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Date:         Fri, 8 Jan 1993 10:24:17 -0600
              <AUTISM@SJUVM.BITNET>
From:         "Lynda W. Huggins" <HUGGINS@MERLIN.NLU.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Auditory Integration Training

As I mentioned, several families in this area have contracted with an
AIT practitioner for auditory training for our autistic children.  The
neat thing is that the practitioner will come here to provide the AIT
rather than our having to travel to her!  I am acting more or less as
coordinator for this arrangement.  The practitioner is a Ms. Jackie
Rockwell who will be coming to Louisiana on February 2 from Cincinnati,
Ohio.  On behalf of the families here who will be participating, I have
corresponded with Ms. Rockwell to ask several questions.  I also asked
if she could provide us the names and addresses of some of the families
with whom she has previously contracted her services.  In response she
sent me the names and addresses of twelve families.  Again, on behalf
of the families here, I wrote the twelve families and asked their opinion
of: AIT, Ms. Rockwell, benefits/side-effects seen in their children, etc.
As of this time, I have received six responses, one by phone, the others
by letter.  I found their letters very interesting and have typed copies
in order to share them with the other families here.  I thought perhaps
this group might also be interested in seeing their comments.

Lynda in Louisiana



                                                Dec 23, 1992
Dear Ms. Huggins,
   We have a 4 1/2 yr old son who was diagnosed as mild to moderately
autistic.  He does not appear to have any particular sound sensitivity but
because some parents have reported improvement in their children following
auditory training my husband & I wanted to try it for our son.
   We were happy to have the opportunity to try it in Rochester where we live
and not to have to travel to another city & disrupt our family & especially
our son.  Anabel Stehli was in Rochester in Sept of this year and recommended
Jackie Rockwell.  Her program seemed similar to that reported by local
families who travelled elsewhere for AIT.  I found Jackie & her staff very
pleasant & accommodating in scheduling sessions.
   Travelling back & forth to sessions was surprisingly tiring so I was very
glad we were at home as opposed to Montreal, Cincinnati, or NYC.  The sessions
were in early to mid Nov & were continuous for ten days.
   We observed no particular negative effects.  I cannot say I have observed
any particular change following AIT.  Our son has been showing steady
improvement in language since before AIT began & this has continued.  His
socialization has improved in a parallel fashion.  We have never had any
particular behavior concerns.  Any scientific basis for AIT remains to be
proven.  As a mother of an autistic child I am open to trying things which do
not seem harmful.  We tried it & I'm glad we did because I have to try.  Our
son has been improving especially since the end of this summer but I cannot
specifically relate this to AIT.
   I wish you and the other families well.  We all need more miracles.
                                                Sincerely,
                                                Nancy Gadziala




                                                Dec 23, 1992
Dear Lynda,
   My son, Alex, took part in Auditory Integration Training with Jackie
Rockwell in November.  She and her team are caring, responsible, knowledgeable,
punctual; they're lovely people.
   Alex is multiply challenged and gained quite a lot so far from AIT.  He is
less tactile defensive and I can now dress him without getting pinched and
scratched - a small miracle.  He now sleeps through the night - without being
awakened by various noises - as his ears are now integrated and sound levels
are more normal, another small miracle.  He's more relaxed and attentive as
well.  We have been extremely pleased with the results.
   Alex was sleepy at times during AIT and often but not excessively so - as
one side effect.  Other than that - so far he hasn't had any other side
effects.  Of course, he still has a couple of months to go before all gains
and side effects may occur.
   From our experience, I would recommend AIT and Jackie Rockwell.
                                                Sincerely,
                                                Judy Jorgensen


                                                1/1/93
Dear Lynda,
   I'm very sorry I didn't get to answer your letter sooner, things have been
so busy here, and finding a few free moments is hard to do.
   Jonathan is 7 yrs. old and was diagnosed w/autism 2 months after he turned
4.  I wouldn't say he is severely autistic but he isn't mildly autistic either.
He does talk some and, in school, uses facilitation but he won't do it at
home.
   Jonathan's auditory training was Nov. 4 - Nov. 14th.  We have noticed
since the AIT he seems to be happier, calmer, and not so whiny.  He attempts
to sing songs (which he didn't do prior to AIT).  The only negative side
effects I have noticed are that he will not sit still - especially in school -
he rocks his chair back and forth in school & at home he sits on his knees
& bounces up & down.  However, over Christmas vacation I have noticed he
isn't doing it quite as much.  I'm anxious to see what he does when he gets
back to school.
   His teacher asked him what he thought of AIT - using facilitation he
responded "I thought it was helpful".  The teacher then asked how it was
helpful & he responded "I don't hear noises".  That was all he would say
on the subject.
   I can tell you I haven't seen all of the changes we had hoped for but
it has only been a month and a half, so we are still very hopeful.  I do
believe it was worth it to get it done if only for his comfort level.  I
believe he was hearing alot of things that were distracting to him.  I
would recommend Mrs. Rockwell & her staff to other parents.  I found them
to be professional as well as personable.  Jonathan constantly took his
shoes & socks off while listening to the music.  They would sit & rub his
feet (which he loved).  He would also scream at times during his AIT.
They handled his behavior well.  I left the room - feeling that he was
better if I was out of the room.
   In summary I can only tell you that even if Jonathan didn't improve any
more than what we have already seen, I would still feel it was worth
having the AIT.  I feel he is more relaxed & a happier child for having
it done.  We are still very hopeful about him getting more speech.  My
#1 wish in life is to be able to have back & forth communication with
Jonathan.  I don't care if it's using facilitation or speech and I'm hoping
the AIT will help us achieve that.
   If you have any other questions, please feel free to write or call.
Good luck.
                                                Sincerely,
                                                Mary E. Mack


