Listen to Melanie, a mother of two sons with Dyslexia, on her testimony on the Tomatis® Programme.

One of our sons had reading difficulties in school. He just wasn’t able to learn the traditional way that he was being taught even though we had him tested, and he had an exceptional hearing and exceptional eyesight. So over the years, he was falling behind in his reading and writing and everything at school. Even though the school was trying each year a different method of intervention, a different reading programme, or support and we even tried different programmes on our own but the result was that it left him confused, frustrated and eventually we noticed that his confidence was starting to erode and no parent wants to see that.

I found Maria from an internet search just after a friend had loaned me the book “When Listening Comes Alive” and I just glanced through it quickly and the few points I read I knew that this was something that I had to research.

So I found Maria online, she answered the phone and it turns out that they were just unpacking their boxes from having moved to New Zealand. So I was as pleased to find her when she just stepped into the country as she was to have her first client phone her.

The first meeting we had with Maria was an extensive meeting and it involved quite an extensive questionnaire for our boy who was having difficulty in reading and I was really impressed with the types of questions that were asked. Then I was very impressed to find out how his brain profile showed up. And now what I really loved about that was Maria said, “Since we’re both here, we might as well test both boys”, because admittedly, our second son was having difficulties with reading although not as pronounced as the first son. And what we found out was that both boys had difficulty with auditory processing.

The relief I felt after talking with Maria and her level of professionalism and her ability to understand what I’ve been through was profound. It was so interesting to learn that this was something that was normal in a sense but could be worked with, and it was a sense of relief to know there was going to be help for the boys in their future.

The first thing I noticed after the boys started doing the Tomatis® programme was that they both pronounced that it was “Heaps easier to read”. I noticed that they were able to sound out words that they could never do before. They were both more peaceful, relaxed, just a whole more peaceful and relaxed feeling around home, and a more willingness and eagerness to go to school.

We found the training extremely easy. We were able to take the headsets at home because we had two boys doing the programme. So we divided the day into two one-hour sessions that they would do and during the sessions, we did fun things with our hands like card games, or puzzles or finger knitting. And one time, it was wintertime and it was in the late evening, I even noticed that the boys have gone out and they lay on the trampoline with their headsets on doing the Tomatis programme gazing up at the stars.

We really found it easy and enjoyable to do this programme.

I’m extremely pleased we found the Tomatis® Method for our boys but I’m actually pleased that we found it for me as well. Noticing what results the boys have had and having done more research on how the method works, I knew that I needed to do some improvement for my own voice as a professional speaker. So I was able to hook into the program as well. I’ve noticed more ability to modulate my voice, deepin my voice, and a quicker intellect when it comes to having to speak off-the-cuff.

The Tomatis® Method for me has been easy and enjoyable as well and I’ve noticed benefits as a professional speaker in my voice.