Integrated Listening Systems Focus Program is widely researched and has strong evidence on its effectiveness in improving attention, emotional regulation, processing speed, auditory processing skills as well as general sensory processing skills.

One of the biggest differences that makes ILS stand out from other sound-based therapies is the integrated bone conduction system which directly stimulates vestibular and proprioceptive systems, responsible for balance, posture, motor coordination and emotional regulation.

The brain and our nervous system can change and adapt. In fact, the brain actually grows and develops (both it’s make up and what it does) in response to sensory input. This process is called neuroplasticity.

Did you know that hearing and listening are actually two different things? Hearing is passive, and merely the ears’ ability to hear sound at a normal volume. Whereas listening is active and involves both the ability to hear, but also the higher order skills required to “do something” with the incoming sound.

Sensory input, from the environment and our bodies arrives all at once. This means we are heavily reliant on our brain’s ability to accurately interpret and respond to incoming information.

The iLS Focus System targets both the cognitive and motor pathways in the brain, strengthening and creating new connections to increase its capacity to effectively process, organise and respond to this information.

Brain growth and change is also promoted by providing multisensory information to the outer and inner parts of the brain that are responsible for attending to, organising, planning and inhibiting responses.

The iLS Focus System, via bone conduction, also targets the middle ear which houses three small bones and two small muscles that protect the inner ear from loud noises and transmit sound.

The movement of three fluid-filled semicircular canals within the inner ear, also known as the vestibular system, have receptors that detect movement, gravity and head position. The music moves this fluid which increases the signals transmitted to the part of the brain responsible for our perception of movement and head position.

The iLS Focus System is all classical music that moves through the full range of sound frequencies, emphasising lower frequency sounds that provide greater vestibular input.

Check out the current available research: https://aus.integratedlistening.com/research/

Read (or listen) to Norman Doidge’s book – The Brain’s Way of Healing: Remarkable Discoveries and Recoveries from the Frontiers of Neuroplasticity. There is a whole chapter dedicated to the development and history of Integrated Listening Systems.

ILS Focus program can be used as an addition to therapy sessions or as a home program, incorporating movement activities to facilitate integration of sensory input.

Author: Kimberly Elter – Occupational Therapist