Auditory Sense

(Retrieved from: http://www.ftwilmingtonblog.com/one-client/days-13-travel-victory-nutrition-defeat)

Imagine... you are in a busy airport, there is a baby crying behind you, a couple chatting infront of you and you are listening to an announcement over the PA system about your flight. This is an example of your auditory system working to prioritise auditory information.

When working with a child to calm a hyper-responsive auditory system or providing activities for a child avoiding auditory input therapeutic activities should involve:
Low volume rhythmic music, vibration or speech (Case-Smith, 1998)

Specific activity examples:
Music with heartbeat rhythms
Nursery rhymes
Skipping rhymes
Soft music
Tapping tunes

Arousing a hypo-responsive auditory system or activities for a child seeking auditory input therapeutic activities should involve:
Moderate volume hard rhythmic, verbal language or music (Case-Smith, 1998).

Specific activity examples:
Loud music with a driving beat
Singing
Loud nursery rhymes
Loud skipping rhymes
Musical chairs
Matching sounds with beans or rice

Case-Smith, J. (1998). Pediatric occupational therapy and early intervention (2nd ed.). Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Kranowitz, C. S. (2003). The out-of-sync child has fun. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc.