomplete, lacking meaning, but thanks to correct **auditory sensory stimulation**, through her father’s **Auditory Integration Training (AIT)**, she achieved the necessary quality to study and become a nurse.
The Berard Method and Auditory Hypersensitivity
His method has proven to correct or improve **auditory hypersensitivity**, distortions, and signal delays, which interfere with an individual’s ability to process auditory information normally, leading to inefficient learning.
Dr. **Berard** indicated that the ears must work in a coordinated manner. If hearing in one ear is different from the other, the person may have **auditory processing** problems. This lack of coordination between the ears can cause difficulty following instructions, understanding what is said or read, and converting thoughts into words. In the case of children with **autism**, many of whom suffer from **algiacusia/hyperacusis or painful auditory perception**, they perceive sounds in a distorted way, are easily distracted, and may have difficulty understanding what they hear, blocking emotional and/or social stimuli and thus not developing communication and language like others.
The **Berard method** establishes the stimulation and re-education program known as **Auditory Integration Training**, which is based on helping to reorganize the brain to improve **auditory abilities** and to sensorially process everything we perceive through the senses.
Auditory Sensory Stimulation
Increasingly, **speech therapy professionals** specialize in this method to conduct thorough auditory tests on acuity, degree of uniformity of perception thresholds, distortions, discrimination, laterality, response time, and degree of certainty in them to accurately detect disorders such as **learning problems**, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, speech and language problems, dyslexia, central auditory processing disorder (CAPD), sensory dysfunction, pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), **autism**, among others.
The test results allow for the evaluation of **auditory quality**, the formulation of a diagnosis, and the decision on the most convenient formula to regulate the frequency modulator with the Eareducator™, equipment created by Berard, which uses a variety of eleven frequencies in music selected with technical criteria, filtered at the moment and according to the patient’s needs, so that the brain hears low and high, loud and soft sounds with continuous alternation to surprise it without pause and prevent habituation.
It is a kind of **auditory gymnastics** or “earaerobics” that has the virtue of energizing attentive listening and standardizing **perception thresholds**, converting the defective auditory pathway into a fast and clear information highway. This modulated and filtered music is listened to with headphones to isolate external noises. Through this program, the sense of hearing is stimulated in such a way that it reorganizes the dysfunctions of the **sensory center** so that the brain is no longer overloaded with disorganized information.
Berard Method Conclusions
As a result of undergoing **AIT sessions** for a period of six months, it has been proven that patients show a reduction in tantrums and irritability, lethargy, echolalia, hyperactivity and impulsivity, stereotyped movements, sensory dysfunction, **auditory hypersensitivity and hyposensitivity**, and an increase in self-confidence, independence, self-regulation, eye contact, interactive play, following instructions, attention and concentration, socialization, affection, expressions and interactions, auditory memory, auditory perception and discrimination, speech and language skills, information and language processing, motor skills, motor planning abilities, balance and coordination, academic results, vestibular sensitivity, sleep patterns, voice tone and volume, as well as a calmer and age-appropriate behavior.
Finally, it should be noted that AIT is a **non-invasive educational intervention**, which can complement pharmacological, psychological, occupational, physical therapies, among others. Proper **training for speech therapists** provides them with more tools to improve the quality of life for children with auditory problems that translate into educational difficulties.