The Listening Program®

What is TLP?

One of NACD's approaches to addressing auditory tonal processing and listening skills is The Listening Program® (TLP). TLP uses specially treated classical music to enhance listening skills and to "train" the brain to process sound in a more appropriate way. The Listening Program (TLP) is a home-based sound stimulation auditory training method influenced by the sound theories of Dr. Alfred Tomatis and based on NACD's three decades of clinical experience. Combining beautiful classical music, nature sounds, and innovative sound processing techniques, TLP promotes active listening and improves auditory perception.

TLP may be of special benefit to children and adults with sound sensitivities, hearing loss, learning and attention deficits, receptive and expressive language problems, perceptual difficulties, developmental delays, autism spectrum disorders, and other auditory processing problems.

TLP Level One consists of ten specially developed CDs and a guidebook. Each CD contains four progressive segments that last 15 minutes each. The listening content is comprised of re-arranged, specially engineered classical music and nature sounds. Although a typical listening schedule consists of two 15-minute sessions per day, five days per week, TLP schedules can be easily modified to meet the needs of an individual.

Easily implemented at home, TLP is administered under the supervision of a trained TLP provider. NACD offers The Listening Program both to our clients and also to individuals who are interested in an auditory program but are not participating in one of our comprehensive developmental programs. Long distance supervision is available.

What is TLP For?

The main goal of TLP is two-fold: to improve 1) auditory tonal processing and 2) active listening (i.e. auditory attention). As these skills improve through the music and therapeutic techniques of TLP, we see improvements in a number of functional areas, including:

• Listening
• Sensory function
• Learning
• Speech and language
• Reading
• Attention
• Memory
• Auditory processing
• Ability to process specific frequencies of sound
• Vestibular function
• Sound sensitivity

Although we have used TLP with many individuals who have a diagnosis of CAPD, the great majority of our TLP users do not have this diagnosis; they simply demonstrate weaknesses or difficulties in some of the functional areas discussed previously, such as sound sensitivity, focusing in the presence of background sound, or speech and language development. It is not uncommon for parents to purchase TLP for their child in order to remediate specific developmental problems and then decide to go through the program themselves to enhance their own processing and listening skills. We encourage parents to go through the program along with their child and to use it with siblings as well. After all, in a highly visual society with an alarming decrease in auditory function, who couldn't stand to boost their listening skills?

NACD'S Approach to Using TLP

TLP collaborator, researcher, and provider, NACD's speech pathologist Lori Riggs supervises auditory programs for NACD clients around the world. With her vast experience using TLP with widely varied populations, she is able to make recommendations and modifications according to the needs of each individual and their family. Because the "treatment" of TLP is already built into the program, we do not require specific standardized testing to be completed prior to initiating the program. Candidacy for and use of the program is based on the functional information provided by the parents. NACD provides TLP with supervision only. Continued support and guidance is provided for the duration of an individual's use of the program. While local families are welcome to consult with Lori in person, the majority of NACD's TLP supervision is provided via long distance. Because TLP is implemented as a home program, consultation via phone and e-mail have proven to be an efficient, cost-effective means of supervision.

How to Get Started with TLP

You will not find TLP available to order directly from our online bookstore. This is because we only provide TLP as a supervised program. If you are NOT an NACD client and would like to access TLP through NACD:

1. Complete a child or adult history form (whichever is applicable).
   • Download Adult History Form(PDF)
   • Download Child History Form (PDF)
2. Return the form to NACD to the attention of Lori Riggs. Please specify that it is for TLP only.
3. You will be scheduled for a phone consultation with Lori. She will discuss with you how TLP applies to you, how to implement it, and specific ordering information.

If you are already an NACD client and are interested in adding TLP to your program, please discuss this with your evaluator.

What Our Families Say About TLP

• "She is listening and understanding for the first time."
• "…seeing profound changes."
• "Her speech has blossomed."
• "Her speech has improved tremendously."
• In reference to her child's hypersensitivity to sound: "It went from out of control to completely controlled."
• "He's more 'there.'"
• "His language has skyrocketed!"
• One mother reported that her previously severely hyperauditory son was learning self-help skills for the first time because he no longer had to keep his hands on his ears all the time, finally freeing them for things like tying his own shoes.
• More "tuned in."

"I am writing in regards to The Listening Program. I recently purchased it and used it with my daughter. The program was the basic program, two 15-minute sets per day. Having participated in both the Tomatis and the Berard methods in the past, I must say, this was not only more convenient, but easier overall. My daughter is 22 years old and is mentally disabled with autistic tendencies, she is also non-verbal and has behavior problems due to not having a good form of communication.

I decided to give your program a try, based on a parent's recommendation with your previous program. After completion of our first 8 weeks I must say, I am extremely pleased with the results. My daughter has shown improvements in the following ways: More motivation, more verbal, calmer, more cooperative, more compliant, happier, more interactive, has more patience, she is willing to wait now, where as before the training she was not, and would react negatively. I also want to say, having Lori Riggs as my Provider, available whenever I needed, made this venture less frightening to me as a parent. Knowing that someone was there to help me if problems arouse was very reassuring. Lori was great. She answered all my questions and helped me with any concerns.

I have already recommended your home listening program to other parents and will continue to do so. We are starting on our second 8-week session. My daughter seems to enjoy listening now more than ever....This has certainly made our family's life easier. Also, I need to mention, now that the noise of the vacuum cleaner does not bother my daughter anymore, she is actually starting to help with the vacuuming."

Sincerely,
Lori Scholtes

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Without doing a hearing test, how do I know if my child is (or I am) a candidate for TLP?

A: TLP addresses listening skills and auditory processing, not "hearing," per se. An individual's development and function is more informative when it comes to looking at processing skills than what a hearing test (audiogram) is. You (or your child) may be a candidate for TLP if you have difficulties in any of the following areas:

• Hypersensitive to sound
• Hyposensitive to sound
• Speech production
• Language skills—receptive and/or expressive
• Focusing when background noise is present
• Attention

Q: What if my child won't wear headphones?

A: For very young children or children who are sensitive to the feel of headphones on their heads, we do offer a speaker protocol using CDs that have been engineered specifically for loudspeakers. However we find TLP to be most effective when administered via headphones. Therefore in most situations we will provide specific suggestions for training headphone use, even for children who initially start TLP via speakers.

Q: Should I expect to see negative side effects with TLP?

A: Probably not. Prior to TLP, we frequently saw negative behaviors and poor tolerance with the use of other methods. However the specific and gentle engineering of TLP provides a pleasant listening experience that most listeners tolerate very well. For those few individuals who do experience any difficulty with tolerance, our very experienced provider can modify the program as needed to alleviate this.

Q: How long will it take to see results?

A: Because each individual responds differently and at different rates, it is not possible to provide an accurate, specific answer to this question. Some individuals experience an immediate response, while others may take weeks or months to become aware of change in function.

Q: Does that mean I have to continue using TLP in order to maintain benefit from it?

A: No. The goal of TLP is to make permanent change. We use TLP for relatively short periods per day over a longer period of time in order to accomplish this goal. While other methods may be shorter, the effects of these short, intensive programs tend to fade after a few months. The longer use of TLP tends to make changes that "stick," as well as ensuring you get the maximum benefit from your program.

More about TLP

The Center for Speech and Sound
Contact Us to Get Started
Listener Resources