Forbrain - Sound For Life Ltd sent us their award winning Forbrain bone conduction head set. This is a really cool device that can help improve attention, speech, memory, and reading difficulties through brain stimulation and sensory integration. This award winning technology, called bone conduction, enhances both language and learning. The headset is essentially a set of bone conduction transducers, which rest just in front of your ears, a high quality microphone, and a dynamic filter. Your voice is processed by the filter and transmitted to your brain through bone conduction. Forbrain works simultaneously on all aspects of the audio-vocal loop and gives the nervous system a solid sensory workout.
There are several ways to use the Forbrain headset. Reading aloud is actually the simplest and way to use the device. For an adult, you could add these suggested exercises to your reading aloud:
- sing the text you are reading
- rythmically read a poem, taking a breath at the end of each line
- take a breath every 3 or 4 words ignoring punctuation and meaning
- exaggerate sounds as if making a speech to a crowd
- change your reading volume every 5 seconds alternating between loud and very soft
- memory work: read a portion aloud and then repeat it from memory
- read dialogue giving each character a unique voice
For a child, there are also these suggested additional exercises for use:
- have the adult read the text slowly while the child reads along out loud
- child reads the text after you
- memory work: read a group of words aloud and the child repeats them
- read different characters in a dialogue using different voices
- create a story with the child out loud
The suggested usage varies for each person based on their age and their goals. For me since I would like to improve my speaking skills, suggested use is to use the Forbrain for about 20 minutes per day. An intensive use of the device would be to use it up to three times per day for 20 minutes each. This is too much for me. When I first used the device, I did have some discomfort. I believe it was from the little ear buds. They don't go in your ears like typical ear buds. They rest on the front part of the ear. A slight tapping can be felt if you hold these ear buds in your fingers. Because of the discomfort, the directions suggested removing the headset and continuing the session at a later date. I did put away the headset for that day. The next time I used it, it didn't bother me. Wearing the headset at first felt awkward to me. It is very weird to hear your own voice. While wearing the headset, it sounds like you are talking into a microphone. I think this is why this device will be able to help me have more confidence in public speaking because I will be able to hear my own voice and become more comfortable with it.
My son has also been using the Forbrain headset. It was not hard to get him to use the Forbrain. To him it seemed like a gaming headset. I would wake up in the morning and find him wearing the headset, narrating whatever game he was currently playing. My goal for him in using this headset is that he would be able to improve his attention and focus on activities that he completes for school. As we all know, boys like to be active and on the move. Using the Forbrain will hopefully help him be able to focus better on his schoolwork, specifically reading and math. These subjects are not too difficult for him, but better attention and focus will help him to concentrate and not make silly mistakes. The suggested use for kids ages 5-15 is 15 minutes per day. Many days he exceeded this time minimum. The instructions do warn against using the headset for more than 4 hours per day.
We have enjoyed using this device and are going to continue using it after the summer. It is so simple to use and a great way to get a solid sensory workout for the brain. Do you have any students who could benefit from using the Forbrain headset?
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Would you like to read what other reviewers had to say about using Forbrain? Check out the Review Crew Blog for more!
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