Strong Institute
Creators of Rhythmic Entrainment Intervention™
REI for Sensory Professionals
Augment Your Sensory Integration Work with REI
In this video, REI creator Jeff Strong describes how we use complex drumming to improve sensory processing.
"I have to say I LOVE the REI SI Series CDs - I actually use the Tactile and Auditory Hyper in preference to the Therapressure protocol as they are easier to use and far less demanding on parents overall. We get consistently great results - although I have to admit that I've altered the use protocol to increase the intensity, so we're getting results faster. I've applied the same protocol as I used with Therapeutic Listening, ensuring there is at least 5 hours between listening sessions (usually longer). It's usually very well tolerated at that pace, but in the rare instances where it isn't, I revert to just one listening session per day (obviously following the rest of your guidelines with regards to volume etc).
"I've also had feedback about how great you are with support.
"Thanks for all the great work that you are doing in this space and for doing it with such great care for the families we share.
All the best,"
Julia E. OTR/L (Australia)
As a Sensory Professional, You Know How Critical Sensory Processing is For Functioning Well in the World
How your clients process sensory information dictates how they interact in the world. Whether they are overwhelmed or are unable to discern sensory input, clients with sensory processing issues are often unable (or in some cases, unwilling) to function easily in the world.
They avoid difficult situations. They act out. They are at the mercy of stimulus they cannot control.
Anybody who has sensory issues is going to fall into one of two camps:
1. Hypersensitive: To be anxious or overwhelmed or shut down and retreat from sensory input.
2. Hyposensitive: To be under-responsive and unable to discern the subtleties of sensory input.
And sometimes, a client is in both of these camps, with hypersensitivity in one area and hyposensitivity in another area.
Musical Rhythm Can Improve Sensory Processing in Profound Ways
At the Strong Institute, we begin with calm. We use musical rhythm to bring the nervous system to a calm neurological state so that we can then influence the brain and behavior.
Our initial clinical research on Rhythmic Entrainment Intervention (REI) looked at the key components of ancient drumming techniques found around the world. We asked, what happens if we remove the cultural influences? Does rhythm still have an impact? What is going on with the brain in response to musical rhythm?
The history of REI may have its roots in ancient drumming techniques, but the transformation of these techniques into a contemporary therapeutic tool began with my own struggles.
I have ADHD. When I was first studying how rhythm has been used therapeutically around the world, I was struggling in college. I began to experiment with rhythms, filtering them through the lens of my own inability to focus, my hyperactivity, my anxiety, and, as well, my sensory processing issues. I found that certain rhythms helped me immensely: I was focused, calm, and able to navigate sensory stimulus.
Through the years, I came to understand that these symptoms commonly co-exist; nearly anyone who has ADHD also has sensory processing issues and anxiety. We are either overwhelmed by sensory input or we are under responsive to certain cues in our environment. REI has addressed this spectrum of sensory processing for over 25 years, and our clients present the full rainbow of sensory challenges.
The REI SI Series Was Created For You
We have researched REI rhythms and their impact on the brain and behavior for 25 years. With the addition of input from REI Authorized providers on the cutting edge of Sensory Integration practices, I developed the REI SI Series to give you tools that will deepen your work for clients with sensory issues.
REI SI Series
The SI Series 8-CD or Digital MP3 set supports optimal sensory function. This set is designed with the Sensory Integration professional in mind.
The SI Series recordings consist of 24 audio tracks covering four sensory areas - Auditory, Proprioception, Tactile, and Vestibular - and three sensory responses - hypersensitive, hyposensitive, and discrimination. These recordings can be used during SI exercises or in between SI sessions in your client's home. They are designed to give you flexibility to successfully blend with your sensory integration tools and protocols.
Clearly written instructions are included, allowing these recordings to be effectively used with minimal training. You can also download the REI SI Series rating scale to help determine which CD and track to use for each client's unique needs.
The SI Series 8-CD set includes:
• Auditory: HyperSensitive is for clients who are over-sensitive to, or bothered by, sounds.
• Auditory HypoSensitive is for clients who are unresponsive or seek auditory input.
• Proprioception: HypoSensitive is for clients with lack of awareness of their body and are calmed by deep pressure.
• Proprioception: Grading of Movement is for clients who have difficulty modulating their movement or who are uncoordinated.
• Tactile: HyperSensitive is for clients who have an aversion to light touch and react in a negative emotional way.
• Tactile: HypoSensitive is for clients who are unresponsive to touch or who have poor tactile discrimination.