                                                12/29/92
Dear Lynda,
   We received your letter just a few days before Christmas, so I'm sorry I
had to delay my response until some of the holiday hubbub died down!
   Yes, our son received AIT from Jackie Rockwell and her associates.  He
received his training in early November 1992.  During and at the end of
training he reported a decrease in sensitivity to sounds such as florescent
lights & crowd noises.  When he initially reentered school after the training,
his teachers noted that he seemed calmer.
   Just recently we've had to wean him off medication (Tegretol) due to an
adverse effect on bone marrow function.  We've seen an increase in impulsivity
& outbursts, which are his major problem.
   His teachers have also noted that he's able to tune in to directions better;
he loves to read and tends to read & "tune out" during class.  In general, of
the 12 people who took the auditory training here, those with more severe
impairments tended to see most marked changes.
   Re Jackie Rockwell and staff, we found them to be most accomodating,
responsive, compassionate, and dedicated.  While here they totally devoted
themselves to our families, and were always willing to answer questions.  They
gave us detailed reports at the end of training, and when I called later with
a question, Jackie got back to me in a timely fashion.
   Feel free to call if you have any further questions.  Best of luck with AIT.
                                                Diana Russell



                                                Jan. 2, 1993
Dear Lynda,
   I am sorry I am so late in answering your letter concerning Jackie Rockwell
and auditory training.  With the holidays and all, things were put aside.  I
am hoping that my response isn't too late.
   My son is 24 yrs., is non-verbal and lives in a group home.  About 28 mos.
ago we learned that he is not severely retarded as we had been told all these
years.  He was able to talk to us thru facilitated communication.  Needless
to say this has been a very hectic year and quite an emotional one.  We have
been trying to get over many hurdles, especially the emotional ones.
   One, or I guess I should say the most important and first things my son
said is that he wasn't retarded that he was autistic and he hoped more than
anything that he could talk like other people.
   We learned about Jackie Rockwell thru several other parents that had had
her do auditory training on their children and were very pleased with the
results.  In October of last year, 1992 Jackie came to Indianapolis and we
had auditory training done on Rodney.
   I was very impressed with Jackie Rockwell.  She is one of the most
understanding people that we have run across to deal with people with autism.
She was wonderful with our son and dealt with him beautifully.
   Her recommendations was that our son have speech therapy 1 hr. a day, 5
days a week.  We are still trying to get approval from medicaid to have this
done thru the group home.
   Right away my son said that things sounded differently.  His behavior
is somewhat better in that he processes things much more rapidly and with
quicker responses.  I must admit to you that it hasn't been an instant
cure but we do see progress each week.  He keeps asking us to help him
talk.  He seems to understand what we are saying when we try to help him
say words.  But he is 24 yrs. old and he hasn't ever used his voice except
to make sounds.  We do have a long way to go, but we feel that he can make it.
   As to the question if we would recommend auditory training to other
parents, well we felt that we would always wonder if it would have helped
if we hadn't had it done.  I just asked my son if he would like to tell
you how he felt about auditory training.  He said, "I'm mostly glad that I
had it done.  I can hear things more clearly."
   We had always wondered if our son's hearing was somewhat messed up in
that certain sounds drove him into panic behaviors.  When we had the hearing
test, he only heard 1 sound in the normal range in both ears.  He heard
a different tone in each ear in all other tones.  It is a miracle that he
was able to have coped all these years.
   As I said earlier, Jackie Rockwell is one of the most honest and sincere
people that my husband and I have ever met.  I just can't say enough good
things on her behalf.
   Wishing you the best of luck to the parents who are considering AIT.  I
do think that everyone must be aware that this is most likely something
that will get better over time and not instantly a total difference.  We
felt like if it helped 10%-30% that was 10%-30% better that he could hear.
                                                Yours truly,
                                                Linda Peterson
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