Children with a well-stimulated ear

Report published in Sud Ouest (Gironde départementale edition) on 21 May 1997, signed A. L. It presents the Centre Tomatis Aquitaine run in Bordeaux by Danielle and Joël Fromenteau, and sets out the distinction at the heart of the method — it is not about treating hearing but listening, “the psychic ear”.

Sud Ouest — Gironde départementale, Wednesday 21 May 1997, p. G

Children with a well-stimulated ear

METHOD — The Tomatis method aims to re-educate those whose capacity for listening is impaired

In Austria, courses claiming to follow the Tomatis method are covered by insurance. Not in France. Suffice it to say that one must be convinced to follow this “pedagogy of listening and language” as practised by Danielle and Joël Fromenteau at the Centre Tomatis Aquitaine that they run in Bordeaux (rue Guillaume-Brochon).

Both of them discovered the Tomatis method in 1979, a method that bears the name of its creator Alfred Tomatis, an ENT doctor who became known for his work on the ear, language and communication. Because the ear develops from intra-uterine life onwards, he reckoned that this conditioned our capacity for listening later on, and so created techniques for treating disorders of listening and communication.

In moving into this field, he did not make only friends, particularly among the ear, nose and throat specialists. To counter their criticisms, Joël Fromenteau, who worked twelve years in hospitals, points out that it is not about treating hearing but listening, and that the only concern here is “the psychic ear”.

The desire to listen

The Bordeaux centre, like those that have entered into contract with Tomatis International, apply the same method. The aim is to develop a listening function in children who have a language problem, a learning difficulty, a communication problem. The method is also intended for adults.

“In intra-uterine life,” explains Joël Fromenteau, “the ear has memorised everything that happens, and in certain cases, the desire to listen has to be re-triggered. We first carry out an audio-psycho-phonological assessment. With a child, this lasts three hours. If we find a blockage, we carry out a psycho-sensory education under the electronic ear. That is to say that for a fortnight, two hours a day, the child will hear Mozart, sounds filtered through headphones. We then observe progress in the children in terms of communication, and there is less tension with their parents, for example.”

The Centre Tomatis Aquitaine also organises language-integration courses, through an “opening of the ear to the frequencies” corresponding to English, Spanish, American and Russian…, as well as academic support, stress management, etc. The centre is organising two information meetings on Wednesday 28 May, at 6.30 p.m., and Wednesday 4 June, at 6.30 p.m., on the theme “How to integrate a modern language quickly with the Tomatis method”.