I have a 16-year-old child that is challenged in many areas.She has a whole plethora of issues with learning disabilities, Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, Intellectually Challenged, low muscle tone, dysgraphia, physical challenges, and other things going on. Trying to find therapy that helps in several areas can be challenging. Usually the therapy will just work with one or two areas at a time. That is daunting as doing multiply therapies a week and the cost just is not very realistic. I was completely intrigued with SOUNDSORY® from Sounds for Life and just as eager to get started with my daughter. Being able to do therapy in the comfort of your home is beneficial for the whole family.

SOUNDSORY® has a unique multi-sensory approach therapy that uses sound and movement to stimulate your vestibular and auditory system simultaneously. The approach is meant to train your brain to help with sensory and auditory processing disorder, tactile sensitivity, cognitive ability, emotional, movement, balance, coordination, motor and developmental delays, Autism, ADD, and ADHD. I also felt this has been effective for my daughter with rheumatoid arthritis.

SOUNDSORY® comes with a SOUNDSORY® headset, form fitting carrying hard case, elastic head band, USB charging cable, instruction manual, and online access to over fifty plus body movement videos and tips for using your headset.

The SOUNDSORY® headset can be adjusted. The elastic head band can also be used while wearing it and you will need it with some of the body movement exercises. The headset is marked left and right on the sides.

The control panel is located on the right side. On the control panel there are two options on the headset. The first option is the TF (SD card) which contains the rhythmical music used in the therapy sessions. The second option is the Bluetooth feature that will work up to thirty-three feet while listening to your own music. It is easy to navigate the control panel with a digital display screen. There is a backward and forward button to change the music selection. You can pause and play the headset and there is an on and off button. On the side of the headset is your volume control. You also have a built-in microphone in the headset

On the left side is where the USB charging cable port is connected. The headset will stay charged for ten hours while using the TF (SD card.) Charging the headset fully took around four hours.

The rhythmical music has been specially selected for the program. The music is all instrumental and has different genre from jazz, gospel, Latin, marching, classical, and more. The songs are timed long enough for your brain to get use to the rhythm and yet timed to not have your brain get acclimatize to the rhythmical tune. They have coordinated the song tempos to challenge the brain, which in turn will create plasticity.

The online body movements video exercise takes around five minutes. The videos correspond with the digital display screen. For example, if your headset screen says; Day 5.1 the video will be labeled the same. Each day you have four videos and each one has a different exercise. Every video has two parts. The first part is “watch” which will show you how to do the exercise properly. The second half is “your turn” which is when you do the exercise you just learned. All the exercises are simple to perform them. Some examples of the exercises are hopping on your left or right leg, marching in place, body taps, and inch worm. There is an option to download an exercise check-list which corresponds with the headset display also. The headset will keep track of the days for you also.

You may be wondering what the big deal with this headset is? Yes, it functions just like any headset on the market. It is the technology that is built into it that makes this headset unique. The headset is equipped with specific rhythmical music already downloaded into it that is used for your therapy sessions. The music is processed with a patented Dynamic filter System and an Air and Bone Conduction feature.

While I do not completely understand the technology in this headset, I will try to explain it in a nut shell. The Bone Conduction feature is at the top of the headset which sets on the top of your skull. While you are listening to the rhythmical music the top of the headset vibrates slightly. The Air Conduction technology is in the music that stimulates your auditory and vestibular canals. The headset is equipped with the Air and Bone Conduction that work together with vibration and air.

Dynamic filter System according to the company creates sound contrast, and because the music is rhythmical and has predictable variation of intensity, the brain anticipates the sound contrast. The sound contrast is designed to promote the transmission of high-pitched sounds which in turn will activate your sensory cells which are sensitive to sound. This will stimulate your ears and brain. That is truly a nut shell explanation.

SOUNDSORY® is suitable for children and adults alike. The program is recommended for thirty minutes a day for forty days. Twenty-five minutes is listening to the rhythmical music and five minutes of body movement. It is recommended use is one session a day for five to seven days. After the forty days is completed it is recommended that you take a break for around four weeks before you begin again.

When we first received our headset, my daughter did not like the feel of it, and we had to slowly condition her to get comfortable with it. This is common with kids with sensory issues and did not even surprise me. I let her wear it using the Bluetooth function to listento songs she enjoys for short periods, and we slowly build up her time. It took us a good two weeks to get her adjusted to thirty minutes. Now, she loves it and begs me to put it on!

We usually used this in the early afternoon. For our schedule it worked best during the weekdays during school. One surprising effect that I noticed was the simple exercises seemed to help her joints from her rheumatoid arthritis. With the music she was not complaining about doing the exercises. I think the music took her mind off the pain and it did not seem so tedious doing them. She seems to be a lot more flexible with her joints.

After we did the physical exercises we sat down for the rest of the twenty five minutes and worked on some fine motor skills from puzzles, play dough, putty, building blocks, typing, copy-work, and other skills that required her to concentrate on a task. I kept a timer on so I could keep track of her time using it.

We had an unexpected surgery with her and had to change around doing the physical exercises. I had her use the headset still and we adapted the videos to use her upper body while sitting down.

Considering the unexpected surgery, I did notice that she is doing better with getting overloaded with sound. She is not covering her ears as much and getting overwhelmed when there are a lot of noises going around her. Also, she seems to be managing tactile textures better. She has one more surgery coming up very soon so we will take a break and start again after she is all healed up.

I love it when you find products that are versatile and work on several different areas. I really love being able to do it in the comfort of home. This has been a unique therapy that I am happy to say that I have seen some results.

-Product review by Renee Knoblauch, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, April 2019