Getting it Together
                                                 The Children's Therapy Center Newsletter

                              ARE YOU LISTENING?!
                                                                                                       by Teri Allen, OTR

If you have experienced asking your child to do a task while he is intently watching a TV show you may understand the difference
between hearing and listening!  Hearing is a passive process.  Sound waves or vibrations in the air strike the ear drum and are
mechanically transmitted through the ear.  But, just because the ear is working correctly and your child's hearing is perfect, does not
mean he is listening.

Listening, is a very active and complex process.  It requires the nervous system to sort out and organize the information received from
the ears.  An important component of "sorting out" is the nervous system's ability to filter out the irrelevant noise and pay attention to
what is important.  If your child cannot do this he will have difficulty listening and concentrating.  He is likely to be distracted by
footsteps in the hall way or the rustle of papers rather than attending to the teacher's directions.

Efficient listening also requires integration of hearing with all of the other senses. For example,  when your child hears a  noise, he will
turn and use vision to increase his understanding of the noise. As his senses compare what they are experiencing, the accuracy of
his "listening" increases.  Your child's nervous system even compares differences in what each ear hears.  Sound waves bounce off
of solid surfaces around him and each ear receives the sound waves at a slightly different time and intensity. This comparison allows
localization of sound and an understanding of the space around him. Thus, listening contributes to an understanding of space and time
outside of his body.

Information received by the ears allows your child to hear sounds and to develop a reference point for how his body is moving.  The
vestibule of the ear detects movement of the head in space.  It is referred to as the vestibular system and is considered the organizer
of your child's body senses.  It is considered the "internal ear", allowing your child to understand time and space from his body's
perspective. It has a strong impact on  muscle tone, posture, balance, coordination, integration of the two body sides, visual-spatial
skills, emotional responses and motor planning.  

Your child's ears may be perfectly normal and healthy, but if he has poor listening skills you will see some of the problems listed below:

                                                           ____poor attention   
                                                           ____distractibility
                                                           ____is overly active or lethargic
                                                           ____over sensitivity to sound
                                                           ____misinterpretation of questions
                                                           ____frequently says "what" or needs repetition
                                                           ____over use of stereotyped expressions
                                                           ____poor social skills
                                                           ____poor timing when answering questions or conversing
                                                           ____trouble following multi step or sequential directions
                                                           ____flat or monotone voice
                                                           ____hesitant speech
                                                           ____weak vocabulary
                                                           ____poor sentence structure
                                                           ____cannot carry a tune
                                                           ____reversals when reading or writing
                                                           ____poor reading comprehension
                                                           ____difficulty with spelling
                                                           ____poor posture
                                                           ____clumsy or uncoordinated
                                                           ____poor sense of rhythm
                                                           ____poor sense of time
                                                           ____confusion of right and left
                                                           ____lack of established hand dominance

                     (Adapted from a list composed by Paul Madaule, L.P. and Valerie Dejean, O.T., "The Listening Function")

If you have concerns about your child's listening skills, you should ask for your child to have a comprehensive hearing exam.  It is
always essential to rule out a hearing loss.  If hearing is normal, investigate the current technologies in treating "listening" deficits.  
Our web site will link you to several web sites offering current information on treatment of listening deficits.  
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CHILDREN'S THERAPY
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