The Gentle & Calming Influence of Music on Autism Spectrum Disorders

In honor of Autism Acceptance Month, we highlight the numerous benefits of The Listening Program to support the needs of families and individuals looking for a natural way to achieve their goals.

Every brain is better on music.

That thought led Advanced Brain Technologies’ founder to create a neuroscience-based music listening therapy to improve people’s lives with autism. The Listening Program (TLP) does precisely that. While TLP is recognized as a music listening therapy for people of all abilities, the benefits for those with autism have been the most widely studied. The results demonstrate that TLP provides a meaningful, lasting change for people of all ages.

These life-changing results have come through consistent use of The Listening Program, with options for gentle to advanced training centered on each person’s unique needs. Professionals working with ASD typically start with TLP Spectrum since it has a calming effect and helps reduce stress, improve communication, regulate sensory sensitivities, and improve awareness.

TLP works well as a stand-alone music listening therapy or in conjunction with other evidence-based tools used in therapeutic and educational programs as a natural way to reorganize the brain and improve its performance, health, and functioning.

TLP Spectrum

TLP Spectrum is the most gentle of our music listening therapies, with low-frequency training and other mild neuroacoustic modifications helping to provide a grounding or soothing effect. There are numerous benefits to look for, including:

• Integrating sensory processing systems
• Supporting social attunement and connectedness
• Improving communication and language
• Reducing stress and improving emotional regulation

The intentionally recorded music in Spectrum offers a gentle approach to healing the brain by providing a “safe signal” and is the entry point for healing and further development for many people with autism.

Just as physical exercise increases our endurance and physical fitness, TLP Spectrum helps grow and change the brain to increase its performance. It is a beautiful tool that has been proven across many research studies and demonstrated with so many individuals to make a significant impact, regardless of age or current level of brain function.

Music for Social Connection & Speech Skills

Our auditory processing abilities directly impact the language centers in our brain. TLP targets both the auditory processing system and the language centers in the brain, providing a two-pronged approach for improving speech and language skills.

The music is accessible and easy to process; it has a form and structure that the brain recognizes and emphasizes the human voice frequencies. Using scientifically designed music that is gentle nurtures the brain and gradually trains it to identify different pitches and frequencies to improve speech.

The brain processes music and speech in similar ways. Many areas in the brain that respond to music are also crucial in our use and understanding of languages.

A study was conducted to determine the importance of improving auditory processing, particularly for kids with autism. In the study, 11 kids on the autism spectrum started TLP to see how it would affect their language skills. After ten weeks of regular use, improvements were well documented:

After a few weeks of using TLP, Greg began to use phrases to communicate, showed interest in peer play activities, and began drawing and writing clear, verbally labeling his drawings. Further listening resulted in significant auditory processing changes, focus, and attention, and as a result changes in language production and use.
Read the entire case study here

The unique design of TLP creates the foundation for speech and language abilities to improve, even for nonverbal kids.

Musical Sound Frequency Training to Decrease Auditory or Sensory Sensitivities

A toilet flushing, vacuum, or a loud restaurant are examples of commonly reported sounds or situations in which a child may trigger behaviors or forms of panic for many kids with auditory sensitivities. For other kids, it might be an unexpected touch, the feeling of socks being a bit skewed, or the tag on a shirt that is irritating. Any of these can cause a child to be off task, irritated, angry, or defensive.

When this pattern develops and interferes with daily life, it is essential to think about a form of therapy that assists the brain with revisiting the way it processes an “offensive” stimulation and resetting its response to that stimulation. TLP helps create a healthy relationship with the sensory input we experience in the world around us.

TLP Spectrum was developed to calm and desensitize the limbic system and reprogram the emotional memory system to make sounds and other sensory stimulation something desirable rather than avoid.

Greg, the 9-year-old mentioned previously, saw these benefits first-hand. Before starting the program, Greg was sensitive to textures, clothing, noise, and food. He had previously tried feeding therapy with no success. His sensory sensitivities were too intense.

As he began TLP, those sensitivities decreased. He spontaneously chose to eat all the foods his mother prepared for the other family members, including fresh vegetables, fruits, and meats.

By addressing the emotional reaction and reprogramming the sensory response, TLP can effectively minimize sensory sensitivity.

Related article: Sound Sensitivities and How TLP Helps

Support for Caregivers of People with Autism

Caring for a person with any kind of disability can be stressful.

The beautiful therapeutic music of TLP provides a wide range of benefits for people with autism and those caring for a person with autism. Since 1999 TLP has been used by professionals internationally to help their clients in areas such as; language development, sensory processing skills, fine and gross motor coordination, memory and thinking skills, emotional wellness, and more.

The frequency of mood changes, the difficulty expressing emotions completely, and the number of therapy or support services required can take a lot of time and effort from caregivers. Respite and emotional stability for such caregivers can be found in TLP. As a result of reduced stress comes better executive functioning to help manage the intricacies of daily life.

The founder of Advanced Brain Technologies, Alex Doman, found this added benefit to caregivers to be very beneficial to families impacted by autism. Having the ability to show up for a person with autism with more calm, empathetic energy is helpful for everyone.

There are many reasons to incorporate The Listening Program into your daily routine. When you focus on reducing stress, the autonomic nervous system is balanced, leading to improved self-control, more complex thought processes, and less impulsivity.

Whether a person is using the scientifically designed music in TLP to improve different aspects of autism or as a support for those who care for people with autism, the natural approach can have profound effects that last a lifetime.

Related Resources

Article: A Trusted Approach for Autism Treatment
The Listening Program supports the brain through a natural developmental approach. Learn more in this article by our founder, Alex Doman.

Video: What is The Listening Program
Alex Doman, founder of Advanced Brain Technologies, chats with the president of the Autism Hope Alliance about how TLP helps individuals with autism and more.

Article by Allison Tanner, Speech-Language Pathologist
“The Role of The Listening Program in the Development of Speech and Language in Children”
click here.

Case Study: 32-year-old with autism improved independence
“I was blown away by what I saw within even the first few months of TLP. After starting, I saw my son take responsibility for his morning schedule, so he no longer missed his bus to his day work program.” – Mom
Read here