Frequently Asked Questions

Gemm Learning FAQ printable version

How is Gemm different from tutoring?
We treat the underlying causes of reading and learning difficulty. By making reading easier -- less frustrating and less exhausting -- we enable participation in the learning to read process. For older children, removing of the impediments to reading allows them to read faster and to comprehend more of the text because they are no longer multi-tasking – decoding and extracting meaning. In class, by making listening with accuracy easier, our program promotes attention stamina and a better grasp of the material, making homework time far less stressful.

Tutoring does not deal with the underlying issues, but rather tries to work around these cognitive weaknesses, leaving them untouched and likely to re-emerge as problems after tutoring stops. It re-teaches the content your child has already seen at school. Tutoring can be useful to meet short term goals, such as preparing for the next test, etc. but most often it's a band aid. In contrast, ours is not a band-aid, we are aiming to be a one-time resolution to the underlying issue. Our goal is to change the learner, to develop learning independence.

How does your service work?
Students work on their home computer 4-5 five days for 30 minutes or more. We monitor progress remotely via Internet upload. Each client is assigned a dedicated Gemm professional who is there to answer questions and guide you through the program. If you happen to live near our centers in Westchester, NY or Fairfield County, CT you can choose to come into a center each day.

What makes you better than a typical clinician?
We are the leaders in the field of providing Fast ForWord for home users with remote support. First, is our Strong Start! We go to great lengths, including a personal install and tour of the program before the first session, to make sure your child is ready and motivated, and that the technology and the schedule is not over-whelming.

Beyond that we have developed a unique support system including Gemm City (www.gemmcity.com) where students earn prizes for their work, My Gemm (www.mtgemm.com) where parents will find a deep data-base of support materials, and video solutions to the questions they might have (how to change programs, adjust times, etc.), our regular support emails and keeping-in-touch approach. This level of sophistication and attention to detail makes us the world leader in Fast ForWord service.

Other differences from clinicians include our service responsiveness, our Guarantee, our free add-ons, including FASTT Math, and our flexibility in payment and service options. How can I fit this into the already busy day?

How many months does it take?
Most Fast ForWord students are working 30 minutes a day, five days a week. You can use both weekend days if the week is busy. Also, you can split a session into two parts –doing 1-2 exercises before school, 1-2 after school. We believe every schedule has 30 minutes to spare for a program like this that can change a life. 50 and 90 minute protocols are also available.

The minimum period required for results is 20 hours, or about two months. Elementary age students and children needing help with dyslexia or who have central auditory processing disorders tend to take longer. Older students and those looking for a test-taking or study skills boost take less time. Our period of service ranges from 2-12 months, with most children spending 4-6 month with us.

How much does it cost? What happens if my child won’t do it?
First, this is an investment. It is a one-time program that has Learning Independence as its primary goal. In most cases it will end up saving thousands of dollars in future tutoring costs. So in a financial sense our program is an easy winner if compared to a tutoring option.

Cost varies widely based on program choices and time frames. Be aware however that Gemm Learning is the low cost provider in the USA and Canada, in most cases by a wide margin. We are able to offer these low prices and at the same time provide what we believe to be the most sophisticated and complete service available anywhere in the world because we have a much lower programming cost than most clinicians and perhaps more importantly, because this is all we do. Providing Fast ForWord to students at home is not a side-business for us, it is our day’s work, our mission in life.

We offer pre-paid packages and month to month payment options. We also offer a two-week test drive option to all new clients, a two-week period within which a new client can cancel for any reason at all for a full refund except for the modest registration fee. We also allow refunds deeper into the program if your schedule changes or your child starts to give you a problem.

I am not tech savvy. Can I handle this?
We do the install for you and give you a tour. We also have videos that demonstrate the main features. From then on this is plug and play technology that connects with us after every session. If there is a problem we will see it and will help you resolve it using our remote-access tech help service. And so the answer is yes, we know you can handle this software because ultimately it is Gemm that manages it.

How does Fast ForWord compare to Earobics and the Listening Program?
Think of Fast ForWord as industrial strength! Earobics is simple, shrink-wrapped software that copies Fast ForWord. Because of its basic architecture though, it is not adaptive meaning that is incapable of providing the intensity required to make the kinds of changes Fast ForWord is able to achieve. Having said that, it is a good on-ramp for Fast ForWord in 3 and 4 years olds, helping them develop sufficient auditory processing skills to be able to start on our program.

The Listening Program is a passive listening program that also can be a set up program for Fast ForWord. Its goals are somewhat different – more general learning related as opposed to reading-focused – and its success is less consistent and well documented. Gemm Learning will recommend and offer TLP in a few limited cases for local families as a way of preparing a 3-5 year old for Fast ForWord.

