Gemm's Reading Program

We target the causes of reading difficulties, rather than repeat the instruction of the school day. It's a different approach that relies on the brain's ability to adapt and change if exercised appropriately. When you improve underlying cognitive skills amazing gains are possible.  Here is our process:

1. Build secure cognitive foundation.  The vast majority of reading issues stem from an underlying skill gap. We start by strengthening the fundamental cognitive skills required for reading, called reading MAPS.
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2. Reading fluency.  With the cognitive foundation set, we then teach the spelling, letter to sound and language structure understanding needed for natural and comfortable decoding -- reading fluency. 
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3. Reading comprehension (literal). Once reading is fluent, we help students learn reading accuracy -- often undoing prior bad habits such as word skipping -- vocabulary knowledge and grammar skills, all required for reading comprehension. 
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4. Critical reading (middle school and up). The final step is reading with meta-cognition, the ability to think about what you are reading -- to self-adjust, make inferences and think critically.
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Why Is Reading So Challenging

For most children, reading is a language processing problem, often not evident in their spoken language.

This is because reading requires much more accurate listening than speech. In speech we hear syllables as one sound. To read we need to hear the sounds inside each syllable. If children cannot clearly distinguish and hear the phonemes (sounds) that make up a syllable like the |b| |a| |t| in bat, decoding is a challenge.

Eventually, readers need to hear phonemes and match them to text -- i.e., decode them -- automatically, subconsciously, so that the conscious brain can focus on understanding what is being read rather than multi-tasking.

Even hearing phonemes, let alone hearing them effortlessly, requires a processing speed of 40 sounds/second, an auditory processing speed that is beyond many children and some adults. It is not only one of the fastest and most challenging tasks the brain has, but so much of success in school and life depends on mastering this skill as early as possible.

Gemm's Approach

Gemm's approach is to speed up auditory processing so that the student can hear phonemes accurately and easily.  Our reading program, Fast ForWord software, uses repetition with gradual increases in speed and complexity to achieve our goal of automaticity -- effortless, natural reading.  It means reading is less exhausting and more enjoyable, making it more likely that a child can become an avid reader.  This approach helps individuals at all academic levels.
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Adult Dyslexia

We help adults with dyslexia by making decoding less exhausting and making it is easier to read with comprehension. These skills makes reading more enjoyable.
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Of course, every student is different. The time required, protocol progression and individual student outcomes will vary.