Listening for sensory integration

This is my third week doing an Integrated Listening Systems program.  Integrated Listening Systems (iLs) is an multi-sensory program for improving brain function, and can be used with people with autism, SPD, ADD, and ADHD. It may help people process and integrate sensory information more effectively.  I’m renting mine from a local children’s sensory integration clinic.  The program involves listening to classical music on an iPod for hour-long sessions 3 to 5 times a week, and the headphones have a bone conductor on them that vibrates at various frequencies along with the music.  There are several different concentrations, and the first concentrates on sensory motor skills.  The equipment also comes with a book of exercises. 

iLS equipment

The music is mostly instrumental, and occasionally includes low-key chanting.  The vibrations from the bone conductor are pretty subtle at this point.  So far, I find the music soothing and the sessions are a nice break from the rest of my day.  The first few times, my ears started aching slightly towards the end of the session.  It’s sometimes more challenging for me to process additional auditory information afterwards.  Also, my energy level often drops after I listen.  I’m taking it slowly and keeping notes of my experience.

Since learning more about my sensory challenges, I’ve become more aware of how I rarely filter out or ignore background noise.  Hearing multiple conversations in a space can throw me off and make it challenging for me to concentrate.  This past Saturday, I briefly had a different experience.  While having breakfast with my love and a friend at a local diner, I noticed the noise of all the people talking, and then I focused back on our conversation.   I shifted my attention from one to the other without getting overwhelmed by either or both.  It was somewhat like an auditory version of zooming in and out.  It felt expansive.  While it’s hard to say if this was directly related to the iLS sessions, I definitely processed auditory information more effectively in that moment.

Sensory integration work often seems like a huge experiment. I don’t know how going through the iLS program will affect me in the long run. I’m remaining open and curious.  I’ll keep you all posted on any new developments. 

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Friday link roundup 10/2

Fall Colors, September 2015

September was Suicide Prevention Awareness month.  Now that September has ended, awareness still needs to continue.  For me, my experience in a psychiatric hospital was helpful:  it gave me a break from my stressful life, and it also made me realize how I was really doing and that I really needed to prioritize my mental health. However, I wouldn’t want to go back. I know that others have had experiences at hospitals that did not serve them.  Huffington Post on why our approach to suicide prevention needs to change.

Glennon Doyle Melton on sliding back into anxiety and depression and coming back out again.

5 Myths that can get in the way of self-compassion.

Navajo Nurse Midwives in New Mexico plan to open the first Native American Birth Center.  Excited to see this happening in my home state!

An interview with Sarah Durham Wilson, who writes under the penname of DOITGIRL and co-leads workshops on healing and uncovering the feminine.  Quote from interview:  “You’re your greatest healer.  No one knows you or your own soul or heart or body better than you.  Just take time to listen in.  You’re it.  You hold the key, no one else.  There’s no one way to live or be.  Defy convention, be your own invention, and trust yourself like crazy.”

October is Sensory Awareness Month.  Rachel S. Schneider is posting a fact about Sensory Processing Disorder on her blog Facebook page, Coming to My Senses, every day this month.  This past week, The Mighty posted 22 Truths People Affected by Sensory Processing Disorder Wish Others Understood.