Testimonials

Below, you'll find the latest feedback we've received on how Sounds In Motion is working in classrooms around the country. But before that, here's a SIM success story I'm particularly proud of. - Fran Santore



Here are other examples of feedback we've received on SIM:

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From: Elisa Schwartz, SLP. Tenafly, NJ
Dear Fran,
I took your course twice several years ago and use it in all three Kindergarten classes in my school.
I can't begin to tell you how much the children love Sounds In Motion. The Basic Skills teachers tell
me that the ELL children now make faster progress once they've been in Sounds In Motion. It also takes the mysteriousness and stigma of "a speech room" away. Lots of kids ask when they can come in after being in Sounds In Motion! Your work and vision is so very valuable. Thanks again.


Dear Fran,

In 35 years of teaching and at least that many workshops, I have never found one more well thought out or one I wanted to use so readily.

I wish I had learned about it sooner. My friends were amazed I rented it as they know I have planned to "retire" this June. The program's strengths and remarkable detail of thought related to action insure I will use it be it doing volunteer work or subbing. I have raged about it to everyone, even my sons.

- Joan Reich, NY

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Hi Fran,

I worked with a 6 & 7 year old autistic classroom this year and they could not grasp the concept of sound letter correspondence until I introduced them to Sounds In Motion. It worked amazing! And the students were motivated and loved learning the different motions! There were six children in the classroom. I took data on a trial basis. I would assess the children by giving them a letter and asking them what sound that letter made (using the corresponding motion) and also give them the sound with the motion and ask them to identify the letter. My students literally went from 0 to 80% accuracy in identifying letter sound correspondence. Additionally, once the vowel sounds were introduced we used the Sounds In Motion to spell out words like cat, mat, hat, etc. I would do the sounds with the motions and the children would have to tell me what word I was spelling. The parents loved it as well and said their child would come home and show them the sounds with the motions!

- Marissa Lobosco, NYC


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Hi Fran,

Sounds in Motion is going wonderfully! I have used it in a first grade class (loaded with ESOL and language impaired children), a kindergarten class (a double class) and am using it in 2 Head Start classes. The classroom teachers are as thrilled as I am. Once you start using it you can't imagine teaching without it! I'm already thinking about what I will do with it next year. I just submitted a grant offered by the local Chamber of Commerce to get some of Dr Jean's songs and John Hartmann songs along with Really Good Wearable Word Builder Vests from the company Really Good Things.

The kindergarten teachers came up to me all excited. One student knew only 7 sounds in January. We started Sounds in Motion mid-February and the little boy has all his sounds now. Their ESOL students are really thriving with the use of it in the classroom. They said they were hesitant to have me come in the classroom (this is a new school for me this year). They thought, "Not another program!" They are so glad they agreed. Other kindergarten teachers are asking for it next year.

I have used the vocabulary and listening components as you suggested. I'm pleased to report that most of my teachers enhance vocabulary and phonological awareness and do a lot with listening. (A pleasant surprise, and also a benefit from doing inclusion over the years). We now "feed" off each other concerning these components, and my therapy repetoire continues to expand.

It's interesting to see how the students begin dropping the movements and have internalized them and are now beginning. to segment and blend sounds "in their heads."

I added Minnie Mouse (a female component) along with Bob the Builder for substituting initial sounds.

It is sad that teachers that have taught for many years in any of the primary grades do not have to take phonetics and thus are surprised at the contrast been voiced and voiceless sounds and nasal sounds, ect... I realized as I did sounds in motion that in general the voiceless are all in the top part of the body and their voiced cognates at the bottom. (It makes it easier to teach past tense -ed endings as /t/or/ d/ depending on the consonant preceeding it).

I have been using the LiPS (Lindamood Bell program) as part of inclusion therapy in first through fifth grade classrooms for about 10 years. It's been highly effective. I have to tell you the SIMS combined with LiPS for the older children has been like LiPS on steriods. What used to take the students 3 weeks to finally learn, now take 2 to 3 days. There is a chart in the LiPS program that has the 42 endings that break all the rules. When my students learn and apply these to decoding their reading level usually jumps a year. I would explain that all the vowel rules we learned may no longer apply to multi-syllable word endings. (Big groan from students.) Its not banana its bunanu. it's not lemon, it's lemun. What's great is that I used the SIM motion for a and u as I say and compare the words. My students get it so much faster now. -tion , -sion and -cion say "shun". Again by using the motion my students pick up and remember the contrast right away. One 4th grade student said, " That's how you really spell patient. Dang, no wonder spelling is so hard." i saying "e' as in media or median has also been easy to teach using the motions as well.

Soooooo, THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH!!!! You are impacting many lives at my two Title 1 schools !!!!


