The Tomatis method helps Kevin regain his confidence: a mother's perspective

Testimonial from Kevin's mother (Kevin is 14).

I came to the Centre Tomatis Genève in August 2018 for my son, Kevin. His final year at lower secondary school (cycle d'orientation in Geneva) was not going very well, and we realised that his difficulties at school were linked to a lack of attention and concentration. He also had problems with memory, speech, balance and coordination.

The first listening session went very well. Kevin was very receptive, even though classical music wasn't really his favourite kind of music and he found wearing the headphones a bit unpleasant. He needed to be on his own, undisturbed, to do the treatment. He took up creative activities (models, paper toys, Lego…) to keep himself busy during the listening sessions.

After this first programme, we worked with a Forbrain device between sessions, and that is when Kevin really noticed the positive effects of the treatment. In a fairly short time, he made good progress at school, especially in all the subjects that involve a lot of memorising. He found it much easier to learn vocabulary by heart, for example, and he understood the meaning of the words he read better. This progress helped him regain his confidence and set off a virtuous circle. These good results came with a nice surprise: his school agreed to our request that he take his notes on a computer, to “free” him from handwriting. His teachers were also pleased to see his behaviour change: they felt he was more present, his attention was stronger and he disrupted the class less.

Beyond the results we saw at school, we also noticed a change in his balance and coordination. Kevin took up mountain biking and quickly grew in confidence; he now puts a lot into this hobby.

After a two-month integration break, Kevin started his second listening session. On the whole it went better than the first: Kevin was much more absorbed in what he was doing and the time flew by. The treatment gave his day a good structure, and his progress at school carried on afterwards, with more good feedback from his teachers.

He still finds foreign languages difficult, because he feels shy about speaking, but he switches off less and he is much more focused in class.

After another integration break of 3 months, we started the third listening session, which went very well. Kevin was really very independent in managing his programme. Overall, we have found that he is much better at taking charge of himself and setting time aside for his work.

His future at school seems less closed off than before. He has started looking for an apprenticeship in car mechanics for the new school year, and he has become confident enough to pick up the phone and approach garages.