Therapeutic Listening: Gearshifters

 Justin

Justin was a six-year-old boy diagnosed with autism. He had been listening to the Therapeutic Listening CDs for several months in an occupational therapy program. While on a break from his Therapeutic Listening program, he saw his occupational therapist one time per month. Prior to one of his monthly visits, his home therapist contact the occupational therapist to let her know that in the previous two weeks, Justin had become very aggressive at school. The episodes consisted of a lot of pinching, attempts at biting, head-butting, and other aggressive behaviors. The home therapist was puzzled by this behavior because Justin was often quite clam and happy immediately before and after each behavioral outburst. She noted that during the episodes, Justin’s arms, legs, and neck would become very rigid, and he would tightly clench his jaw.

When Justin arrived at the clinic, the therapist used the one of the Gearshifter selections from the Therapeutic Listening library. Justin listened while he relaxed in large crash pillows. Justin immediately snuggled into the pillows and buried himself, where he stayed the remainder of the listening session. After listening, he was calm and able to transition easily—even to non-preferred activities. The therapist recommended that Justin listen to the Gearshifter in the morning on school days to determine if this might help avoid the afternoon behavioral episodes at school.

A couple of days later, the home therapist contacted the occupational therapist. She said Justin had a behavioral episode that morning. After that, Justin listened to the Gearshifter while he sat in his beanbag chair, and the therapist noted , “The rest of the day was AMAZING!!!” She continued to use the Gearshifter as a part of Justin’s program at school and noted that if they gave him the CD as soon as his behavior started to escalate, they were able to regulate his mood and avoid an outburst.