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Reading Programs for Struggling Readers
Our neuroscience-based online reading programs address the root causes of reading difficulties. Our students average 2+ years of reading gains in ~6 months. At home, with proactive oversight.
How We Help Reading & Comprehension
If your child has a labored reading style, if reading comprehension isn’t progressing, or if your child resists reading, a hidden cognitive skill gap could be holding them back.
Reading is a language skill. And so, the most common issue is weak language processing, which affects phonemic awareness, fluency, and comprehension. If reading is not automatic, it’s exhausting and distracts from comprehension.
The Danger of Waiting
Children can fake it by memorizing and guessing, but eventually they will run into a wall. Meanwhile, the school begins to assume reading proficiency. That’s when struggling readers really start falling behind.
Tutoring can help a little, but it mainly repeats instruction that is already not working.
Target the Source of Difficulty
To fix the problem, address the root cause. We use Fast ForWord, an evidence-based intervention program for struggling readers that is aligned with the Science of Reading, to build automaticity, reading comprehension, and reading confidence.
- Cognitive Training First: Strengthens language processing, memory, and attention to unlock reading fluency.
- Then Comprehension: Builds vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and deep comprehension.
- Backed by 300 research studies. Has helped 3 million students worldwide.
- At-Home Protocol: Just 30 minutes a day for 6–7 months, with proactive coaching.
If you are not sure where your child stands, check out our reading warning signs and milestones here. If you know your child needs help, request a demo – we’ll send a demo overview and an interactive demo link.
“My son is excelling in reading. He is still climbing the reading levels. He has moved up another 3 levels since completing Gemm Learning. I appreciate your hard work, helping him to progress so quickly.”
“It’s like something all of a sudden is clicking that hadn’t been clicking before. He is doing his homework without a fight, and is taking the initiative to do things on his own. And he just read Curious George Flies a Kite to me. He read it all on his own and was able to tell me about the story afterwards, which is something he’s never been able to do.
I can’t believe how much he’s grown since doing the program. Before Gemm, he couldn’t comprehend even a paragraph and he was resistant to reading. Now he is a willing reader and he is getting what he is reading. It’s tremendous.”
Our Two-Phase Reading Curriculum
When everything is working – decoding is automatic, and language comprehension is sound – the brain acts like a computer, matching every word it reads to the exact word that it has heard and stored in auditory word memory – at lightning speed.
However, if listening accuracy is poor and the text doesn’t match auditory word memory – for instance, if your child reads /spring/ but did not pick out the /r/ in /spring/ in oral language – the brain needs to engage to find a match or guess. That makes reading less automatic.
Our reading curriculum for struggling readers starts with cognitive training to improve pre-reading fundamentals and then moves on to reading comprehension.
Phase 1: Build a Cognitive Foundation for Decoding
Fluency requires accurate and automatic processing of letter sounds and syllables. That’s our starting point. We strengthen:
- Core Cognitive Skills: Working memory, attention, processing speed, and sequencing.
- Phonemic Awareness: Required to decode phonetically spelled words, like /cat/.
- Sight Words & Spelling: Building a memory of non-phonetic, “red” words, like /you/.
Phase 2: Advanced Reading Comprehension & Thinking
Once decoding is automatic, your child’s brain can focus on meaning. And so we transition to reading comprehension, critical thinking, and metacognition, the 8th-grade reading standard. The reading curriculum presents a range of exercises that cover:
- Language Familiarity: Language structure, vocabulary, and grammatical nuance.
- Making Inferences: Learning to connect text to prior knowledge and make logical inferences.
- Stamina: Develop good reading habits, such as reading left to right, to make reading easier.
- Metacognition: Self-correct and adjust while reading, asking, “Do I understand this?”
There is a series of program choices. Your program manager will create an age-appropriate protocol that addresses your child’s reading profile and meets your goals.
The Research And The Science
Fast ForWord is the most peer-reviewed reading software in the world. 300 studies. 700 white papers. 60 peer-reviewed journals. 80 patents. 100,000 students have been part of trials worldwide. So far, it has helped 3 million students in 45 countries.
- What Works Clearinghouse: Earned a “Strong Evidence” rating from this U.S. Department of Education initiative
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): “Strong Evidence” rating based on well-designed, randomized controlled trials.
- National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII): Independent state reviews across the country—including Iowa and Nevada—have documented positive, broad effect sizes, classifying Fast ForWord as a verified “high-gain” program.
