Autism Program

Software At Home For Autistic Children

Introducing Fast ForWord For Autism
Our program, Fast ForWord, was first developed as a cognitive treatment for children and teens with language and reading difficulties. However, positive trial results and anecdotal success stories have made it one of the fastest growing autism programs in North America today.

Autism spectrum disorder is a language and processing based condition -- Fast ForWord exercises exactly these skills in a uniquely adaptive way.

The software is adaptive, meaning students work at their own pace and so are encouraged to stay engaged, exercising the auditory processing delays that are a pervasive source of difficulty for ASD children and adults. This ability to generate intense interaction on a primary weakness in autistic children has made Fast ForWord software an effective program for autistic children.

Now Available At Home
Until recently, Fast ForWord was only available in-clinic. In the last five years however, Gemm Learning has developed a "virtual learning center" approach. Our service allows untrained parents to act as coaches for their autistic children working on our programs at home, with support from a remote Gemm professional.

What To Expect
Each case is different. For the autism population in particular, outcomes will vary. Our gains tend to be most evident in language and reading, although focus and reasoning gains are also often reported. We recommend that our program be part of a broader autism treatment protocol.
Features of autism treatment

Fast ForWord and Autism Spectrum Disorders

Dr. Michael Merzenich and the other scientists who developed Fast ForWord have spent a great deal of time studying autism, making this crucial, ground-breaking discovery:

Children on the autism spectrum make the same errors in language and reading as higher functioning children. They are just making more of them.

This has been a watershed event for families with autistic children.

Since Fast ForWord has been able to improve and in most cases remove the cognitive glitches that impede progress in higher functioning children as shown on functional MRIs, then why can't it also improve cognitive function in autistic children?

Intensity To Rewire Thinking and Learning
Unlike many autism programs, which are administered personally and therefore imprecisely, Fast ForWord uses powerful adaptive algorithms that react with precision to every click. The software, based on years of study about learning patterns and brain behavior, adds speed and complexity in tiny increments as the students makes correct responses, reversing this process with consecutive errors.

The program challenges the autistic child to engage and process faster in real time -- every click counts -- creating an intensity that goes far beyond what human interaction can achieve. While, in this age of discovery about the brain, we expect other software to emerge, right now, Fast ForWord is unique in its ability to generate the intensity needed to create new neural pathways, profound and enduring change.

How the Fast ForWord program helps autism
In the last 3-4 years there has been a flurry of activity relating to Fast ForWord. While trial results testing Fast ForWord as an autism program have been in slow in coming -- they are expensive and the range of abilities on the autism spectrum makes the necessary averaging of outcomes in trials of less value -- the anecdotal evidence that Fast ForWord is an effective software treatment for autism is building fast.
Autism treatment studies using Fast ForWord

Gemm Learning has had very positive feedback from parents of autistic children who completed at least one Fast ForWord program.
Testimonials from parents of autistic children using Fast ForWord

Success Factors

Gemm's autism program is helping improve the lives of families all over the US and Canada.

While the many and varied symptoms of autism make this a challenging diagnosis for any single software program, it seems to be that the adaptive nature of Fast ForWord -- its ability to exercise at the margin of cognitive function -- is creating a powerful new potential for this population.

Our best results occur where:

1. Attendance is consistent. Like most other programs for autism, outcomes are highly correlated to good compliance. We go to great lengths to help parents in this regard, with an elaborate online rewards network and other recognition.


2. Children can access the program, i.e., get started at the introductory or training level. Fast ForWord uses the neuroscience concept of shaping, cognitive exercising that adds speed and complexity in tiny incremental steps. The challenge always for autistic children is getting started. If they are able to interact with the program at its starting level, Fast ForWord will the be able to produce gains.
   Using brain training programs to improve learning

Our service is designed to meet these challenges, both at the outset and as issues arise once the program is underway.
More about our autism program service overview

BrainWare Safari and Autism

The developers of BrainWare Safari have been working with schools and associations with autistic students lately. Results have been mixed, mainly because about half of the children tested were unable to get to the higher levels where most of the changes occur. However, where a child has been able to "access" these higher levels, solid gains have been achieved.

BrainWare Safari takes an integrative approach, meaning it improves individual skills and at the same time integrates that higher skill level into better overall learning effectiveness. This makes it a helpful autism program, although we would always recommend Fast ForWord first.
Learn more about BrainWare Safari