877 914 4366
Fast ForWord Program
Evidence-based Fast ForWord software has helped 3 million students in 45 countries build reading and learning efficiency.
Provided at home by Gemm Learning with remote professional oversight.
“When I received a totally different report card and heard the teachers telling us how well she is doing in class, I kept thinking: Are they talking about my kid? She seems so happy and more secure in school.”
Building Skills Step by Step
Each program progresses key reading skills. Example: phonemic awareness.
- Foundations I (Hoop Nut): Discriminate between phonemes (like /ba/ vs. /da/) – sounds only.
- Foundations II (Tomb Trek): Adds text.
- Reading 1 (Bear Bags): Match starting consonants (phonics).
- Reading 2 (Bear Bags: More Lunch): Blends and ending sounds – phonemic awareness mastery!
The Programs: Two Phases
Fast ForWord is 50+ self-paced exercises in 9 age-appropriate program blocks for ages 5 through adults. Gemm Learning creates individualized protocols (based on age and needs) that typically take 4 to 7 months to complete.
Phase 1: Cognitive & Listening Foundation
The focus is on decoding automaticity and language comprehension (2-5 months).
- Foundations I & II (Grades K–6):
- Foundations I focuses entirely on language syntax and cognitive skill gaps – working memory, attention, language processing, and sequencing.
- Foundations II introduces text and listening comprehension.
- Elements I & II (Grades 5+ and Adults): The same skill targets, with accelerated transitions and age-appropriate graphics.
Phase 2: Reading & Comprehension
Train reading and comprehension (2-4 months). The levels are based on complexity rather than grades.
- Reading Level 1 (Grades K–2): Early foundational skills, including vocabulary, spelling, eye-tracking, and phonemic awareness. The goal is reading fluency.
- Reading Level 2 (Grades 1–4): Continues the skill development from Level 1, but shifts the emphasis toward reading comprehension.
- Reading Level 3 (Grades 3–5): Introduces analytical exercises aligned with Common Core standards that challenge students to actively think while reading.
- Reading Comprehension: Expands higher-level comprehension through complex language structures and advanced vocabulary.
Computer Game Feel
Fast ForWord software is designed to be engaging, session after session. It uses score counters, sounds, animated rewards, verbal encouragement when mistakes are made, and lots of movement on the screen.
The adaptive exercises keep students in a sweet spot that isn’t too easy (boring) nor too hard (frustrating). Adaptivity also means a child can work independently, without getting stuck.
Because of the adaptivity, many children get their first taste of academic success. Being “good at Gemm Learning” is a source of pride – it’s getting harder, but they are keeping up.
Building Skills Step by Step
Each program progresses key reading skills. Example: phonemic awareness.
- Hoop Nut (in Foundations I): Discriminating between phonemes (like /ba/ vs. /da/) – sounds only.
- Tomb Trek (Foundations II): Adds text to sound discrimination.
- Bear Bags (Reading 1): Matching starting consonants (phonics).
- Bear Bags: More Lunch (Reading 2): Blends and ending sounds – mastery of phonemic awareness!
The Science:
How Fast ForWord Builds a Foundation for Learning and Life
The Science of Reading outlines the keys to reading comprehension:
- Automatic decoding (fluency) and
- Language comprehension.
If either is weak, reading suffers. Fast ForWord aims to build proficiency in these two skill sets.
Goal #1: Decoding Automaticity
Decoding needs to be like listening, automatic. If the brain needs to devote any attention whatsoever to decoding the words, comprehension is compromised. And reading gets exhausting very quickly.
Fast ForWord co-founder, Dr. Paula Tallal, used sound sequencing exercises to establish a link between decoding problems and language processing delays. Children who could not sequence sounds struggle with phonics, making automaticity a tall order.
This discovery created a way to access reading delays and improve reading – by exercising and improving all aspects of language processing: speed, accuracy, sequencing, discrimination, working memory, and attentiveness.