Fast ForWord has faced rigorous scientific scrutiny, including pre- and post-rFMRI studies at Stanford University showing new neural activity in the brain’s language regions in every case—aligning with the brain profiles of proficient readers.
The Science Of Changing How The Brain Reads
Building Automaticity and Permanent Reading Gains
Tutoring only treats the surface symptoms of reading struggles. The Fast ForWord founders wanted to develop a reading curriculum for struggling readers that acted as an intervention, targeting the root neurological causes based on two breakthrough scientific discoveries:
Finding #1. Reading Skills Correlate To Processing Skills
Co-founder Dr. Paula Tallal pioneered the link between reading struggles and language-processing delays, specifically auditory temporal processing. If a child’s brain cannot instantly distinguish between rapidly changing and so similar-sounding syllables, like /ma/ and /na/, reading is effortful and slow.
Fast ForWord exercises add speed and bandwidth to the brain’s auditory processing, adding “pixels” to auditory word memory – so the sounds inside words (phonemes) are heard clearly. This makes letter sound recognition more accurate, leading directly to fluent reading.
Finding #2. The Brain Can Change (Neuroplasticity)
Co-founder Dr. Michael Merzenich proved that the brain will rewire in response to stimuli. To build the high-speed neural networks needed for reading – a lightning-quick skill – the program applies these principles:
- Intensity & Frequency: Rapid-fire exercises push the brain to higher levels of functioning in each session.
- Simultaneous Cognitive Loading: Students practice memory, attention, and processing at the same time—mirroring exactly how a fluent brain operates during real-world reading.
- Neurological “Glue”: Gamified rewards trigger dopamine releases that physically lock in these new reading pathways. By training neurons to fire together, they wire together – creating a permanent new ability.
The two neuroscientists studied each other’s findings and imagined a reading intervention that could help struggling readers by strengthening language processing (Finding #1) and incorporating exercise techniques known to activate new learning and brain growth (Finding #2).
“… We had him tested again a year later. The doctor thought he was working with a different child. The improvement was off the charts!”
Gemm Learning Case Studies
Real stories, compelling results. Read more case studies here
Reading
Rose
Age: 8
Location: Texas
Diagnosis: Reading delays
Results
Rose went from risk of retention to reading independently in all subjects, and more recently, for pleasure. She’s continuously earning high grades.
ADHDDyslexia
Caroline
Age: 12
Location: Alabama
Diagnosis: ADHD, Dyslexia
Results
The school gave up on Caroline and said she had reached her ceiling. Her mom disagreed. Post Gemm Learning, Caroline is thriving and still making gains.
APDReading
Georgia
Age: 11
Location: California
Diagnosis: APD
Results
Georgia’s reading progressed significantly, from leveled readers to chapter books. She now participates comfortably in conversations with adults and her friends.
Reading Interventions by Grade and Age
Because reading challenges look different at age 5 than they do at age 15, a one-size-fits-all curriculum is not appropriate. We customize our approach for every student, typically starting with 2–3 foundational programs in the Fast ForWord series.
As your child progresses, their online reading coach may integrate ClearFluency for guided oral reading practice or Reading Plus to maximize structural reading speed and vocabulary.
Early Reading Help & Pre-K Intervention (Ages 4–5)
Targeting early childhood cognitive and language gaps before they impact school performance.
The primary focus at this stage is on developing pre-reading cognitive pathways. We focus heavily on online phonological awareness training, early vocabulary, and cognitive skills such as working memory and sustained focus.
- The Target: Setting up cognitive skills for school readiness.
- Custom Protocols: Fast ForWord Reading Readiness, followed by Fast ForWord Foundations I.
Elementary School Reading Programs (Grades K–5)
Remedial reading programs for elementary students struggling with phonics, decoding, and fluency.
For students in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, our priority is building an automatic, subconscious foundation in phonics and reading fluency. For 4th- and 5th-graders, we build on that foundation with language knowledge to support comprehension.
- Phonemic Awareness: Building processing for phonics to make decoding effortless rather than a struggle.
- Fluency & Sight Words: Developing rapid, subconscious word recognition so reading is not exhausting.
- Comprehension: Training the brain to think while reading, e.g., connect text to prior knowledge.
- Custom Protocols Include: Fast ForWord Foundations I & II, Fast ForWord Reading Series (1, 2, 3), and ClearFluency.
Middle School Reading Intervention (Grades 6–8)
Advanced reading comprehension programs for struggling middle schoolers.
