I have been inundated by questions about Integrated Listening Systems, and a number of other programs on Twitter, Facebook and through email lately. For that reason, I wanted to point out a handful of things and share this interview with you again from Dr. Ronald Minson.
Quick tips:
When you are looking for a program for your child, always look for research.
Science.
Doctors.
Therapists. Determine that it is a SOUND treatment before going further.
Don't get so excited about the testimonials that you forget to actually do your own due diligence.
Remember this basic rule of special needs parenting: T
he plural of 'antecdote' is NOT 'data'. That means that 10 people saying it works doesn't make it a fact. It makes it their experience. Each child is different, each family is different. Do your own research.
Now onto this interview - with tons of information - to help in the never-ending-quest for helping our kids. :)
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As many of you know, I am starting
Integrated Listening Systems (iLs) program with Matthew. When I posted about it over the holiday break on my Facebook page, it stirred up a great deal of questions, curiosity and of course, confusion.
Although I was inspired by
Dr. Minson’s presentation at the SPD Symposium, and had the pleasure of speaking with iLS CEO Randall Redfield as well, I am by no means an expert on this system. Like most parents with children on the Spectrum, I know exactly what Matthew struggles with, but when it comes to being able to break down all of the “therapy” options out there, some of the details get lost in translation.
I do know what Matthew needs help with. He needs help managing self-regulation, controlling his movement through space (stop crashing, tripping, falling, clumsiness, core strengthening, all will help him stay seated at circle time), writing (spatial awareness on the page), and voice intonation (helping him use correct inflection when speaking – less ‘monotone’ and ‘scripted’). These are my biggest concerns for starting Kindergarten, and my greatest motivation to begin this program now – before summer. (Update on Matthew's progress at the end of the interview!)
And those challenges are exactly what iLs has the possibility of helping. So, for those of you who have an amazingly gifted and awesome kiddo like Matthew, who just happens to be on the spectrum or have sensory issues, and might benefit from some help in those areas (and others), I wanted to interview Dr. Ronald Minson. And imagine how incredibly honored I was to have him say yes! Woo Hoo!
So, with that, please welcome Dr. Ronald Minson to HLW3B!
Thank you for joining me here today. I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me about the questions that my readers are asking! Can you start by telling me about yourself? Specifically your background, education and experiences that has led you to be such a supporter of the Integrated Listening System?
My journey with this therapy began almost 30 years ago. It has taught me to have a great deal of empathy for the parents, teachers and therapists whose best efforts to help children learn sometimes fall on deaf ears and the children do not make gains nor improve as anticipated. My lesson in empathy came from my daughter. She was diagnosed early on with dyslexia, and our family immediately entered into the world of recommended therapies with the understanding that these interventions would help her to read, to improve her memory and math skills. After three years of speech and language therapy, special education, and private tutors, my daughter was no further along in her ability to read than she had been at the time of the original diagnosis. In fact, things begin to deteriorate significantly. She could not keep up academically with her peers and she began to label herself as dumb and stupid. On the heels of continued academic failures, she developed low self-esteem, loss of hope from failed interventions, and eventually, life-threatening depression. Antidepressants, the gold standard of treatment for depression, were ineffective.
I was in a full-time psychiatry practice at the time. Nothing in my medical experience had prepared me for this degree of failure. All the experts and specialists were unable to effect any significant improvement in Erica’s learning disability and her depression. I was at a total loss as to how to help my daughter. The frustration and despair from repeated failures to help her were only exceeded by my fear for her life. During a time when my daughter was having a significantly severe bout of depression (she was 19), I heard about listening therapy. As a doctor, this approach did not make any sense to me given my medical training. However as a parent who was watching his daughter fail at every turn, I was determined to try once again one more therapy. My daughter was willing as well. So we, father and daughter, started the listening therapy program together.
