Berard Auditory Integration Training

With so many different sound-based interventions available now, it can be difficult and confusing trying to sort through them.

The true Berard method is the de facto standard for auditory integration training (AIT). Dr. Morganti is a trained Berard AIT Practitioner. Other methods exist that claim to be Berard AIT but only Berard Practitioners are certified to perform Berard AIT. Pittsburgh Hyperbaric is proud to be a part of the Berard AIT community.

Why do Berard AIT?

Many children receiving special education services, and even some who are struggling without services, often have an undiagnosed or uncorrected problem with the way they hear and/or process the information. Learning and behavior is affected by problems such as:

• hypersensitive hearing
• hearing distortions
• processing delays
• lack of coordination

All of these interfere with the efficient processing of sound signals.

When a parent is faced with finding interventions for their child who may be struggling with learning, developmental and/or behavioral problems, they need to explore the many options currently available and evaluate each one. They must take into consideration the effectiveness of the intervention (considering relative benefit/risk), whether it is appropriate for their particular child, the timing of the program relative to other interventions that are being done, cost and accessibility.

There are some immediately recognized advantages of Berard AIT:

• it only requires 10 days, with two 30 minute listening sessions each day
• the main pre-requisite skill is that the listener must accept the head-phones (Berard Practitioners are knowledgeable about how to help those individuals who may be initially reluctant)
• it can be provided as young as 3 years of age

The Berard method is one of the few sound-based interventions that has been researched and its effectiveness is well-documented by many studies. Studies have been done with a variety of populations, with significantly positive results, including:

• autism
• PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder)
• CAPD (central auditory processing disorder)
• ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
• and mixed populations

For more information about our Berard AIT services, please contact us. Thank you.

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