Priscilla Dunstan The Australian Priscilla Dunstan could already hear a piece by Mozart once and play it back on her violin at the age of five. Her father, director of the Educational Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, discovered that his daughter had a 'photographic memory' for sound. In her teenage years, Priscilla toured Europe and Australia as a talented concert violinist. Afterwards, she spent more than 10 years in the world of opera as a mezzo-soprano.
The Dunstan Baby Talk Story
In 1998, Priscilla became the mother of a son, Tom. Thanks to her exceptional hearing, Priscilla discovered that her son Tom's cries were not merely random sounds. She kept a diary of the different sound combinations and noticed that every sound was linked to a specific need. In this way, by recognizing the sound, she knew what to do to soothe him.
Research
Following her own experiences with Tom, Priscilla's theory was tested on more than a thousand babies of over thirty nationalities. Observations and tests were conducted for nine years, supplemented by three major international studies. All three of these studies confirmed the existence of the universal reflex sounds.
Since 1998, Dunstan Baby Language has been thoroughly researched. This involved more than a thousand babies and their parents from seven different countries with more than thirty different nationalities. The scientific research was conducted in Australia, the United States, and Great Britain in 2006 and 2007. Research continues to take place in the Netherlands as well. For instance, a study was completed at the University of Amsterdam in the summer of 2024. This research focused on the question of whether, and if so, what effect the application of the method has on mothers.
Investigating results
1.
Baby cries less and is satisfied more quickly
2.
Parents experience less stress
3.
Parents have more self-confidence
4.
The situation is under control faster.
5.
Better parent-child relationship
6.
Better relationship between parents
7.
Better nutritional results
8.
Less interrupted sleep for baby (and parents)
