I think all kids have trouble hearing their parents voices to some degree. Surely it’s not just my kids that have the selective hearing.
Sometimes, we wonder if our kids have actual hearing problems because of their lack of response when we speak. Alas, they are just children, and if they are doing something else when you begin speaking, chances are they will not hear a word you say.
I have learned to get their attention, then speak. At least, I try to do that.
There are some kids, though, that have trouble understanding your directions when you tell them to do something. Especially if it is a multi-step task, such as, “Go get jammies on, brush your teeth and go to bed.” I don’t know about your kids, but somewhere along that path, they forget what you told them. They will get jammies on and then come to kiss me goodnight and I ask if they have brushed their teeth. “Oh, no. I forgot.” Seriously, how do you forget that? It’s a nightly ritual.
Anyway… I had the opportunity to review the Hearbuilder Following Directions software. It is a dvd you use on the computer to help your kids with their listening skills.
The program starts off just asking your child to click on one thing at a time, then it gets more an more complicated as it goes up in levels.
For instance, in the picture to the left, the program might tell your child to click on the red triangle and then press start. This is not the first level they will start on, so don’t worry if that sounds too complicated.
What they start with is something more like, “Click on the dog.” And there will be a page with a dog, a ball, a car, and a bear. Pretty simple. Then it will have a small car, a large car, small dog, large dog and say, “Click on the large car.”
In the picture to the right, the child is supposed to load up the trucks, but they have to load them with the correct items. So it might say, “If there is a guitar in the box, put the box on the truck.” If there wasn’t a guitar there, then the child would click the blue circle in the middle that says, “Send back”.
Benjamin was actually missing things at the beginning that I didn’t think he would/should. It was eye opening for me. He got better and better at focusing and listening as he used the program. And, he asks to play it every day! So, not only is it helping him to learn to focus, he actually likes it! Win, win!!
And, my 4 year old daughter likes to play it, too and she does pretty darn well with the first level or two!
It’s too soon to tell if it will help Benjamin hear my voice better, but I’m not sure there is any hope for that as I’m pretty sure all mother’s voices are silent.
Information at a glance:
What is it? Hearbuilder Following Directions software – Students learn to follow increasingly difficult directions, plus they will demonstrate knowledge of 40 basic concepts in five areas: basic directions, sequential directions, quantitative and spatial directions, temporal directions, and conditional directions.
For Whom? PreK-3rd grade
How much? $69.95 – If you enter the coupon code BLGFD30 you will save 30%!! This code expires Aug. 31, 2012.
Where can I get it? on the Super Duper Publications website
