🧠 AUDITORY PROCESSING DISORDER & FILTERED SOUND TRAINING

Strengthen Listening. Sharpen Focus. Unlock Learning.

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) affects how the brain interprets sounds—especially speech. People with APD hear normally, but the brain misfires or delays how it processes that sound, making it hard to understand directions, follow conversations, or learn in noisy environments.

Common challenges include:

  • Difficulty understanding speech, especially in background noise

  • Asking for repetition or saying "What?" frequently

  • Poor reading, spelling, or phonics skills

  • Trouble following multi-step directions

  • Easily distracted by noise

This can be especially frustrating for bright, capable children who "hear you but don’t understand you." And for adults, it can impact work, communication, and self-confidence.

🎧 How Filtered Sound Training Helps

Filtered Sound Training (FST), based on the Berard Auditory Integration Training (AIT) method, targets the root of APD by retraining how the brain listens. By exposing the auditory system to carefully filtered, rhythmically modulated music, we activate and improve the brain’s ability to decode and organize sound more efficiently.

💡 Benefits of FST for Auditory Processing:

  • ✅ Improves speech comprehension, especially in noisy settings

  • ✅ Enhances focus, memory, and auditory discrimination

  • ✅ Supports reading fluency and language development

  • ✅ Builds stronger listening stamina and reduces frustration

  • ✅ Helps the brain "tune in" to what matters, tuning out distractions

📚 What the Research and Experience Show

Berard AIT has been used for decades with children and adults facing auditory processing challenges. It’s particularly effective when combined with speech, occupational, or educational therapies, amplifying their impact.

Many clients experience:

  • Clearer understanding of verbal instructions

  • Improved classroom performance and reading scores

  • Better emotional regulation around sound and learning tasks

  • More confidence in social and academic environments

FST taps into the brain’s natural neuroplasticity—helping it learn to process sound more efficiently, long after the sessions are complete.

👂 Who Can Benefit from FST for APD?

  • Children with diagnosed or suspected APD

  • Kids who struggle with language-based learning

  • Teens or adults who feel overwhelmed by verbal tasks

  • Individuals with speech delays or reading difficulties

  • Anyone who hears "fine" but has trouble understanding