Develop New Brain Connections with Soundsory {A Review}

When your immediate family includes people with ADHD, sensory issues, dyslexia, and more and your extended family includes someone with a brain injury, the idea that the brain can rewire and heal is hugely encouraging.  Better still is when tools for helping the brain do just that come nicely packaged in an easy-to-use at-home format just as they do with Soundsory from Sound for Life Ltd.

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.

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.

This difference in results is not unusual, as I understand, since it is explained in the Soundsory FAQs that:

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.

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Improve Attention, Concentration, and Memory {A Forebrain Review and Discount Code}

This post contains affiliate links.

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UPDATE:  Forbrain often offers a % off and FREE SHIPPING using our affiliation code 3A4802705. Try it at check out.

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What do you get when you combine a simple, fun-to-use design with award winning technology to help people of all ages (3 and up) improve:

• attention
• concentration
• verbal working memory
• short-term memory

Forbrain from Sound for Life LTD!

If you or your child struggle with attention difficulties, poor memory, or speech and language issues, then you'll be happy to know that Forbrain can help.  Simply by speaking normally into the device for one to three daily sessions of 10-20 minutes, depending on your age and needs, you can experience a marked improvement in as little as six to ten weeks.

Until December 12, you can get a 30% discount and free shipping off Forbrain if you use our affiliation code 3A4802705.  After that, you can get 10% off.


What Is Forbrain?

If you're an audio-visual learner who likes quick overviews, here's a short video about what Forbrain is and how it works:

If you prefer tried-and-true user comments, then, you may wish to read how my-ten-year old - who was our primary Forbrain user -describes the device:

"Forbrain is a device that you use if you have pronunciation problems, reading problems, spelling problems, or memory problems.  It looks like a microphone headset, but instead of putting pieces on your actual ears, you put them on the bones in front of your ears, so the sound waves can travel through your bones.

The headset has a small rectangular box with the place you charge it using a computer, the on and off button, and volume control buttons.  It also has a bendable mic piece for the front with a small cushion on it, which is sensitive.  You want to place that about an inch to the right in front of your mouth.  That's why it is adjustable.

I used Forbrain often.  Sometimes, I used it with my mom or dad when I read to them or did spelling and other lessons.  I also used it alone for read-to-self and speaking randomly into it, because it sounds so cool.  I used it with my brothers and showed my friends it, too. 

Forbrain helps me with my spelling, because when I use it, different sounds feel and sound differently, so I can hear to spell.  I think it helps me a little with reading, too, because, when I use it to read words, I can puzzle them out more easily and can concentrate better.  I haven't yet used it for memory work, but I want to, because it's REALLY FUN and I think it will help me memorize better by having an easier time focusing."

You might also get a kick out of the description my seven-year-old,  - our second most common Forbrain user- offered:
 

"It is a device that has a microphone and connects to your bones when you speak.  It makes my bones vibrate and rattle.  Some words make my ears pop.  It feels weird.  Good weird.  I like using it for reading on my own and with other people."

So, as you can see, Forbrain is basically a smartly designed microphone headset that uses bone conduction and a dynamic filter to correct the way you hear your own voice, leading to better speech production and increased attention and confidence.  Designed with technology for brain stimulation to help people with speech and language difficulties, Forbrain has been helping people with

• ADD
• ADHD
• auditory processing disorder
• memory difficulties
• sensory integration challenges
• speech challenges

It also has helped folks with:

• articulation
• learning to read
• memorization
• presentation skills
• singing
• vocal dynamics

and more, including just having fun reading children's picture books with expression!

If you'd like to learn more about how the Forbrain is designed and why it works, the Forbrain website is chock full of further information and articles about the device, so head on over  to it if you want learn more detailed information.


Why Do We Love Forbrain?

I love things that are simple, effective, and enjoyable, and, in our home, we've found Forbrain to be just that.

It sure is simple to take our Forbrain out of its handy, hardcover, padded carrying case and pop it on for a 10-20 minute session of use. 

