Reasons To Trust Our Results

Fast ForWord is one of the most researched educational programs in existence today. Our 96.8% client satisfaction rate speaks to the consistent success of this amazing software. Here's why you should trust these results:

• It Is Still Thriving. Since its launch 14 years ago over one million students have used Fast ForWord, offering ample opportunity for a reputation to be made or broken. Today it is more popular than ever, which can mean only one thing -- it works.


• Sophisticated Design. Fast ForWord's success is no fluke. It was painstakingly designed and tested over a period of thirty years by four of the world's leading neuroscientists.


• Extensive Educator & Scientist Scrutiny. There have been 240 research studies done by many of the world's leading institutions, including the University of Stamford, Johns Hopkins, and Rutgers, as well as school districts and independent experts. Fast ForWord has been investigated from every possible angle.


• fMRI's Don't Lie. While reading and language outcomes can be debated, physical changes in pre- and post-fMRI studies cannot be disputed. So far, every post fMRI scan done involving Fast ForWord has shown new pathways, new capability -- new wiring has occurred in every case.


• Our Results. Gemm Learning has a 96% client satisfaction rate, and hundreds of compelling testimonials. While we are proud of our service contribution, these outcomes mainly speak to the power of this software.

Our Own Research

While Gemm Learning is the largest provider of Fast ForWord in North America, we are a learning services firm dedicated first and foremost to achieving the best outcomes possible. We are agnostic in terms of our software choices, and indeed, over the last 5-6 years we have tested -- and are still testing -- a number of educational programs in biofeedback (neurofeedback), Tomatis based listening programs, Balametrics based exercises, Cogmed, Interactive Metronome, and others.

So far, no other education program for children comes close to Fast ForWord, using these criteria:

• Dramatic Outcomes In Short Time Frames. At the 4-6 week mark, we get so many stories of quite marked changes from our Fast ForWord students. For the other programs, the gains were far more subtle (if at all), and tended to take a lot longer to appear.


• Robust Design That Works At Home. First, even though Fast ForWord should be a five day a week protocol, we have seen great results with less participation -- most programs are far more sensitive to the inevitable protocol breaks that will happen at home. Second, Fast ForWord comes with an incredible control panel that allows us as supervisors to see every click made. This is very different from the exercise and listening based programs where there is no way to check at home compliance, and from other software where insight into the home experience is more limited.


• Engaging Program Helps Compliance. Fast ForWord has a computer game feel that students seem to like, and an adaptive design that allows students to work at their own pace. Other programs tend to be less interesting, tougher, more drill oriented and/or are levels based, meaning the students can get stuck in levels that are too hard. During our trials of these programs, maintaining student interest was more challenging.

Be Wary of Educational Studies
The effectiveness of education programs for children is notoriously difficult to measure. There are so many influences in a child's life plus a steep maturation curve that make it hard to isolate program related outcomes. In addition, there are so many different ways to measure "growth." One trick is for educational software firms to claim "academic" gains by measuring changes in the skills they practice. The real value of learning software though, is how cognitive or other gains translate into broader gains in reading or grades -- this is how Fast Forword measures its gains.

While Fast ForWord has 240 positive studies on file, and was ranked most effective in the most comprehensive reading program State of Nevada study, there are also a couple of studies that showed no gain. These negative studies highlight the difficulty with trusting research. They are characterized by poor attendance and protocol rules that did not allow for supervisor intervention -- the lack of positive results is akin to blaming a neglected exercise machine for a lack of fitness progress. That's not to say that the positive studies are not cherry-picked, or presented in the best light possible -- they are. Rather, it makes the point that study results should not be considered an absolute.
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Uniquely Sophisticated Design

Impeccable Developer Credentials
This revolutionary learning software is the collaborative work of a group of world renowned neuroscientists. It was developed based on a series of ground breaking cognitive findings by Dr. Paula Tallal about how the brain learns, integrated with neuroscience theories about how the brain responds to exercises, by Dr. Michael Merzenich, winner of multiple international awards in neuroscience and learning disciplines.
More on Fast ForWord origins

Unprecedented Cost To Develop
Fast ForWord attracted a huge amounts of venture capital funding during the Silicon Valley boom of the 1990s. No expense was spared in design elements or in testing and retesting. The founders were unwilling to launch unless their test results were rock solid, sufficient to survive scrutiny from their neuroscientist peers. This high threshold for success is a unique feature in Fast ForWord's history.

If It Ain't Broke...
Out of the box this program was so successful the developers were reluctant to tinker with it in any way whatsoever for years, under the theory that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." This fact alone is proof of efficacy. Fast ForWord was finally updated in 2010, again, after extensive testing, to take advantage of the huge advances in computing power over the intervening years, updating graphics and adding intensity to the exercise regimens.

Extensive Independent Scrutiny

New Neural Activity In Every Case
No learning program has been more tested than Fast ForWord, both internally and externally. Independent studies, by leading universities around the world, have focused on how Fast ForWord creates new neural activity. Using fMRI's all studies to date have confirmed that Fast ForWord stimulates new neural activity in every instance, most notably in the language processing parts of the brain used most heavily by good readers.
Fast ForWord trial results

While most studies focus on efficacy for a broad student population, there have been a number of narrower studies on how Fast ForWord helps dyslexia, auditory processing disorder, autism, English Language Learners, advanced learners, speech and language delays, and more.

Another group of studies has focused on the effects of Fast ForWord over multi year periods. These studies have been compiled in a 182 page Research Book. While this book was compiled by Scientific Learning, developers of Fast ForWord, every independent report in this book is the with the study author's approval.
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Surviving And Thriving After Years Of Use

Robust Results
The fact that Fast ForWord has not only survived, but that it is now stronger than ever, is a rarity in the learning world where hot new approaches come and go. Fast ForWord is consistently effective because it impacts deep seated language processing glitches that are at the heart of a wide range of learning difficulties.
Why Fast ForWord is robust

Our Results

Nothing else comes close to Fast ForWord, in terms of robustness of results in helping a wide range of students at all ages. We know this because we are constantly evaluating new programs to add to our product choice, so far with limited success.

Fast ForWord's proven ability to isolate and strengthen fundamental cognitive skills is a major driver of our confidence in taking on a wide range of cases with great success. Check out our client testimonials, in written -- extracted from emails -- and video format.
Gemm client testimonials

96.8% Client Satisfaction Rate
This effectiveness is also a driver of our very high client satisfaction rate -- 96.8% of clients say they would recommend Gemm to a friend. While we are proud of the expert service we provide to help each client get the absolute most from this program, Fast ForWord is the primary driver of our success.
Fast ForWord software