Middle school is often the final critical window for direct reading intervention before the academic curriculum load accelerates and teachers assume that students have independent reading skills.
- Speed & Stamina: Phonemic awareness and re-training bad reading habits to develop automatic left-to-right decoding.
- Inferential Comprehension: Training the brain to think critically and make logical inferences – while reading.
- Custom Protocols Include: Foundations I & II (or Elements I & II), the Fast ForWord Reading Series, Reading Plus, and ClearFluency.
High School Reading Help & Test Prep (Grades 9–12)
Intensive reading interventions for teens to build automaticity, comprehension, and test stamina.
The ultimate goal for high schoolers is achieving deep comprehension paired with metacognition (the ability to actively monitor one’s own understanding while reading complex texts). This level of academic independence is only possible once decoding is 100% efficient.
- Language Dexterity: Understanding language nuance and developing advanced verbal reasoning skills.
- High-Stakes Test Stamina: Test prep for slow readers and reading stamina.
- Securing Student “Buy-In”: Teens thrive when they understand the why. We frame the program as a direct pathway to improved college entrance exam scores, lighter homework loads, and greater academic independence.
- Custom Protocols: A combination of Fast ForWord Elements I & II, the Fast ForWord Reading Series, and Reading Plus.
“This program has exceeded our wildest expectations. When I asked her what she wanted for Chanukah, among other things, she told me she’d give me a list of books! She is reading voraciously now. It’s a delight.”
Getting Started
Step 1: A Consultation
We schedule a 1-on-1 consultation to understand your child’s reading struggles, review any existing IEPs or assessments, and determine whether we can help.
Step 2: Set Up Protocol
We start with an online assessment and behavioral survey, used to develop a personalized program plan.
Step 3: Proactive Training
Cognitive training begins – 30 minutes/day. Our professionals monitor every session, adjust assignments, check in regularly, send weekly reports, and intervene as needed.
“I really feel it has helped K. I know K. was not always happy to do the programs daily, but I feel she has made great progress with her reading and reading comprehension. She is more focused. She is now reading The Land of Stories volume 2 and loves it!!!!!! She takes her book with her to swim meets and discusses the book and others with her friends. .... I like being able to call and discuss the various programs with the Gemm Learning team. Your team is great!!!!”
Mei L.
Parent of 5th grader
“Rachel received her first trimester 1st grade report yesterday. Her subject grades were as follows: Language Arts 97%, Reading 96%, Math 99%, Science 100%, Social Studies 100%. Plus her DIBELS reading scores were OFF THE CHARTS! Based on this report card Rachel no longer needs any special intervention for her auditory processing issues as she continues to advance at a higher level than her peer group… Thanks for all your help.”
Emma C.
Parent of 2nd grader
“He is now attentive in [class]. He usually needed a personal invitation to listen. 🙂 I had to stop his reading curriculum because he could no longer comprehend anything he read. It was like he hit a wall. I can now give him anything on the fifth grade reading level and his comprehension is amazing!!! … He is thoroughly enjoying novels now and he can always answer the comprehension questions. The fact that he has the stamina for sitting and reading for hours is amazing! This is such a dramatic change!”
Mellssa N.
Parent of inattentive 4th grader
"He has always “hated” reading… now he doesn’t mind it. I hope he will develop a love of reading, but for now I am happy he doesn't hate it anymore.”
Brenda A.
Parent of 1st grader
“My son is climbing the reading levels. He has moved up 3 levels since completing Gemm Learning… I appreciate your hard work and helping him progress so quickly.”
Kate H.
Parent of 2nd grader
“Thank you for your continued support, you have been a blessing to me as Alyson strives to be the best reader she can be. I know this skill will help her in every area of her life. That’s why I am so passionate about giving her all the help I can. Thank you again!”
Pamela A.
Parent of 10th grader
“After losing interest in reading in 2nd or 3rd grade, I am very happy to report that he is reading for fun again! I believe that your program helped him achieve this milestone event! Thanks for your Fast ForWord program as it worked with his brain to help retrain his pathways and improve his skill levels. Autistic children face many challenges in everyday life. Anything that I can do as a parent to help better equip him to face these challenges is worth it. Thanks, again.”
Jen H.
Parent of 5th grader with ASD
“In just 2 months with Gemm Learning, his reading confidence has soared, so much, that he is no longer resistant to reading and looks forward to his reading time. Prior to starting with Gemm Learning, he failed all of his spelling tests and had almost no retention of how to spell a word correctly. Now he gets 100% on all of his spelling tests. A light bulb has been turned on for him.”
