About Fast ForWord by |
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Fast ForWord software is the first break-through application to come out of the neuroscience community. And in terms of children helped (over one million) and research papers written (nearing one thousand), it is in a class by itself.
It was developed by four of the world’s
best-known neuroscientists, led by Paula Tallal -- a world-recognized authority on
language-learning disabilities and the only neuroscientist invited to a White House symposium on education -- and Mike
Merzenich, one of the world's leading
experts in brain plasticity. Click here for more about the 30-year development path of Fast ForWord.
Fast ForWord software directly attacks the primary causes of reading issues, a weakness in one of these areas:
- working memory -- need to keep re-reading text
- attention stamina -- drifting off while reading
- auditory processing -- decoding is not automatic
- sequencing -- of consonants and sentences.
Fast ForWord exercises these skills in isolation. It is adaptive -- children work on the skills they need help in.
Fast ForWard software was launched in 1997. It started off being used mainly by speech pathologists and neurologists for children with speech delays and dyslexia. More recently, it has made inroads into schools with large populations of struggling readers and ESL children -- English as Second Language - where learning to read in English is particularly challenging. After seeing gains in at-risk readers, some schools are now putting all students through the program. Recent studies have also shown success with Aspergers Disorder and autism. There is also growing evidence that it can boost SAT scores, making this a new growing area for the software.
There are 70,000 children around the country working on the software right now, and over a million who have completed it. Over 35,000 of these have been part of highly scrutinized scientific studies, and over 700 scientific articles have been written. The trials and studies confirm that the software is indeed able to boost learning and reading skills for the vast majority of students who follow the protocol.
Gemm provides this software in a convenient, affordable and parent/student-friendly service format. While the software is critical, our service culture is an integral part of the Westchester dyslexia help and Connecticut reading help that Gemm is known for. For a Fast ForWord brochure, click here.
A Fast ForWord Primer
The software uses an aerobic methodology to improve auditory processing and
make reading more natural and less of a chore. The main ingredients are Frequency and Intensity,
which together help the brain learn to work more efficiently and effectively in less than three months. Once mastered, these new processing skills are used everyday and so they endure, making this one-time course a compelling alternative to tutoring.
The Problem. Good reading
requires accurate listening. For children who hear every sound in
every word, reading is simply a matter of transposing language to a new
format using their ABC's. But, for those with a poor speech
vocabulary, reading is like being confronted with a whole new language.
Scientific Learning's idea. The most common
source of poor listening accuracy is that the brain does not process
fast
enough to discriminate between sounds. To improve reading,
Scientific Learning came up with a simple idea. When you teach a
child to hit a baseball you start slow then speed-up - why not do the
same with the brain?
Their solution. And so they
built Fast ForWord, a slow
pitch machine for the brain. This software is the first and so
far only program based on neuro-scientific principles. For
instance, at regular intervals students receive unexpected surprises
(rewards) in the form of activity on the screen or sounds. These
surprises are designed to produce a spike in norepinephrine, activity
that promotes brain change. Many of the exercises focus on memory
in conjunction with other skills — Fast
ForWord does this to encourage the brain, as a system, to
reorganize. Every minute of computer time is productive,
every minute working toward improved learning.
How It Works
Fast ForWord automates and strengthens. It automates the same way a golfer builds muscle
memory, through repetition. It builds other skills the way a
weight-lifter builds muscle strength, repetition at successively
heavier weights.
Each day a student will click
hundreds of times, each click representing a decision made, a brain
process exercised. The software works on processing speed,
working memory, sequencing and sound discrimination. All
exercises use slowed speech or sound combinations, and speed up as the
student succeeds.
Once the program is complete, there are three forces at work:
- The student will hear speech more
accurately and reading will be more intuitive.
- Basic learning skills become automatic,
freeing up brain capacity for higher thinking and learning.
- Children feel more confident about their
language and reading skills, leading to a healthier, less risk-averse,
attitude to learning.
These skills are used everyday. And
so, like riding a bike, they endure.
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Fast ForWord Language |
Circus
This program works on language,
both whole words and the sounds inside words. Circus Sequence, shown in the
screen shot, increases auditory processing speed. The student
clicks up and down arrows to match sounds he hears. The sounds
get shorter and closer together, forcing the brain to work faster,
eventually reaching natural language speed. Another exercise, Phoneme Identification builds sound discrimination skills, first slowly, gradually building up
to natural language speed. Old McDonald's Flying Farm works on impulsively and sustained attention. The idea is to improve listening accuracy, building the ability to hear the separate fragments of sound inside
words more clearly, so that reading by decoding makes more sense. The
four remaining exercises work on word skills -- working memory,
listening accuracy, rules of language and sequencing. All
exercises improve attention skills also.
Trog
Walkers
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Fast ForWord Language to Reading |
Developing the link between spoken and
written language. This is a more challenging version of Fast
ForWord Language which can also take 4-12 weeks to complete. Trog
Walkers is the next level of Circus Sequence, eventually reaching
five sounds that must be remembered in order, all at lightning speed of
natural language. The four remaining exercises are versions of
Language with written words added to the mix.
Sweeps
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Fast ForWord to Literacy and Literacy
Advanced
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These are age-appropriate versions of Fast
ForWord
Language and Language to Reading, designed for middle and high
schoolers.
Reading
5
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Fast ForWord to Reading 1-5 |
A series of reading specific programs where the numbers about correlate to grade level. Reading 1 and 2 work on foundational skills such as sentence syntax and spelling. Reading 3, 4 and 5 work on other reading comprehension skills, such as critical thinking, drawing inferences and abstract reasoning. Each program takes 4-8 weeks. Reading
5 is an open-ended program that pushed many thinking skills as far as they will go, well beyond a 5th grade level.
Flying
Saucer
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Fast ForWord Basics |
Develops early learning skills for 4-7
year olds. This is a bridge program, along with Fast ForWord
Reading Prep, is preparing young children for Fast ForWord Language. Inside
the Tummy is a game that develops visual attention and hand-eye
coordination skills. Flying Saucer and Drag Racer work
on auditory attention and discrimination skills. Our pre-K
children spend 30 minutes or so a day, three days a week on this
program.
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