Goal #2: Comprehension
Vocabulary, along with attached meanings, syntax, and nuances of language, is learned and stored in word memory through listening.
Building language comprehension takes longer when listening is hampered (e.g., by processing delays or ear infections). Vocabulary suffers because many words are not heard clearly enough and/or the brain does not process them well enough to think while listening, e.g., to observe language structure or theorize the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Again, efficient language processing is key.
Founded by World-Renowned Neuroscientists
It took 20 years for the 4 neuroscientist founders of Fast ForWord to turn those theories into exercises that worked in real life, where the exercise skills “transferred” into decoding automaticity, language comprehension, and reading gains.
Fast ForWord exercises use acoustically modified or stretched (slowed) speech to provide an on-ramp that most learners can access.
The exercises aim to “wake up” language regions in the brain associated with efficient readers. These activations have been consistently observed in fMRI studies conducted pre- and post-Fast ForWord at universities such as Stanford and UCSF.
Using Neuroscience Principles
What separates Fast ForWord from other reading programs is its intentional use of devices to coax the brain to rewire and activate new learning ability, i.e., to tap into neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change. Fast ForWord exercises incorporate research on neuroplasticity by co-founder Dr. Michael Merzenich, using these principles:
- Frequency and intensity – required to change learning patterns.
- Dopamine rewards. Animation and scoring promote student engagement.
- Scaling. Pathways to higher function in tiny incremental steps.
- Cross-training of skills to integrate skill gains into general learning.
- Cognitive loading. Require one task to be done subconsciously to promote thinking while reading.
Many of Fast ForWord’s 80 patents concern its unique use of neuroscience to accelerate learning and growth.
Published Research Validates Fast ForWord
The Fast ForWord reading program is the most researched reading software in the world.
After publication in Science, several universities conducted randomized controlled trials, including Cornell, Rutgers, and Stanford. Over 300 research papers and studies by universities, school districts, and states validate the science.
Our internal tracking and case studies confirm the program’s efficacy. The program works.
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.
“He has made a remarkable transformation in just a few months. …he is much happier and has more confidence. His school day is so much more productive as now he catches everything the teacher says.”
How It Works At Home
Gemm Learning manages Fast ForWord assignments remotely, following a personalized plan based on our testing and your child’s history. Your child logs in each day and starts.
We monitor daily, call regularly, send weekly reports, and intervene when needed. Clients have access to a private Facebook support group and our dedicated client help website.
No tech skills are required – just an Internet connection, a computer or iPad, and ear-covering headphones.
For most students, Fast ForWord at home takes around 6 months – 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.
To find out if your child is a candidate for our program, call one of our specialists at 877-914-4366 for a free consultation.
Program Summaries
The Research Evidence
The Science
Our Results
What Clients Tell Us
For Reading
For APD
“First, we noticed that he was participating in family conversations when he used to tune out because it was too hard to follow, and he was picking up on subtleties in a way he never did before. But then over the summer, he has made stronger gains than he made in three years of (special ed classes). The special ed class was not equipped to address APD, unlike Fast ForWord. Thank you again for being accessible always. This is a dream come true for us.”
For Dyslexia
“She is 11 years old today. She wanted to go to the bookstore Wednesday – she bought 5 books with her own money. This is not something she would have done three months ago. It would have been to overwhelming to have five books staring at her to read. What a wonderful birthday present Fast ForWord has been for her!”
For ADHD
“He was just re-tested, and there are no longer any signs of ADD or dyslexia. He is doing really well in his new school. I believe in life there are things where you get more than you pay for and things where you get less and Gemm Learning is definitely one of those things where you get more.”
Note, a program that makes such bold claims has its skeptics – reviewed here.
Pronouncing Fast ForWord
Fast ForWord is pronounced fast forward. However, Dr. Marty Burns, Scientific Learning spokesperson, pronounces it Fast For Word. The idea is that the program works quickly. It is often misspelled, such as fast forward software, fast for word program, fast for words, or fastforward.com.