II n spite of a daily sensory diet and ongoing sensory therapy, seven-yearold Matthew, who was diagnosed with autism after his second birthday, continued to resist activities of daily living, including toothbrushing, bathing, and hair washing. It was especially frustrating for Matthew’s parents because his language delay made it even more difficult for them to explain the importance of these personal care tasks. However, soon after participating in a ten-day program of Berard Auditory Integration Training (AIT), Matthew showed increasing tolerance for these activities, and his parents also noticed improving language comprehension, which removed a lot of stress in their lives.

What do other parents report after their child completes Berard AIT?

Reports vary considerably since this program results in a variety of changes in many developmental areas. A mother of a preschool boy with autism in Puerto Rico was very happy to see that, on the seventh day of training, her son suddenly understood that in order to avoid getting his feet wet in puddles, he had to either step over the puddles or walk around them. His ability to solve this problem resulted in far fewer tantrums since he was now able to keep his feet dry. Many parents report other examples of increased logical reasoning and problem solving.

Improvements in speech and language are very common, with some children saying their first words during the training period and others starting to ask questions or use pronouns and verb tenses correctly. Children who may be unintelligible because they speak at such a rapid pace with poor articulation begin to speak with clarity and put space between the words, so they become more easily understood. Since the ear controls the voice, the facets of vocal tone, volume, and voice quality may show improvement as the auditory system is rebalanced. Family, friends, and teachers noticed the changes in Matthew and wanted to know more about the program that had triggered these improvements.