By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

For Erin Rowan, being a pediatric occupational therapist means not only caring for the needs of others but having good taste in music.

Rowan, a Scarborough resident, is an advocate for therapeutic listening, a technique that uses different emotional qualities in music to help promote positive changes in behavior, communication and other skills related to the nervous system. 

Rowan will give a presentation to the Special Education Parent Teacher Organization Feb. 15 at Wentworth Intermediate School library about benefits of the technique and her personal experiences. 

The technique, first developed by occupational therapist Sheila M. Frick, involves listening for extended periods to specialized CDs designed to improve function in language, attention, auditory sensitivities, spatial skills and even bedwetting. 

Rowan said she first learned of the technique at the pediatric clinic, StorySmith, where she works in Cumberland. Intrigued, she incorporated the technique into her regular routine with children who have behavioral and developmental issues. The results astounded her.

“A lot of children I was working with had the same goals for a long time, but when I began using therapeutic listening they started meeting those goals. It was really quite startling,” she said.

Rowan has used the technique with children of all needs, including those with autism, attention deficit disorder and sensory processing disorder, which prevents them from properly interpreting sensory information.

After noticing a positive improvement in symptoms, she decided to use the technique with her 3-year-old daughter, Carragain, who has Down syndrome.

Rowan said she was taken aback by the progress Carragain made, then 2 years old. 

“I saw improvement with every CD she listened to,” Rowan said. 

Rowan said children with Down syndrome often experience delays in language and motor skills. She first noticed improvement in her daughter’s ability to communicate.

“Her spoken language increased significantly right away and she hasn’t stopped talking since,” Rowan said with a laugh.

Rowan said her daughter showed signs of improvement in other areas as well, including spatial learning and communication skills.

She said Carragain initially struggled with sense of space, but after listening to a CD specifically designed to increase spatial skills she began to notice more things in her environment and wanted to explore. 

The music also helped her daughter get over her fear of noise from the vacuum cleaner and increased her appetite.

“She used to not be interested in food and had trouble using her bottle,” Rowan said. “But when she started the program she started to feel hunger and enjoy eating food, rather than having us convincing her to eat.”

Rowan’s husband, Will, who serves on the board for the Maine Down Syndrome Network, was equally impressed.

“Having seen the results in Carragain, it’s very impressive. It seems to be amazing,” Will said.

Rowan said the technique is not just limited to those with special needs.

“It can really be used with anyone,” she said.

Rowan said one of her patients in the gifted and talented program at school performs well academically, but has trouble sitting still and focusing. 

“After working with her two weeks I already began to see a difference,” Rowan said.

Rowan said she has even used the technique on herself. She has improve how she pays attention, her sense of space and auditory sensitivities to low-frequency sounds such as the fan on her stove. 

“I never noticed it, but I used to always cringe before I hit the button to turn it on,” Rowan said. “Two weeks after listening to the CD, something different happened, it didn’t bother me.”

Rowan said music is effective therapy because the auditory and vestibular systems that process sound are connected to all other areas of the brain. 

Rowan said she likes to challenge people who don’t believe in the effect music has on behavior by asking them to think of the movie “Jaws” and the urgency they feel when they hear the signature two-note musical phrase that indicates the shark’s presence.

She said the same methodology can be applied to other forms of music to elicit different emotional responses, such as listening to a classical piece to create a sense of calm and well-being.

Rowan, who now has her own occupational therapy practice, Sound Solutions, said she diagnoses which music will work best with a child’s needs based on specific goals. 

She then references a library of music specifically designed for therapeutic listening and chooses a CD that best suits the child’s needs. 

Each patient is instructed to listen to the CD twice a day for two weeks in 30-minute sessions.

Rowan said when she observes a patient listening to the CD she looks for an “orienting response,” or visual cue, that indicates the music has elicited an increase in attention and listening.

She said the signal is similar to that of a prairie dog noticing something in its surroundings and indicates a heightened level of awareness.

People with behavioral issues, such as lack of focus, often show outward signs of agitation, she said. It is important they perform breathing and core exercises while they listen to the music to help ground themselves physically and allow the music maximum impact, she added.

“These traits almost always manifest themselves physically,” Rowan said.

Although many selections include pieces of classical music, some CDs contain electronic music, acoustic guitars and other modern songs. 

Rowan said recording engineers filter each musical piece to emphasize certain aspects of the music and the listening experience. 

Rowan said therapeutic listening is one of many skills used in sensory integration therapy, which strives to incorporate all the senses in a constructive manner.

“Music is a tool to reach therapy goals,” Rowan said. “When you include therapeutic listening with other activities therapists do, you see them reach their goals much more quickly.”

Although Rowan said she has seen the results of therapeutic listening first hand, she does not want to provide any “blanket statements” about the effectiveness of its use, but rather educate people about the technique and its practice in occupational therapy.

“I just want to give people more information about a powerful treatment technique that can make a difference in people of all ages and abilities,” Rowan said. “I know it’s cliché to say this, but my daughter amazes me every day and I feel that it has been a really big part of her development.”

Staff Writer Dan Aceto can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237.