When children struggle with focus and attention, the trigger at the end of the day is rarely the explanation. Cognitive load accumulates across a full day of listening effort, sensory demands, and executive function work. By the time behavior becomes visible, the brain and body may already be heavily under strain.

What This Session Covers

In this webinar, Alex Doman and pediatric psychologist Dr. Lynne Kenney explore the neurobiology of cumulative demand: what builds beneath the surface before behavior becomes visible, and what changes when children’s brain and body systems get the support they need.

Why Listening Affects Focus and Attention in Children

Listening is one of the most demanding processes the brain performs. While a child appears to simply be sitting and attending, they are simultaneously filtering sound, holding information in working memory, processing timing, interpreting intonation, and formulating a response. When that process requires significant effort rather than happening automatically, it draws down the capacity available for attention, communication, and self-regulation.

The Listening Program® is a neuroscience-based music listening therapy designed to support auditory processing, sensory organization, attention, and regulation. When listening becomes more organized, more capacity becomes available for the functions that depend on it.

Key Topics

🔹 Early warning signs that the brain and body are approaching capacity before behavior emerges

🔹 The developmental pillars beneath learning and behavior: sensory, motor, cognitive, language, social, and relational foundations

🔹 How movement, rhythm, and timing support executive function and cognitive organization

🔹 What changes in attention, communication, and social confidence when auditory processing improves

🔹 Practical recovery strategies for the hours after school

Dr. Kenney shares a case study of a child initially labeled oppositional whose attention moved from the 7th to the 65th percentile through a layered intervention, with The Listening Program® as a foundational tool. A published study on inTime, the rhythm-based music listening therapy within The Listening Program®, found statistically significant improvements in rhythm, timing, motor planning, handwriting, and attention when added to a multidisciplinary program for children with learning difficulties.

About the Speakers

Lynne Kenney, PsyD

Dr. Lynne Kenney is a pediatric psychologist, international educator, and author of five books, including Move More, Learn More (Teachers College Press, 2026). Trained at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and UCLA, she has spent her career bridging neuroscience and education through rhythm and movement-based interventions used internationally. A certified provider of The Listening Program®, she integrates music listening therapy with her movement-based approaches to support executive function, self-regulation, and learning in children.

Alex Doman

Founder and CEO of Advanced Brain Technologies and the creator of The Listening Program®. A third-generation pioneer in brain health and neurodevelopment, he has more than 30 years of experience helping families and professionals worldwide. He is the bestselling co-author of Healing at the Speed of Sound® and a recognized leader in making neuroscience practical and accessible to everyday life.