LuAnn Scott
Speech Language Pathologist
Davie Elementary
Bethune Elementary


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Well my son is in 4K in South Carolina. He has a severe speech delay and receives speech therapy for 90 minutes a week. His speech therapists has taken the training for the Sounds In Motion program and they are introducing the motions to all the children in the school. David (my son) absolutely LOVES the motions and we have to go through them at home frequently. They have helped him so much not only in his speech progression but he has began to sound out basic words and read them as well as spell them when given the letters. I as a mother want to thank you for producing Sounds In Motion, it makes me almost cry hearing him try to talk and read so much. I have an AAS in Early Childhood and have taught 2 to 4 year olds for 10 plus year and have to say in all that I have seen and used in my own classroom this is the most creative and fun way to learn.

Katie Wilkins
Taylors, SC


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All 6 of our elementary schools in our district are using SIM as of this year! It has spread like wild fire. Teachers, administrators and parents have all seen the benefits. A great story.... I have a friend in the community who has a son with a developmental disability who is now in the 5th grade at one of our elementary schools. She ran into my husband at the park just 2 weeks ago and was so excited! She told him "Henry is reading!!!" She started to explain how nothing had worked before, but they were using this new program with her son at the school and how great it as... and my husband quickly recognized it and said "Sounds In Motion!" My husband told her that I was the one that brought it up from the city' and she couldn't believe the connection. She is absolutely thrilled with the results. We were at her house on Sunday for a barbeque and she had me get up in front of a crowd and demonstrate how it works. Needless to say, she is a fan of SIM.

--P.J. Chilton, Saratoga Schools


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I attended your sounds in motion workshop on September 2008 and started the program immediately in my school. I work in a school in Harlem. I first did it with 3 of my special ed classes (these classes are considered functional classes and the students' disability are more involved than learning disabilities). I then started doing it with the 2 kindergarten classes. It has taken off to a level beyond what I ever expected! The kindergarten students have writing samples similar to what you showed at the workshop and through a typical day here, you can see so many students just doing sounds in motion. Family members are thrilled about it as well as the teachers. In regards to m special ed classes, they are reading simple CVC words a a level that no one expected them to. We have regular Sounds-In-Motions Bees too! This is the best program out there - believe me when I tell you EVERYONE about it.

--Priya S., MS, CCC-SLP


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Fran, I just wanted to let you know that Sounds In Motion has become the tier 1 RTI program for our school district.

--Nancy B.


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Let me tell you how much I enjoy using the program. I'm a retired school therapist in private practice now, so I'm using it more for articulation than for phonemic awareness. But it's been fun, though, "spelling" words for practice and the kids are segmenting/blending as a bonus.

One quick success story for you. I have a 3rd grader who is working on /r/ but was really struggling. This was something for me as I'm called the "R Queen" in our group practice, my success rate for /r/ therapy being excellent. I modified the motion for /r/ by starting with fists at the side of the body, raising them by bending the elbow at a right angle to the SIM starting point and then pulling back, all movements with tension. As a last resort, I tried that with this client and he got the "er" right away. If he does anything else with his arms, he misarticulates, but if he does the motion correctly, he gets it every time. We are finally moving on to VC, CV, CVC combos that we couldn't do at all beforehand.

So, thank you for leading the way. It's been great fun using the body in therapy, both for me and my clients.

- Sue Levine


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I am so excited to tell you that we are doing a CBM project with several of our special education kindergartners and we used SIM as an instructional intervention and their scores on the DIBELS and Letter sound fluency have doubled. I will send you all the date when we are finished.

-Samantha Green


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...I am an elementary school speech teacher at P.S. 51 in the Bronx. Last year our speech supervisors set-up a workshop where you presented us with your program Sounds In Motion. From that very first day I was super excited to incorporate it into my therapy sessions. I started using it this year with a first grade self-contained class. The children loved it, and we were all surprised at how quickly they were able to pick up the motions. The classroom teacher is using the Wilson program and says that this program really works well to support them. We have reviewed all the phonemes and have started blending/tracking the sounds. The student would come up and recieve a picture card. Next they show their classmates how to sound it out in the motions, and then write it out using letters on the board. Not only do the students enjoy it, but they feel a great sense of accomplishment when they spell the words on their own! I was observed by my supervisor recently using this program and she was amazed. I feel very fortunate to have attended this workshop and be able to incorporate this program in my therapy.

-Lauren Leotta


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...We have already started to implement some of the program in our 4/5's class at New York School for the Deaf. The kids love it and I see a real difference in the sound production.

- Kathleen D.


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...I teach a graduate course at Queens College in Phonology and Articulation and I have already shown parts of your CD. I think it is very helpful for improving articulation and phonological awareness and I thank you for the conference.

- Renee Toueg


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...I have started using Sounds In Motion with my first graders and they love it! They now are walking up and down the hallways practicing and showing off to their friends! Thank you so much for this wonderful tool.

- Dorothy T.