Among the many reasons why children can't learn and live to their full potential are neuro-developmental delay, a disorganised central nervous system, immature reflexes, auditory processing problems, emotional blockage and food sensitivity.

Links to Learning has achieved stunning results with Music-Based Auditory Stimulation, where the client listens through headphones to a series of specially engineered classical music CDs which have been specially produced to stimulate the brain's auditory pathways. It's called The Listening Program®, and is produced by an American company called Advanced Brain Technologies.

It's hard to believe that listening to classical music could help to alleviate the kind of behavioural problems for which drugs like Ritalin are prescribed. Advanced Brain Technologies bases some of the principles of The Listening Program® on scientific research by French ear surgeon Dr . Alfred Tomatis who made a series of discoveries about the ear and its relationship to brain development.

“He showed that the auditory nerve is fundamental to human neurology; it helps to regulate not only balance and spatial orientation, but even vision and our tactile senses. He also discovered that sound is a nutrient that can stimulate and feed the brain. One of his greatest innovations was to find new ways to stimulate the ear and brain that can improve learning and behaviour”.

The Listening Program® is designed to improve the listener's processing of sound - which is quite different from hearing. It is designed to work on the physiological and neurological structure of the brain – quite different to music therapy which is of psychological benefit.

There are 200 Tomatis centres around the world, but Links to Learning are the first to bring Music-Based Auditory Stimulation The Listening Program to South Australia. They offer a diagnostic approach that treats each child as an individual with unique requirements and they also provide specific physical therapy exercises and education for parents in the area of behaviour and diet.