Audio Processing and Music

           Chris was a delightful, cheerful baby, but when he began to talk, his words were unintelligible. At first, his parents thought that this was just  prolonged baby babble, but in time it was clear that they needed to discuss with their pediatrician. The doctor sent Chris to a specialist for testing. To his parents’ dismay, they were told that Christ had audio processing problems. His prescription? Everything that they said to him should be sung!

            Chris’ household began to sound like an opera. “Good Morning, Chris. How are you today?” they began, making up tunes as they went. Soon Chris began to sing back to them. The words were coming out right!

            Until Chris was about 6, everything word in their home was sung, not spoken. By the time he was ready for first grade, Chris was speaking.

            Music travels to a different part of the brain than speech. Clearly, without music Chris would not be the successful college senior that he is today.