Who would have thought that through putting on headphones and listening to specifically treated music, your brain could be doing more integrating and retraining than hours and hours of learning.
Let’s think about it in terms of gardening for a moment. Growing a plant requires water as well as the right kind of soil. If we think of therapy as the water and the brain as the soil, the theory of the listening programs is that it acts on the soil, i.e. the brain, to make it fertile and ready for growth.
What is the Focus System?
The Focus System from Integrated Listening Australia has a number of different programs that are tailored to work on specific goals. These programs involve listening to specially selected, therapeutically treated music through headphones that use air and bone conduction, all combined with movement activities. And, when ready, cognitive challenges to get our brain networks moving. Thus, delivering a truly multi-sensory approach to brain-body connection.
Multi-sensory and the brain-body connection
The Focus System is based on the fact that we can change our brain by essentially re-wiring it and giving it some targeted exercise (a concept known as ‘neuroplasticity’). Just like when we go for a run to maintain our physical fitness, we can use the Focus System for “brain fitness”, to build our neurological pathways and brain activity.
This is achieved via utilising the auditory, vestibular, balance and visual systems, to activate neural pathways and target regulation of physiological systems. Addressing this foundational level of brain and body organisation, allows us to better process information from our environment, sustain attention and learn. As the program continues and challenges the neural pathways to connect and work cohesively together, it is making long-lasting brain changes and functional improvements.
Who can the Focus System Programs help?
The programs directly affect our sensory and attentional systems, thereby influencing many of our day-to-day functions to become more effective at school or work, and more socially resilient.
This is a therapy that can be tailored to children, adolescents or adults, with any condition (including Autism, ADHD and mental health conditions), and has been found to help with:
- Learning challenges including reading, writing, attention/concentration, processing, and cognitive functions
- Sensory processing and body organisation
- Social-emotional difficulties, and behavioural issues
- Stress, anxiety and sleep-related problems
- Motor co-ordination difficulties
- Trauma related responses
- Cognitive efficiency and poor memory
The Focus System programs are a clinical intervention that can be used at the clinic, home or school while doing daily activities. Each session is 30 or 60 minutes, including around 15-20 minutes of movement activities with the remaining time spent in a number of ways such as drawing, puzzles, playing quiet games, fine motor activities, educational games or light exercise. With a suggested frequency of 3-5 times per week there is flexibility in occupational therapist run sessions and home based programs, to have it become a part of your typical activities.
Experience results with the Focus Program
Building networks in our brain and managing input from our environments is the foundation in achieving our learning, social and attentional goals. Use the Focus Program to fast track therapy and achieve optimal performance.
Contact Allay today to discover if the Focus System is right for you.
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