Aaron H.
Parent of 3rd Grader, reading
“My daughter is going into 7th grade this year and Gemm learning has improved her reading comprehension tremendously . It will give her the confidence she needs to tackle homework and taking tests. Thank you to your team for helping us through the process”
Margaret
Parent of 7th grader
“Just this week he has finished an over 200 page book (the second in a series) in two days. Before the program, he was reluctant to read short chapter books. He is so excited that he had me call grandparents to tell them of his achievement. What I am also excited about is that I gave him a spelling assessment before he began the program. He scored at level 2.5 grade equivalency. After 3 months of the Fast ForWord program, he scored at level grade 4 equivalency. He no longer dreads spelling, and is excited that it is easier than it once was.”
Pam N.
Parent of 3rd grader
“I love that he spends so much time reading now. He was reluctant to even go near a book last year. I was hoping that your program would help him get over his fear of reading, but it has far exceeded our expectations. He is not only an enthusiastic reader he is also ambitious, reading all kinds of books well above his grade. It’s a delight and a huge weight off my mind that I no longer have to worry about him and his reading struggles.”
Jean R.
Parent of 3rd Grader
“She loves reading much more now and says that this program “has helped stop the words from running together,” Plus she can read for longer periods of time without losing interest. It’s helped her connect all the dots, she says, which helps me in my home schooling of her.”
Sara D.
Parent of 10th grader
“In her first trimester report yesterday,her grades were: Language Arts 97%, Reading 96%, Math 99%, Science 100%, Social Studies 100%. Plus her Diebels reading scores were OFF THE CHARTS! Based on this report card Rachel no longer needs any special intervention for her auditory processing issues as she continues to advance at a higher level than her peer group… So it was wonderful to use your service but I do not anticipate we will need Gemm Learning in the future. Thanks for all your help.”
Nancy C.
Parent of 1st grader, APD
"My son had ADHD. He was behind in school and tested below average in reading and comprehension. He is now testing above average! This program has been extremely helpful, worth every penny!"
Nicole L.
Parent of 2nd grader, ADHD
“His reading score went up almost two full grades over summer due to Gemm Learning! …his confidence when reading and his reading fluency is so much better that he will be out of special ed soon. He picked up a big chapter book to read! This is from a boy who before Gemm would not even look at a book.”
Kate C.
Parent of 5th grader
“Just this week he has finished an over 200 page book (the second in a series) in two days. Before the program, he was reluctant to read short chapter books, and it took him a month or so to finish the first book in the same series.”
Jane P.
Parent of 3rd grader
“The other day my daughter said she needed quiet time and just wanted to read! She has never said anything like that before. Also, thanks for the info. The service from everyone has been so great. You guys are so enthusiastic!”
Mary J
Parent of 5th grader
“We were thrilled that his reading went up almost 5 grade levels in the four months he did Gemm. We can see his reading comprehension in particular is much stronger. Even he is noticing the difference. We recommend you to everyone we know.”
Joshua H.
Parent of 11th grader
“More confidence… grades are better… using more sophisticated speech. Spelling much improved, reading much better, much more confident reading aloud.”
Shelly B.
Parent of 2nd grader
“He is in 1st grade. Much more talkative now, using much better words and also now starting to read much better. We are thrilled.”
Era B
Parent of 1st grader
Not addressing the language processing delays that cause most reading difficulties “is equivalent to constructing the third floor of a school without having the tools to build a sufficiently strong first and second floor, and then wondering why the school keeps collapsing.”
Dr. Paula Tallal
Fast ForWord founder, to Congress
“I find I can read for much longer periods than before Fast ForWord. Plus I don’t need to re-read pages. I used to read a page and then realize I did not take in a word. That does not happen anymore. I flew through books this summer, where before I struggled to get through one. Reading for pleasure is a marvelous new aspect to my life. Thank you.”
Lynn
52 year old
FAQ for Our Online Reading Programs
How do I know if my child needs a reading intervention or just tutoring?
If your child is close to grade level and does not resist reading, tutoring to help with spelling or subject-related content can be helpful and effective. Tutoring amounts to added practice or repetition and reinforces what is taught in school. It does not address root causes.
However, if your child is more than a grade level behind and/or resists reading aloud or quiet reading, a cognitive glitch is likely holding your child back that tutoring will not solve. In this scenario, you need an intensive online reading intervention for struggling readers that addresses the root causes of delay.
