What is Soundsory?
In a nutshell, Soundsory is a multi-sensory home-based program that is simple to use and works to improve motor and cognitive abilities.
Basically, it is a special set of headphones with pre-loaded rhythmic music that you listen to for 25 minutes before listening to a additional five minutes of music while doing special exercises.
More technically, it is a specially designed program that keys into neuroplasticity - or the brain.s ability to rewire itself.
The Soundsory rhythmic music program in combination with its therapeutic body movement exercises are specifically designed to encourage the brain to change itself and create new connections. The program is also designed to stimulate the auditory and vestibular systems, helping you better integrate body position, balance and movement information within your brain.
The musical program is delivered on comfortable headphones that charge up when connected to your computer and then can be used for hours anywhere you like. The headphones have a patented Dynamic Filter that captures attention and use air and bone conduction to stimulate the entire auditory system. (They can also be used as regular Bluetooth headphones with the flip of a switch.)
Meanwhile, the exercise piece focuses on body awareness and coordination, moving from primitive reflexes to repetitive complex movement - which sounds complicated, but is made easy through clear, short videos that demonstrate how each exercise is completed.
The entire program is based on scientific research and is also the subject of further research.
All that technical stuff aside, Soundsory is a program that can help improve your motor and cognitive abilities, and it is simple to use in 30 minutes a day over 40 days at a time without ever leaving your home!
Why Did We Choose to Try Soundsory?
In 2017, we were blessed to review another product by Sound for Life Ltd called Forbrain, which is a headset that uses bone conduction and a dynamic filter to correct the way you hear your own voice, leading to better attention, concentration, and memory.
We have been pleased with our Forbrain headphones and, appreciating that Sound for Life Ltd produces quality products, decided to give Soundsory a try, too.
My daughter wanted see if Soundsory might help her with attention while I was curious if it might help her with her dyslexia. (My daughter is not aware of this, but I have read about how specific movement programs- and working to eliminate retained reflexes - can help people with dyslexia and so am hopeful that using Soundsory might eventually be another tool for her success.)
I also wanted to have the program on hand for when my older son is ready to try it out, since I believe Soundsory can help him with attention, sensory integration, and more, and I know that since the program is built into the Soundsory headphones with an online exercise portion available with a password, everyone in my family can use it.
How Did We Use Soundsory and What Did We Think of It?
When we got Soundsory, my 12-year-old daughter was excited to try the program. She said:
I wanted to see if it would work. (When I first got it,) I thought it was cool, but I did not like how you had to do the exercises right after listening to the first portion of music, because it was kind of hard for me to get to a computer right after to watch the exercises and that eliminated car rides, chore times...
It was also hard because you could not do certain things when listening to the first part of the music - like be onscreen...I thought you could use it while doing anything, but you cannot. (Good protocol says you are not supposed to eat, drive, or be onscreens while listening.)
So, I used the headphones towards the end of chore times and at night when all my other lessons were done. (When using them), I drew sometimes. Sometimes, I played board games, which I am not sure if you are meant to do, but it did not say not do, so I did.
(When listening,) I liked certain songs more than others. Some of the songs I did into really like, because they did not have words, but had people chanting, and I did not really like that. I go for word or no word types of things, not chanting. But, most of the music I liked.
(So far), I have not noticed any big changes yet using Soundsory, but think there might be... More attention...maybe help me with academics.
I want to keep using it, because I want to see if it can help me more.
I also wonder if my brother could use it. It could help him with attention, because he has a small attention span.
And I wonder if A--- could use it. She has a brain injury and I think it could it help.
People with focus problems could use it, too.
The exercises reminded me of O.T. when my brother went to O.T. So, maybe instead of going to O.T., you could use this.
I like it and will keep using it.
I agree with my daughter on several points:
- Soundsory integrates O.T.-like exercises and can easily be used for at-home therapy. I was impressed with how user-friendly the program is and how simple it made stimulating the vestibular and auditory systems.
- It was sometimes a challenge to find the right times in our daily lives to use Soundsory, because we had to use it when there was 25 minutes of free time followed by five minutes that could be spent following exercises onscreen. This challenge, though, is just because of the way our life flows right now - crazily! That said, I recognize how it is far easier to use Soundsory than to go to therapies! Indeed, I would have LOVED having this when I was at a stage earlier in our family life when I was running three different kids between O.T., speech, feeding therapy, and more. It may have helped reduce our need for some of the running around.
- The physical exercises really did remind me of what my son used to do in O.T., and I could see how streamlined and well-chosen they were. I can definitely see why Soundsory is said to help with motor delays, balance and coordination, austism spectrum, developmental delays, sensory integration, auditory processing disorder, ADD, and ADHD.
I am pleased that my daughter wishes to continue to use Soundsory and am eager to see what positive changes happen over time as she does. I am also hoping my older son decides to commit to a 40-day period of using the program and am thinking of recommending it to a relation that suffered a brain injury.
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| Read the reviews. |
Soundsory Is Worth A Look!
I would recommend looking into Soundsory to anyone that is interested in user-friendly, at-home tools for helping cognitive and motor abilities. Some others on the Homeschool Review Crew are already having family members making awesome strides with the program, while others, like me, are pleased with the program so far and waiting to see how things play out.
The brain needs a certain amount of repeated stimulation in order to develop new connections, reorganize itself and stabilize improvement. Some people see change within a few days, others after completion of forty days of the program. There is no way to know in advance the exact amount of time it will take.
So, in short, I cannot attest to seeing huge changes in my daughter yet, but I can say that I have experienced enough of Soundsory to understand that it is a well-designed, quality program and that I expect to see more pronounced results as we continue using it here. I can also say that you should read some of the other reviews because some people have had amazing results already with children and adults!
Soundsory from Sound for Life Ltd. is definitely worth looking into if you have people in your family that could use improved motor, sensory, and cognitive abilities.
