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Stephen Porges, Ph.D., a professor of Human Development at the University of Maryland, may be closing in on the reason why auditory integration training (AIT) and other similar auditory interventions may be beneficial to children with autism and other related disorders. Dr. Porges’ work has been described in a previous issue of The Sound Connection, but we are learning more about his hypotheses and research findings (see The Sound Connection, Vol. 6, No. 4).
Similar to the works of Drs. Alfred Tomatis and Guy Berard, Dr. Porges’ research has focused on the two muscles in the middle ear--the tensor tympani and the stapedius. Porges has found that the same nerves that control these two muscles also control vocalization, facial expression, heart rate and breathing.
When we experience fear and/or anxiety, the two muscles in the middle ear can no longer diminish low-frequency sounds. Based on an evolutionary perspective, this would allow the individual to attend to all sounds in his/her environment in order to perceive danger rather than attending mostly to higher frequency sounds such as speech.
According to Dr. Porges, many children with developmental disabilities are in a state of high anxiety. As a result, it is difficult for them to attend to only the high frequency sounds such as human speech.
Porges has developed an intervention that is similar to AIT and the Tomatis method. First, the child is encouraged to relax. This may include playing with toys or sitting/resting in a quiet area. This, in itself, should improve the function of the middle ear because the child will be less anxious. The child then listens to specific sounds or music within a narrow frequency range. This is similar to the frequency range of human speech. Gradually, the frequency range is widened which is intended to vigorously exercise the two muscles in the middle ear.
Since the middle ear muscles share the same neural connection with facial expression and vocalization, Dr. Porges expects to see an improvement in communication as a result of an improvement in middle ear function. His 10 years of research on this subject has supported this hypothesis.
Dr. Porges’ line of research is very exciting and may lead to better understanding of some of the AIT effects. However, it does not seem to explain changes in many other areas such as handwriting and drawing, variety in diet, balance and coordination, sensory processing, vision skills, sleep patterns, etc. Some of these changes may result from stimulation of the cerebellar-vestibular system (see The Sound Connection, Vol. 2, No. 2 ). We will keep our readers up-to-date on any new developments.
This article appeared in a previous issue of The Sound Connection, 2003,Vol. 9, No. 4, pages 1 & 2. The Sound Connection is the quarterly newsletter of the Society for Auditory Intervention Techniques (P.O. Box 4538, Salem, OR 97302, USA).