Forbrain: Bone Conduction Headset to Improve Speech Fluency {Product Review}

As many of you know, we have been working with Baby Britches on some speech issues over the last few years. He has come a long way, yet we still some phonetic pronunciation issues that continue to pop up regularly. The greatest challenge is that I can't get him to HEAR how he is saying the sounds--to show how it's different than the way I am saying them, which leads to a significant amount of frustration for us both. Enter Forbrain--Sound for Life Ltd. This bone conduction headset was designed with this very thing in mind. Could this product help us improve Baby Britches' speech fluency, pronunciation, and sound discrimination? I was eager to review the product to find out.

Product Information

Forbrain--Sound for Life Ltd, is an innovative bone conduction headset that has been designed to help the young and old with auditory processing. It trains the brain to improve sensory integration and auditory processing. This then provides improvement in speech fluency, pronunciation, sound discrimination, and rhythm. It also has been shown to improve short term memory with consistent use. It works through creating an auditory feedback loop thanks to the bone conduction which delivers the voice directly through to the brain. Bone conduction delivers the sound of your voice 10 times faster than the "usual" air conduction that occurs through your ears--thus taking your voice straight to your brain!

Fobrain could be used for:
*reading and writing
*verbal or short-term memory
*attention and ability to stay on task
*concentration and focus
*speech, pronunciation, and fluency
*motivation, self-esteem, and self confidence

Using the product for just six to ten weeks for 15 to 20 minutes a day can lead to significant improvement in all these areas!

This product could be implemented in the home, school, and/or workplace and will work for all ages--though it's ideal for ages 5+

Forbrain comes with:
*Bone conduction headphones with microphone and dynamic filter
*Charging computer cable
*Extra foam microphone covers
*Educational support guide
*User guide

Forbrain comes with a 30 day money-back guarantee.

How Did We Use This Product?

My boys were very eager to give this product a try, and were bummed they had to wait for me to charge it up. It was very easy to charge (simply pug it in to a USB with the cord included) and I knew it was ready when the blue light came on.

I read the included instructions for the product to get an idea for how to wear it, how long to wear it, and the kind of things it is good for. Then I gave it a try myself--woh. LOL. I sound very weird. I definitely began modifying my voice once I could hear myself talk! You know that phrase "Do you even listen to yourself?" Well now I can say "YES!" LOL.

The next day I taught Baby Britches how to wear it, and we used it throughout his spelling and reading lessons. He was intrigued by the fact he could hear himself talk. Right away he was fixing the phonetic sounds he was making to try to match my version. He also wore it during our poetry session and was able to catch himself when he made mistakes in his recitation.

Little Britches begged for a chance, and so he wore it during his own recitation of his poetry. Boy, did that make a difference for him! He slowed his speech down to a conversational speed, and did a lot more modulation on his vocal tone. He was able to correct recitation mistakes as well.

As for me, I wore it while I practice some vocal selections. If I thought my speaking voice was weird, my singing voice was even more weird. It took a litte while to get used to how I sounded, but I was able to use it successfully and I think it definitely helped me learn where my diction and annunciation needed to be improved.

We continued to use this product during school hours--primarily with Baby Britches as he was the key person to review this product with due to his speech issues.

Baby Britches using Forbrain to assist him during Spelling

As of right now, we have continued to use this product 4-5 days a week with each boy--roughly 30 minutes per day. We have not needed to recharge the headset which is amazing!

Our Thoughts on The Product

Everyone has enjoyed this product. Little Britches uses it and it helps him slow down his speech as he's reciting poetry or reading out loud. I am going to be incorporating it into our lessons more over the upcoming year, since he IS an auditory learner. I foresee it being very beneficial especially for subjects like spelling.

Baby Britches LOVES it and reminds me that he needs his "set for his brain". It has done EXACTLY what I hoped it would. His phonetic awareness has improved immensely, as he's FINALLY able to hear the sounds he's saying to better recognize the differences. His sounding out word skills are growing by leaps and bounds because he can finally HEAR what he's saying and process it. We do not do any of his reading or spelling assignments without it because of the difference it has made. We have almost completely eliminated the last few issues he had left in his speech trouble.

As for me, I have been enjoying using the product for vocal performance. It has assisted me in fine tuning my annunciation and diction, which is something I especially wanted to work on. This would have been something fabulous to use back in college when I was having to give presentations.

The only real con is the price at $359. If I had found this product on my own, I wouldn't have given it a chance, because it is just out of my personal price range when it's not something I absolutely NEED to have. Now, if I had been working with speech therapists with my sons and had been dealing with trying to continue working at home, I think that it might not be such a bad price if it truly would help.

Some people who have used it have mentioned that they have issues with headaches after use--but that apparently is attributed to how long you use it. It is also not recommend for hours of use because it can actually make you tired.

Would I Recommend This Product?

I would recommend this product, but only if speech therapy is something your family deals with. It does have a hefty price tag, so it's not just for anyone. But, if you have someone who needs additional practice at home with auditory processing and training the ear to recognize when speech patterns are incorrect, this would be a great tool for your family. It is also something that would be great someone looking to improve their public speaking or vocal performance as well. Being able to actually hear what you sound like really makes you concentrate on adjusting your modulation and tone of voice--exactly what is needed for fine tuning speaking and singing skills.

