Our October 'Third Wednesday' meeting took place last week at the Crossfield Centre in South Hampstead. A generous turnout gathered to hear the founders of The Sound Learning Centre (SLC) explain and discuss their therapies and treatments for adults and children with conditions such as dyslexia, autism and Aspergers.
SLC is based in Palmers Green, north London, and has been established for nearly 20 years, during which time they have been researching and developing techniques for addressing these, and other, sensory problems. They have become a leading practitioner in the area (based on the work of Dr Guy Berard) and their experience is drawn upon nationally and internationally. Principal and neurodevelopmentalist, Pauline Allen, began by drawing comparisons between people they see with these conditions and people who have suffered brain injury where, in most cases, the demonstrable effects - emotional and sensory impairments, behavioral difficulties and such like - are very similar. During their time they have treated people with brain injury.
Whilst the presentation about their work was long and occasionally quite technical, the audience remained fascinated by a talk which really provided a perspective on how advanced and vital our brains are, and how much we take of their function for granted - especially when hit by one of the conditions treated by the Centre. Pauline described that whilst a diagnosis, or a name for a difficult condition or behaviour, can be a blessing for a sufferer or a parent responsible for a child, this is only the start of SLC's journey. Indeed, the SLC is more likely to disregard the 'label' and look deeper for the cause of sensory problems. Initial investigations will assess the condition via objective tests of things like vision, hearing and primitive reflexes before moving onto treatment.
The treatments themselves are based around the idea of brain plasticity - that the brain is capable of relearning and rewiring - and reinforces that learning over time - hence overcoming or reducing the impact of acquired problems. So for instance, objective assessment may reveal particular deficiencies or hypersensitivities in hearing, which in turn leads to emotional or behavioural difficulties. Sound therapies, which modulate the amplitude of the high and low frequencies, can retrain the ears and begin to address or reduce some of the problems which lead to the initial diagnosis (Auditory Integration Training, AIT). A similar process is achieved with light in Lightwave Simulation (LWS)
The SLC, as well as dealing with problems manifesting themselves in the five senses, deal with issues around balance (which is connected to the auditory system) and spatial perception (e.g. how easy it is to move in space). As a person without brain injury or sensory impairment, the discussion about scratching an itch on one's own back - and how complicated a manoeuvre this is for the brain - brought into focus how easily a bang on the head could catastrophically change a person's life, and how frustrating it might be to be seemingly trapped in that kind of world.
The SLC is a private establishment, and the discussion after the presentation established that they were neither a medical intervention (reports derived within the SLC for clients were not generally used in medical hearings, for instance), nor a spiritual process. However, they were convinced that the work that they did was demonstrating clear improvements in the conditions of children and adults suffering from very difficult and trying impairments. This was backed up by, and described through, a number of case studies and media reports that formed part of the presentation.
The presentation provoked some lively discussion, and those present were invited to listen to the modulated sounds used in the auditory treatments. Those wishing to find out more should visit the website of the centre, which is set out below.
www.thesoundlearningcentre.co.uk
It should be noted that Headway North London does not recommend particular courses of treatment or action in relation to individual circumstances. Those considering this, or any other treatment, should take appropriate advice and make themselves aware of possible disbenefits which may exist alongside possible or claimed benefits.
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