The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)
What is the Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), and why is it important?
The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) is a non invasive vagal nerve stimulant. A theauputic listening programme for children and adults. It uses a specially filtered music, to support the vagus nerve and autonomic regulation; improving the ability to process human speech and creating comfort around human connection. SSP helps individuals feel safer, calmer and more connected in everyday environments.
For children, especially pre-school, SSP supports readiness for learning by helping them feel more settled in a formal setting, away from their parents. Often used for children (and adults) with/without neurodivergent conditions such as ASD, ADHD, AuADHD and other instances where stress and anxiety exist do to the demands of life.
The programme is often used to support social communication, auditory sensitivity and emotional regulation in non- speaking children who need help feeling safe, settled and ready to engage.
SSP is based on Dr Stephen Porges' Polyvagal Theory and over many decades of research into the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and social-emotional development. The aim is to reduce stress and auditory sensitivity while supporting social engagement and resilience through the vagus nerve.
SSP stimulates nervous system regulation by exercising and systematically challenging the auditory system with its specially filtered music. This retunes the nervous system (regulating state) to introduce a sense of safety and an increased ability to engage socially. Our focus is to provide an attuned and co-regulated training with a parent first, and then their child. this helps the entire family unit benefit from the program. A remote protocol fully supported by the makers of SSP where a bespoke intervention is designed for each family's needs, and the needs of their child.
The goal is simple: feel better, think better and connect better.
SSP Summary from Dr. Stephen Porges
How can SSP help children?
SSP can help individuals in three key areas of development:
Social Communication: Connecting with Others
Through the Social Engagement System, SSP can help a child (or adult) interact with the world with greater ease. Families may notice better eye contact, facial expressivity, understanding of speech, reciprocal interaction and emotional expression.
Physiological State: Feeling Better in Ourselves
By supporting the body's ability to assess safety, SSP can help reduce mental and emotional stress and make it easier to move into a calmer parasympathetic state. This can support behavioural regulation and day-to-day resilience.
Sound Sensitivity: Thinking with More Clarity and Ease
Sensitivity to sound is a prevalent symptom in a number of disorders. Individuals who experience sound sensitivity may respond negatively to unexpected or loud noises, become distracted or disturbed when there is a lot of or continuous background noise, and/or find it difficult to extract the frequencies of human speech from background noise. With SSP, we have seen significant improvements on the SCAN-3 (a measure of auditory processing), specifically on the Filtered Words and Competing Words subtests.
These respectively assess the ability to decipher human speech from background sounds and to hear equally from both ears. The reduction of sound sensitivity allows individuals to think better with more clarity.
Where is it delivered?
The Safe and Sound Protocol can be completed remotely in the comfort of your home, with support from a qualified practitioner. There is one SSP programme, divided into three pathways: Connect, Core and Balance. Each pathway includes filtered, unfiltered and calming music playlists for children or adults.
The pathways are designed to help the nervous system receive, process and respond to cues from the world around us with more consistency. This can support calmer regulation during everyday challenges.
Each playlist is paced around the individual and their circumstances. This is agreed through discussion with the qualified practitioner.
SSP CONNECT
Warm up the nervous system with a gentle, gradual introduction that builds familiarity and a sense of safety.
SSP CORE
The original five-hour listening programme is designed to exercise the nervous system, build capacity, reduce sensitivity and support a more resilient physiological state.
SSP BALANCE
Continue to stabilise and maintain a sense of calm and grounding while further integrating the benefits of SSP Core.
What are the results?
What should I do next?
If you are interested in the Safe and Sound Protocol, or would like to know whether SSP is suitable for you or your child, book a free consultation.
What other tools does Raviv Practice London have for children at pre-school level or individuals at this developmental level?
SSP can work well as a foundation before other developmental therapies. Families may also find Listening Therapy (iLS) helpful for auditory processing and movement, or Reflex Integration Therapy helpful for motor coordination and learning readiness.