What makes Fast ForWord different from other reading programs?
Most online reading programs or reading apps either provide reading practice (which can help if your child’s need is modest) or focus on one area, most commonly phonics.
Fast ForWord is a much more comprehensive reading curriculum for struggling readers. It starts at the beginning of the “learn to read” journey by building the cognitive and language skills needed to read fluently with comprehension. It’s not a quick fix or a program you can check in on every now and again. It’s a rigorous reading intervention that requires time and effort and aims to profoundly change your child’s reading and learning trajectory.
My child is already 10 or older. Is it too late for these reading programs to work?
No. In fact, a majority of our students are in 3rd to 5th grade. That’s when reading comprehension problems appear. This age works well for us, as children tend to know their letter sounds and phonics, so the goal is to make that automatic, making reading easier and keeping comprehension from being crowded out by the effort of decoding. Furthermore, a 9-11-year-old can generally still be persuaded to maintain the program’s routine because their parents want them to. That age window for cooperation starts to close after that.
How long does it take to see lasting reading gains?
Most scientific studies of cognitive training – including Fast ForWord, Cogmed, LearningRX and others – conclude that the brain needs at least 20 hours of consistent training to fully integrate gains into a student’s learning system, where they are then used in daily life and so endure. For Gemm Learning, that translates into two months of participation. Since most students complete at least 6 months, it’s reasonable for all Gemm Learning families to expect gains they see on the program to stick.
If anything, most families report continued acceleration after the program, consistent with Fast ForWord research studies. Those gains are predicted by the science: resolving fundamental skill gaps opens the door for higher-level skills to develop naturally, in accelerated catch-up mode.
How is this different from online reading games or apps?
There are a number of reading apps that provide your child with reading practice in a format that engages them more than reading a book. If that’s your need, these reading apps are perfect. What Gemm Learning is about is much more than that. It’s a comprehensive overhaul of how your child reads – all the way from strengthening cognitive fundamentals to reading fluency and comprehension.
My child is already exhausted after school. Will this cause arguments at home?
This is a common concern, and yes, it’s very real. Many families choose to start in summer for this reason, hoping to be far enough along by the time school starts that the school day is far less exhausting. However, if that’s not possible, there’s always a way to fit it in- including splitting the program into two 15-minute segments, one before school and one after, and using weekends to get to 5 days a week.
Do you work with children who have formal diagnoses like Dyslexia or ADHD?
Yes. A number of families only come to us after receiving a formal diagnosis from a clinician – dyslexia, ADHD, or other language-based issues. And while we have a number of students without a diagnosis, only because the severity of their delays doesn’t quite rise to the threshold level of a diagnosis, but struggling mightily nonetheless, or because they have not sought out a diagnosis – they know their child is struggling and don’t need an evaluation to be told that, so they move on directly to a reading intervention.
What is the role of the professional coach at Gemm Learning?
Our professionals are teachers or clinicians who are with you every step of the way. They check your child’s progress daily – see the errors made, note what’s easy and what’s difficult, day by day, building a deep understanding of your child. They will call regularly to give you updates and answer your questions along the way, send weekly reports, and run virtual joint sessions with your child when your child needs a boost.
Can you help English Language Learners?
Yes. Fast ForWord is used worldwide to teach non-English speakers the sounds of English. If a child is born hearing a different language or does not hear English at home, even the slightest glitch in auditory processing can derail learning to read. Some of our most dramatic client stories have been ESL students. Read more about our ESL reading program here.
Do you provide reading interventions for homeschool?
Yes. Fast ForWord is one of the best reading programs for struggling readers who are homeschooled because it is comprehensive. It exercises and strengthens every language and cognitive skill needed for reading, requiring the student to show proficiency. A homeschool parent can safely place the child in the program for 30 minutes each day and know the child is receiving a comprehensive intervention that systematically builds phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading comprehension. More on our homeschool reading curriculum here.
Each individual is different, and so even the best reading programs for struggling readers cannot be as effective as hoped in every case. More on our claims here.
If you are not sure where your child stands or which aspect of reading is holding your child back, request an online reading assessment. It takes about 30 minutes, after which we send the results.
“I feel she has made great progress with her reading and reading comprehension. She is more focused. She is now reading The Land of Stories volume 2 and loves it!!!!!! She takes her book with her to swim meets and discusses the book and others with her friends. …. I liked being able to call and discuss the various programs with the Gemm Learning team. Your team is great!!!!”
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