Want to Know More?

We reviewed Forbrain --Sound for Life Ltd with our family. You have seen how we used the bone conduction headset and our thoughts on the product. I encourage you to check out the over crew members reviews, especially the ones who used this product to help with sensory processing!

Learn more about Forbrain by staying in touch with them on these social media outlets: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forbrainLTD Twitter https://twitter.com/forbrainheadset LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/forbrain---retrain-the-way-you-process-information
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Forbrain is an excellent product and we have enjoyed incorporating it into our day. I am very happy that it HAS helped both boys in the way that I hoped it would. I know that we will continue to use it in our school days and other times in the future. 

Fresh from the Bookshelf: The Confessions of X by Suzanne M. Wolfe {Book Review}

Are you familiar with the Confessions of Augustine? This is an autobiography written in the 5th century by Augustine of Hippo--more commonly referred to as Saint Augustine. In these Confessions, Augustine spends time talking about his early years and early love of a woman he referred to as "Una"--the One. She was his concubine for MANY years when he was young, and before he became a revered bishop and priest. Nothing is known about this mysterious woman he admittedly loved dearly and had a son with. Suzanne M. Wolfe decided to give this woman a story, and using Augustine's book to guide her, wrote The Confessions of X. The Fiction Guild sent it to me to review, and I was challenged to go outside my genre comfort zone.

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About the Book

The Confessions of X by Suzanne M. Wolfe, tells the story of Augustine of Hippo's nameless lover, their relationship before his famous conversion, and her life after his rise to fame. It tells of the impossible odds because of their social class--she the poor daughter of a mosaic-layer, and he a promising student and heir to a fortune. And yet he loved her as he would love no other. This book (written in first person) gives a first-hand look of what it might have been like for her to witness his anguished spiritual journey from secretive religious cultist to the celebrated Bishop of Hippo. How she loved him passionately for the 15+ years they were together--before he was forced to leave her behind and get married to a socially acceptable wife. 

My Thoughts

Let me start by saying--this book is SOOOO out of my comfort zone. I would never have picked it up or read it, if I hadn't of been given it to review. Nothing in the summary appealed to me, and it was a challenge to open it up and begin. I almost quit a few chapters in, because it STILL wasn't something I was enjoying. But I continued. I am happy to say that it did get easier to read and I didn't feel like quitting after that point.
The author is a very good writer and she captured the way of life during the 5th century well. It was easy to picture the poverty as well as the opulence. I enjoyed the bits and pieces about what it took to create the mosaic art, so popular during that time period as it wasn't something I really even thought about before. 
I think the author definitely put a lot into this to imagine what life would have been like for the concubine and the struggles she must have faced--from always knowing she would never be anything more than a concubine, to knowing that he would get married some day and leave her, to being willing to have a child--and understanding she had no rights to him. And yet, it was beautiful to read about how the preparation made for her to be taken care of when their time together was going to have to end. 
I am not a fan of reading about early church history (because it's not MY church history), but I would imagine that this story would be appealing to those who look to Augustine as a founding father of the their church. It may even give them something to think about that they didn't know previously. 

I just didn't really care for The Confessions of X. This isn't the fault of the author at all, simply not my preference. It was well written and I found it very believable for the subject--it's just nothing that I care to read. If you are familiar with Augustine's Confessions, than I would imagine you could be very interested in reading this book--as for me, I will pass. 

The Confessions of X by Suzanne M. Wolfe ISBN #9780718039615 Available for Kindle and Paperback ***

Avoiding the Comparison Trap {Homeschooling: Keeping It Real Series}

I am happy to share with you the next post in my continuing Homeschooling: Keeping it Real Series for 2016. This series continues to focus on all the behind the scenes rawness that homeschooling families face. These are things that are challenges. Issues that can wear a homeschool parent down. But the purpose of the series is to show you, that you are NOT alone! There are hundreds, maybe THOUSANDS of families going through the same ups and downs. So please, continue to look at this series as a way for me, and others to encourage YOU in your homeschooling journey! My post today comes from my dear friend (and fellow farm mama) Paige who blogs at Freedom Trail Mama. Paige shares a confession today that I am sure EVERY homeschooling parent faces at one point in their adventure...but it's one that many of us continue to get caught up in over and over again.

When my husband and I started looking into homeschooling, it was way back when we just had one precious baby who was only 6 months old. We started out pretty ignorant about homeschooling, but the more we read about it, the more we were convinced that it would give us the best chance at the most excellent education for our children. And for the next 5 years we remained convinced of this fact.

When we started our homeschooling journey, we had 4 little girls, age 5 and under. And let me tell you, by then I was not the fresh, young, 25 yr old mother of one baby who slept through the night by age 4 months….no sir. Now I was 30, had been pregnant or breastfeeding almost constantly for 6 years, and couldn’t recall the last time I’d had a great night’s sleep. Or a shower, some days. In addition, my house was a mess. Like, all the time.