• Vestibular: HyperSensitive is for clients who get motion sickness easily or are anxious by their movement in the world.
• Vestibular: HypoSensitive is for clients who seek physical movement and often take excessive risks while playing or moving.
Each CD in this set contains 3 approximately 20-minute long tracks. Choose one track to play during sensory exercises or between sensory integration therapy sessions. Choose your track based upon the following criteria:
• Track #1 contains the least amount of stimulation. Choose this track for people with the most severe level of hypersensitivity or the lowest level of hyposensitivity.
• Track #2 contains slightly more stimulation. Choose this track for people with a moderate level of hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity.
• Track #3 contains the most stimulation. Choose this track for people with the most severe level of hyposensitivity or the lowest level of hypersensitivity.
The REI SI Series Set is Easy to Use
The REI SI Series Set requires no training or special equipment.
Complete the SI Series Rating Scale.
This determines which CD and track you play for your client while you work or have your client play between sessions.
Play the track quietly in the background as you work.
The REI audio stimulation augments your sensory exercises and deepens the connections you make during your sessions.
Have your client listen at home between office visits.
You can reinforce your sensory session by having your client play the appropriate REI recording daily at home.
"We use the REI SI Series CDs as an additional modality during regular treatment sessions in our clinic with our children with sensory processing disorder. We were able to document an impact on sensory processing during the very first session when using the CDs.
"We were working with a 5 year old boy, who insisted on starting every session with at least 15-20 minutes of rotary input, prone in the “Frog Swing”. This had been going on for weeks. He was really “stuck” in a cycle of craving vestibular input; his brain was not yet integrating the information.
"We started a session with the “Vestibular: Hypo Sensitive” CD, having the CD playing as he walked into the room. For the first time in weeks, he was responsive to the therapist’s request for choosing a new starting activity. He chose to do a jumping and crashing activity, which he repeated for at least half the session, exploring and enjoying the proprioceptive input, as he had not done before.
"Clearly this was in response to the REI input. From then on, he was able to vary his treatment sessions without craving repeating sensation for long periods of time.
"We are quite impressed with the impact of the input from the REI SI Series CDs when we use them in conjunction with our regular therapeutic tools and techniques and are continuing to expand their use in our clinic."
Jane S, MS OTR/L (New York)
Order the REI SI Series Set Today
The SI Series recordings consist of 24 audio tracks covering four sensory areas - Auditory, Proprioception, Tactile, and Vestibular - and three sensory responses - hypersensitive, hyposensitive, and discrimination. These recordings can be used during SI exercises or in between SI sessions in your client's home. They are designed to give you flexibility to successfully blend with your sensory integration tools and protocols.
The SI Series is available in two formats: Digital MP3 files or Physical CDs.
Digital MP3 Files
$199
Regularly $494
Secure Payment.
Physical CDs
Plus
Digital MP3 Files
$239
Regularly $564
Secure Payment.
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Order the SI Series Set and Receive One REI Custom Sensory Processing Program as a Bonus ($299 value)
The REI Custom Sensory Program is a home-based auditory brain stimulation program that uses musical rhythm to stimulate and re-pattern neurological function. A unique blend of modern advances in brain research and ancient rhythmic techniques, REI facilitates long-term improvement in sensory processing.
Custom created for your client based on their unique sensory processing profile: this is the key to our program. Whether your client experiences auditory or tactile sensitivities, poor coordination or balance, or issues with spatial orientation, we deliver the proper stimulus to achieve your client's goal of proper sensory integration and a more functional life.
Once your client begins, the REI Custom Program's interactive online platform and tracking ensures that your client is always getting the stimulation that they need based on their real-world performance. Each new track of their program is dynamically engineered in response to their weekly progress.
Each Person's Sensory Profile is Unique
The REI Custom Sensory Processing Program evaluates each of your client's sensory responses and addresses them one by one.
If a client is hypersensitive, for example, we will first establish a calm neurological state so that she can become more receptive to sensory input. We will then address the intricacies of her hypersensitivities. Perhaps the sensitivity is auditory, where loud noises, unexpected sounds, or just a lot of noise, as in a restaurant, sends the child over the edge. The noise doesn’t have to be loud; but it may, nevertheless, be too much to filter and discriminate from. Or perhaps, the sensitivity is tactile, where certain textures are uncomfortable and certain clothes too tight fitting. Or perhaps, a client struggles with proprioception or vestibular sensitivities.
The presentation of sensitivities is unique to each individual client. REI helps you address each client's unique needs.