The Listening Program Progress Diary: Week 6

Kristie, Jacob & Aaron all dressed up at the movies

Last week Kristie, Jacob & Aaron completed their 6th week on The Listening Program.  I haven't posted a progress report because for the first 5 weeks, the kids were on school holidays.  I noticed some improvement with an increase in Jacob & Aaron's vocabulary and conversational skills, but it was difficult to really know how they were progressing because they were all going to bed way too late (refused to go to bed while the sun was still up!). This obviously meant they were over tired most of the time and you got all the behaviours that went along with it.  I also didn't want to be looking so hard that I saw progress that wasn't really there.  I knew that you couldn't really make any comparisons until they were back to their every day routine.

Because the four of us were doing the program, it meant I had to organise 6 listening sessions a day. I struggled fitting my own sessions in, so after week 4 when I had missed a few, I decided not to continue and to wait until the kids had finished their full program. This turned out to be a good decision for me.  I was disappointed about not continuing with the program though. I really, really loved listening before going to sleep.  I felt so calm and was falling into a deeper sleep than I would normally and it was incredibly quick.  This was great for me because my body clock has been way out since I was pregnant with Jacob & Aaron. 

Last week was the first week back to school.  Kristie started in year 7 (~last year of primary school boohoo!~) and Jacob & Aaron started year 1.  The first day back was a scorching 42 degrees Celsius here in Adelaide and the boys had been up and down all night from the heat. We decided that it wasn't worth risking them having a bad day and starting the year off on a bad note, so we kept them home.  Kristie, however, was happy to go back to start her last year at St Joseph's and to see all her friends.

A lovely Mum on Facebook told me that her daughter would listen while in bed and would always fall asleep during the 15 minutes.  Armed with this information, I thought I would give it a try. To my amazement, the boys responded so well to listening in bed, that I have found bed time on the weekends when they don't have to do the program more exhausting because they aren't as settled.

Before starting on the program, I was mostly worried that the kids wouldn't co-operate and that I would be constantly stressing about how I was going to get them to keep the headphones on for 15 minutes, which can seem like a lifetime for these kids. Jacob and Aaron took to it straight away and have enjoyed playing with their match box cars and building blocks while listening in the mornings.  Kristie has been tricky..... she's 12 with teenager emotions. Anyone reading this who has a teenager or has reared one can relate when I say that making your teenage child spend 15 minutes listening to classical music is totally BORING and UNDESIRABLE!!!!!  She's getting there though and becoming more accepting of it.

On Friday, one of Jacob & Aaron's ESO's (Education Support Officer) at school reported to Shane (Dad) that Jacob had made so much progress since the end of last year.  She was really excited because he had no trouble joining in with the other children and was following instructions without assistance.  Aaron also had a great start to the year and was very settled in his new routine from the start.  

Jacob at Speech

Then on Saturday, we had a speech session with the wonderful Christine Beal, who sees the boys on a monthly basis to track their progress for us.  Christine & I watched in amazement as the boys interacted with us and each other so beautifully.  Christine said that in the time since she last saw the boys, their progress was fantastic and they didn't have to work as hard to find the words for conversation and that they were a lot more fluent. Jacob 's progress was especially obvious as he took our photos with his Nintendo DSi ~ arranging us appropriately and asking us to smile.  He then checked to make sure the photo met his seal of approval LOL! 

It is difficult to say what progress, if any, is being made with Kristie.  It will be interesting to see how the results of her auditory processing test go once she has completed the program.

6 weeks down, 20 to go.  I'm very much looking forward to seeing how things have gone by the end of the program.

READ THE PROGRESS REPORT: DAY 1 (includes information about The Listening Program)

Disclaimer: The outcomes noted in this post are only the views, opinions and experiences of Allison Dix and her family.  For further information and advice, visit The Listening Program Website or consult a TLP Provider in your area.