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Air-conducted sound |
Sound that is received via the ear canal through sound pressure waves |
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Audio-vocal feedback mechanism |
The way in which we listen to our own voice to modify or self-correct our volume, pace, pitch or tone |
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Auditory discrimination |
The ability to perceive subtle differences in sound, essential to language |
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Auditory hypersensitivity |
The inability to inhibit sound so that all sound is received in the ear with equal weighting |
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Auditory memory |
The ability to maintain auditory information in short-term memory for later use |
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Auditory overload |
The feeling of being overwhelmed by auditory information |
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Auditory processing |
The brain’s ability to attach meaning to what is heard |
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Auditory sequencing |
The ability to perceive sounds or groups of sounds in the order in which they were given |
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Bone-conducted sound |
Sound that is received via muscle movements and sound pressure waves hitting the body |
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Central nervous system |
The part of the nervous system controlled by the brain and spinal cord |
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Cerebellum |
The part of the brain concerned with sensorimotor coordination, balance, and familiar sequences of movement [71] |
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Cochlea |
The spiral shaped tube in the inner ear responsible for hearing [70] |
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Coordination |
The ability of the muscles to move smoothly and harmoniously |
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Electronic Ear |
The piece of equipment used in the Tomatis Method that filters and gates sound, accentuating certain sound frequencies |
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Expressive communication |
The ability to communicate oneself effectively |
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Filtered sound |
Sound that has had certain frequencies removed |
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Frequency |
The pitch of a sound, which may be high or low – this is measured in hertz (cycles per second) |
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Gating |
Manipulating sound so that the muscles in the middle ear are exercised via contraction and relaxation |
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Hearing |
The ability of the ear to perceive sound |
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Listening |
The active intention to attend to specific information, a function controlled by the brain |
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Motor coordination (fine) |
The ability to coordinate precise movements of the body, especially to manipulate small objects (eg. scissors) |
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Motor coordination (gross) |
The ability to coordinate large movements of the body, especially to perform physical skills like running, jumping and riding a bike |
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Neurological |
Relating to the brain |
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Neurological pathways |
The routes by which information is transmitted through the brain |
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Neuro Developmental Therapy (NDT) |
A type of therapy designed to inhibit primitive reflexes and encourage the maturation of postural reflexes |
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Periodicity |
Music waveforms that repeat regularly at appropriate intervals, between 10 and 60 seconds |
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Phoneme |
The smallest unit of sound |
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Phonemic discrimination |
The ability to perceive differences in phonemes |
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Phonological awareness |
The ability to recognise and understand the multitude of phonemic sequences that combine to produce the words used in spoken language |
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Pinna |
The outer part of the ear, which simultaneously amplifies and reduces the volume of received sound |
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Plasticity |
The ability of the brain to be re-shaped |
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Receptive communication |
The ability to comprehend others’ communication effectively |
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Screening |
The ability to selectively listen to certain auditory information while inhibiting background noise |
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Sensory integration |
The way in which the brain combines multiple pieces of sensory information to form understandings of and responses to the environment |
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Sound localisation |
The ability to detect the origin of a sound |
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Spatial awareness |
The appreciation of how much space one occupies and how to move appropriately within that space |
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Spatial-temporal reasoning |
The ability to integrate information about time and space to respond appropriately (eg. knowing when to clasp your hands to catch a ball based on how far away the thrower is) |
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Tomatis Effect |
The theory that the voice reproduces what the ear hears |
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Tomatis Method |
The auditory training program developed by Dr Alfred Tomatis to improve listening, communication and language development |
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Vestibule |
The part of the inner ear responsible for integrating sensory information and maintaining balance and coordination |
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Visual tracking |
The smooth movement of the eye that enables people to read, look back and forth between two sources, and continuously watch a moving object |