How do I follow my child’s progress?
You will receive a weekly email summarizing progress for the week and since inception. In addition, at the outset Gemm develops a Gemm Plan for Achievement for your child which will be sent to you, with updates of that plan being sent out at each milestone.

We track errors made, rate of progress, work-rate and many other items, using data uploads that occur automatically via the Internet after every session. We will be in constant contact, reacting to progress and making changes to the work assignments in accordance with that student's individualized plan.

Explain the service exactly.
Gemm Learning provides tutor guided software for K-12 students anywhere in the US and Canada to help resolve reading and learning issues. We use research based cognitive software that exercises unique weakness in each student's learning skills, filling in cognitive skills gaps. We treat causes, rather than tutor around them.

Our primary programs are Fast ForWord for language, reading (including help with dyslexia) and auditory processing issues and BrainWare Safari for attention, memory or organizational issues most often related to sensory integration. We also use FASTT Math for math fact fluency and numeracy.

How does your guarantee work?
We are going with the science on this one! Namely, that in every case the brain will benefit from the kind of exercise Fast ForWord provides. And so we guarantee that you will see cognitive changes.

Here’s how the guarantee works: if you work on Fast ForWord consistently for four months, and do not observe changes – most people start relating changes in a month or so! – or changes are not picked up in our pre and post Behavioral Rating survey or in our pre and post testing, we will provide BrainWare Safari (with the same professional oversight) for the three months.

It is rare that we do not see changes, but if Fast ForWord does not help, BrainWare is a great next choice. It takes an integrative approach working on focus and sensory integration. This very different approach provides a new opportunity for the cognitive changes that brought you to us in the first place.

How does your program help reading?
The bottom line is we make reading easier by removing the cognitive impediments to success. We use the Fast ForWord family of products for reading with a step by step process. The first section of the program builds the cognitive foundation required for reading. By improving processing speed, Fast ForWord improves your child's ability to hear the phonemes needed for sounding out when reading -- this directly impacts reading comfort, fluency and comprehension. We then move onto Reading Fluency, then Reading Comprehension and finally -- for middle and high school only -- Critical Reading.

Does Fast ForWord help other learning issues?
Yes, it can help with listening in class and general learning efficiency. By speeding up the ability to process sound and language, i.e., auditory processing, Fast ForWord essentially slows the world down for a child and makes it less exhausting. This improves the ability to follow multi-step directions, to attend in class, and to participate more in class and in conversation, amongst other things.

How is BrainWare Safari different from Fast ForWord?
BrainWare Safari is a broad-based program that addresses almost all of the cognitive issues not addressed by Fast ForWord. This includes sensory integration -- so important in focus, longer term and visual memory, selective and divided attention and visual processing skills. For distractibility, slow work rates and retention issues, we suggest BrainWare Safari.

When do I start seeing results?
After about three weeks most parents start to notice signs of change. We most often hear about language gains and better confidence in younger children, and less reading reluctance in older students. Everyone is different though, and for some children the gains come more slowly. While most children experience significant gains while doing the program, the majority of gains occur in the year or two after the program as the improved cognitive ability translates into academic achievement.

How do you get started?
We first need a phone consult to be sure your child is a candidate for our program. Most of the time this is a 15 minute call. If we can help, and you decide you would like to use us, we can take payment details over the phone and send you a download link for the software. We will do a remote setup for you, give you a personal tour of the program and provide the materials you need to get started.

If you live near a center you can come in for a screening or for a demo. Then, if you like, you can choose to work in center daily although most local students choose to work at home.

How do you know your programs really work?
Gemm staff members know because we see what one staff calls her "little miracles" every day. But new clients need to rely on testimonials -- call and we can provide references -- or research studies. In this regard Fast ForWord is the senior statesman of cognitive research, in fact of all reading software. There have been over 700 white papers written, 90 school based research studies tracking 40,000 students. In addition, independent research conducted by Stanford University has imaged the brain before and after the use Fast ForWord to show that areas of the brain are activated after product use. BrainWare Safari is a much newer program, launched first in 2005 and so has far fewer studies to back it up. But there are studies that show impressive results and more are coming.

Is this one of those products that you have to do forever?
No. Because the brain is strengthening underlying cognitive skills that are then used every day, these benefits last a lifetime. In fact, many of the latest Fast ForWord trials (and our own experience) are focusing on the acceleration of gains as the years go by -- removing a small but fundamental glitch (learning impediment) can unleash a tidal wave of gains.