History
of AIT: A Brief History of Auditory Integration Training
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Complete
On-line AIT Checklist
by Rosalie
Seymour, SLP/A, Berard AIT Practitioner
What Is
Auditory Integration Training
Auditory Integration Training
is a form of auditory re-training that can enhance well being in a wide
range of situations. The emphasis of Berard AIT is on educational difficulties,
particularly the listening skills problems basic to phonics problems,
reading and spelling difficulties, as well as to concentration problems
and issues associated with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD),
autism,
dyslexia, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and other learning disabilities.
The concept of Auditory
Integration Training began in the medical practice of Ear, Nose and
Throat (ENT) physician, Dr.
Guy Berard in France. It should be emphasized that AIT was developed first as an intervention
for hearing loss, and the sometimes accompanying
tinnitus.
After this, it became known in Europe for its usefulness in
overcoming
dyslexia. It was well documented
in Dr. Berard's many years of medical practice
where he treated 8,000 participants that certain cases
of emotional and mood disturbances also responded well
to AIT.
The Story of Georgiana Stehli, AIT and Her Recovery from Autism
It was the story of an American girl, Georgiana Stehli,
labeled as “autistic”,
“psychotic” , “dyslexic”
and “retarded" that brought Auditory
Integration Training to the United States and the special needs community.
Diagnosed as
autistic
by internationally-renowned experts, she also had
hyperacute hearing. She received her
AIT sessions with Dr.
Guy Berard at age 11 and started a slow steady
recovery from
both autism and dyslexia.
After AIT
her formal diagnosis of “retardation” was no longer an appropriate
term and her giftedness in numerous areas began to show! Her
social skills developed to at least the competence of
the average person. She is now married, a mother and supports her home
with her own job. Georgiana Stehli travels as a speaker and counsels at
an
autism
center.
What must not be forgotten,
is that the changes
were significant, but took hard work and patience. For years
after AIT
Georgie’s mom, Annabel, with Peter her step father, worked steadily
with Georgie to modify her problematic behaviors. A “quick fix”
it was not! Those who have read her story in
"Sound
of A Miracle" know it was not an overnight miracle, with one
of hard work and dedication to Georgie's recovery.
When AIT arrived in the United States, professional opinion was guarded
and outright disinterested. The Stehli’s tried to give others the
benefit of their experience and they worked steadily at letting others
know about AIT .
The Stehli's met with Dr. Bernard Rimland of the Autism Research
Institute who was very interested in what had happened.
Dr. Rimland
then obtained an Audiokinetron from Dr.
Guy Berard and began to do research into its efficacy for autism along with Dr. Stephen Edelson. Before this development in the USA,
across the border in Montreal, Canada, Dr. Gerard Binet of Canada had already
been offering AIT to special needs clients.
Growing Public Awareness of Auditory
Integration Training
Information to the English-speaking general public was not
available for many years due to the fact that Dr.
Guy Berard's book
"Hearing Equals Behavior"
was written in French and was not available in English.
Gradually, this situation changed. In 1990, the
CBS
News Team went to Dr.
Guy Berard's home to record a TV program. When Georgiana
Stehli finished school and college with honors, and was well on her way
to establishing her own life, Annabel Stehli
wrote her story,
“The
Sound of a Miracle”. The book “The
Sound of a Miracle” came to public attention quickly on its
release in 1991, and sparked a demand for AIT in the United States. The
Readers Digest
featured it as Book of the Month in March 1991. In December 1991,
the ABC Television program
"20/20"
featured the story and some other case studies.
Annabel Stehli was invited to speak frequently at conferences and meetings,
she was interviewed by Larry King,
Sally Jessy
Raphael, and the Australian “Beyond 2000”
ran a feature. Many newspapers continued to report stories
about AIT.
The Georgiana Institute was formed by the Stehli’s, to spread information
about AIT and
they arranged for Dr. Berard
to come to the USA to train interested AIT
Professionals from various disciplines. Between 1991 and 1993 about
8 such training courses were run, with about 20 people training per course.
Since then, the number of AIT Practitioners who have been professionally trained in the Berard
AIT protocol has grown steadily worldwide.
History of Equipment Developed for
Auditory Integration Training
In the early 1990's, the FDA investigated the Audiokinetron
which was used at that time for AIT,
putting a “class 3” rating on it. This is a usual procedure.
This restricted further development of the practice of AIT in the USA because nobody was allowed take an
Audiokinetron across state borders, or bring one into
the United States until the FDA tests had been concluded. A "class
3" rating puts such a device into the category of equipment that
may be operated only by highly skilled practitioners.
The FDA subsequently declared that they have
no control over devices which are used strictly for educational
purposes. It was obvious that after the many years of use
for
Berard
AIT the Audiokinetron had no proven
risk involved. An American made device similar to the
Audiokinetron
was built by engineer Bill Clarke and was called the
BGC. The
old
BGC device was used but is no longer being manufactured.
Qualified Professionals
who are interested in becoming a certified
AIT Practitioner may be
trained through us by a Professional Trainer and then purchase a
system for providing Auditory Integration
Training.
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