Doing so for the first time, we were each surprised about how we could truly hear our own voices in a new way and immediately were drawn to pay closer attention to our articulation.  Over time, regular use of the device has been, "a fun thing that helps me improves my language skills" says my daughter.  Of all my children, she is the one that struggles most with reading, processing, etc., so witnessing improvements in her - and improvements made with a smile! - is a delight.

I also appreciate it when a simple-to-use device is backed by science and adaptable for use by a wide variety of ages in multiple settings.  Forbrain is just that.  It can be used: 

• alone when reading aloud, completing pronunciation exercises in native or foreign languages, practicing memory work, preparing speeches or dramatic works, reviewing learned materials, or, even singing.

• with parents when learning to read, practicing speech and conversation exercises in native or foreign languages, doing homework, etc.

• with professionals like therapists, teachers, and coaches when completing exercises, activities, and therapies.

 

Whether your a youngster learning to read, a child in speech therapy, a teen memorizing scripts or speeches,a professional working on your public speaking skills, or someone who could just  grow in attention, concentration, and memory skills, Forbrain can help you enhance language and learning, using your own voice to unlock potential!

Get a Discount Code and Free Shipping
 

Forbrain typically costs $299, which might seem steep at first.  However, when you consider what many therapy tools cost and what potential the specifically designed Forbrain bone conduction headset has to help you or your child overcome challenges with attention, speech, and memory, the price becomes more reasonable.  Also, right now, the Forbrain website offers FREE SHIPPING, and, if you use our affiliation code 3A4802705 when making your purchase, you can get a 10% discount.

Learn More

In our home, we have been using our Forbrain for a little over a month and are already seeing results.  Other Homeschool Review Crew families, like the ones at Through the Open Window, are in their second year of using the device and testify to its long-term effectiveness with their children with autism or other challenges.  You can find reviews from forty-five Homeschool Review Crew families who have used Forbrain by clicking through the banner.

Find Forbrain on social media:

• Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/forbrainLTD
• Twitter : https://twitter.com/forbrainheadset
• LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/forbrain---retrain-the-way-you-process-information

From Burn to Blessing

Uh oh.  The boy got paint on his swimshirt while I was leading an Art-n-Nature gathering last week week.  Dad, playing with camera settings, got a picture of the shirt coming off...

... and another of me taking a break from guiding kiddoes in a negative-and-positive space painting exercise in order to go wash the shirt out in the ocean water while my boy began to play battle games on the beach.

Once the paint had been rinsed out of the shirt, I offered it back to my son.  Being a "sensory kid", he did not want to put the wet thing back on though.  So I told him to be sure to put sunscreen on instead.

Unfortunately, my boy did not listen to me, and I had no idea that he had not asked Daddy to help him spray his pale white shoulders, back and torso until several hour later when I noticed his back getting just a little pink.  I was not too concerned though since he looked more white than pink. 

Seriously, my boy did not look burned most of the day.  Just take a look at this photo of him standing proud after conquering the fear he had of floating down the current of a "river" to the ocean right towards the end of our excursion.

Not so pink, right?

Well, sunburns do tend to appear more inflamed after the fact... And that was the case with my son.

Shortly after the proud river-floating moment, we left the beach, went to Adoration,  and then headed home for dinner and showers.  That was when -- YIKES!-- my son's white-with-a-little-pink upper body transformed into an inflamed and stinging red "tee shirt".  Poor thing!  After suffering through a shower, he could barely handle me slathering him with aloe.  Each touch brought a yelp.

 
My boy's riotous red "tee shirt" sunburn made it next to impossible for him to sit comfortably, never mind lay down to sleep.  So it was that he came to me with begging, wailing tears at bedtime.  "Mom, please ask people to pray for me!"

Immediately, my daughter took up her rosary and began to pray for my son, and, heeding my boy's request, I jumped on Facebook to ask for immediate prayers. (I honestly have no idea who paused to take the photos - my daughter or my other son.)

Within minutes, in-real-life and online friends began to respond with prayer, support and encouragement.  My son, sat next to me reading each comment that came in, comforted by the knowledge that so many people he knew -- and even those he did not -- were praying for him. 

The power of other people's prayer truly helped my boy's tears to abate and he began to quiet and pray again, too. 

Then, although still in great physical discomfort, he was finally able to get to sleep.  Praise God!

Over the course of the next couple days, the natural repercussions of not listening to Mama when she said, "Put some more sunscreen on," became even more challenging for my boy.  His sunburn stung and made him feel stiff.  By the second day with it, my son found it painful to move his arms, because doing so stretched his stiff, burned skin too much.  Thus, he took on a t-rex sort of posture whenever he had to use his arms.  He looked so odd and uncomfortable with his elbows pretty much frozen to his torso while he simply used  his forearms to do whatever was necessary.  My heart ached for him.

By the third day with his sunburn, my son's skin was so inflamed, dry, and tight that it was all that he could do to be personable and bear keeping a tee shirt on for two hours while we had guests at our home.  Then, after they left and his tee shirt came off, his crying commenced again.  He moaned that his burn seemed worse, not better, and he began begging God for relief "even if this is my own fault."  He also cried for me to help, but what could I do?  Each time I gently rubbed aloe or a salve of essential peppermint and lavender oils in a coconut oil carrier on him that night, he cried out as if I was torturing him.

In fact, my son cried even when I was not applying salves onto his thirsty sunburned skin. The experience of being burned was just too much for his sensory system and he literally carried on for hours on end, praying aloud, tears rolling, yelps punctuating his speech.  All I wanted to do was to hug him, but I could not even do that.  Hugging simply hurt him too much.

So, I finally persuaded my son to at least climb onto my lap, his body stiffly sitting up so not a single part of his back would touch me as I lay one of my hands low around his lap and placed the other atop his head where it would not hurt him.  In this position, I began coaching him to breathe and taking time to pray over him and with him.  This helped for a bit, as did hearing that more folks online were praying for him followed by us listening to calming music.  Even with all this, it was such a long night for him!

The next day was rough, too.

But, finally, as last Sunday unfolded, the raw, stinging and stiffness of my son's sunburn subsided.  He came to me to ask me to make another salve with the essential oils a friend had graciously gifted us for him, apologized for not listening to me a the beach, and asked me for a hug.  As I held him, he winced a bit, but thanked me and pointed out that he could at least be hugged (gently!) again.  His prayers were being heard and healing was happening.

Then, later in the day, our family went on a hayride together at a farm that we are members of.  As I leaned around my son to snap a picture of my husband and younger son, my other hand brushed my son's shoulder.  I did not notice it right away.  Then, my boy  commented, "Mom, do you notice something special?"  I could not guess what he was referring to, so he finally told me, "Your hand, Mom.  It's on my shoulder and I am okay."  Wow!  The natural everyday act of my hand on my son's shoulder had become something to celebrate, because just 12 hours prior, when I had inadvertently touched his shoulder, he had screamed in pain.

Amazing how my son's one act of disobedience in not putting on more suncreen when he was told to do so and my own distraction from following up on whether he had, indeed, applied more sunscreen resulted in so such pain, yet such lessons, too.  Through his experience with feeling the burn, its pain, the stiffness, and the peeling, as well as through asking for and receiving prayer and healing, my son learned a lot.  I did, too.

This week, my son  came to me and said words he has never spoken before, "Mom, can you please put sunscreen on me."  More than that, though, he has been making a better effort toward overall obedience.  He has mentioned how grateful he is for others' prayers.  He has shared with me prayers he had hitherto silently prayed every night, asking for healing and safety for others.  He has relished the simple ability to be hugged and held.

I have been wowed by how many people kindly offered prayers and words of support to my son.  I was moved by my son's appreciation for being able to feel my hugs and touch again.  I remain grateful for the blessings that beat discomfort.  

Yet, I am also filled with sadness.  What about the parents whose children have not listened and have suffered worse natural consequences?  What about those parents who, for whatever reason, can never touch or hug their children again?  What about those people who can find no solace during physical pain because they have no faith?  What about... so many people who are hurting at this very moment.

My son and I are abundantly blessed by general good health, an amazing network of praying friends, and a faith that turns us to God both at moments of petition and those of thanksgiving.  Others, I know, do not sense such graces poured down on them.  For those people, today I pray.  Please join me in doing so...