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Case Study: Improving APD Helps Homeschooler In Learning and Life
Benjamin had delays in processing and working memory. Since Gemm Learning, his reading confidence has soared, and improved processing has transformed his quality of life.
Benjamin
Age: 8
Location: NC
Diagnosis: APD, working memory deficits
Protocol
Benjamin worked for 50 minutes per day, 5 days per week, for 4 months. He completed three programs in the Fast ForWord
series.
Results
Benjamin is reading with confidence and joy. His spelling has improved by nearly two grade levels in just 4 months. He is able to listen
and follow along during his homeschool lessons and group activities.
Reading & Spelling Delays Led to a Diagnosis
Benjamin is home-schooled. In second grade, he was still having difficulty recognizing the correct short vowel sounds, which made spelling frustrating.
His mother tried switching to a specialized program, starting with kindergarten-level words, but he continued to make mistakes. She began to wonder whether there was a problem with Benjamin’s hearing and took him to an audiologist. He passed the hearing test, but an auditory processing evaluation was recommended.
Benjamin was assessed last summer, and they learned that he had auditory processing and working memory deficits that needed to be addressed. She also spoke with a speech pathologist and occupational therapist. All three recommended Fast ForWord.
An online search led her to Gemm Learning’s homeschool dyslexia reading curriculum.
Working with Gemm Learning
Sticking to a five-day-a-week Fast ForWord routine was difficult at first. Benjamin found the initial exercises to be challenging.
He would complete the hardest games first, saving favorites for last. They also broke the program up, doing a few games in the
morning and the rest in the afternoon, during the time usually set aside for spelling.
His mother joined him when needed, sitting in on specific games.
Benjamin enjoyed this time with her and began to like the games more as he recognized his progress. He stopped thinking of the activities as work and relished the opportunity to play on the computer.
Results – It Started With a Confidence Boost
“It is an investment in time that is definitely worth it!” – -Benjamin’s Mom
Within a month and a half in the program, Benjamin and his mother started to see changes.
He noticed that his fluency had improved and that he was spelling words correctly. His mother saw Benjamin enjoying reading and growing more confident during oral presentations in front of their home-school group.
By two months, chapter books, which had previously taken over a month to complete, were read in a week, prompting Benjamin to ask them to call his grandparents and share the good news.
He made fewer mistakes in reading word problems and spelling; his reading was at a 2.5 grade level just before the program and at a 4th-grade level after four months.
Improved Processing Transforms His Quality of Life
Benjamin recently had Field Day. In years past, this meant difficulty following along with activity directions and a lukewarm experience. This year, he “had a blast.” his mother didn’t need to repeat instructions, and they both focused on having fun.
Although Benjamin’s mother concedes, “It’s an investment in time,” she wants other parents to know that the program is “definitely worth it. You might not see gains right away, and you may wonder how listening to sounds and discerning between frequencies can make a difference, but the end result will make all clear.”
Benjamin is now a confident reader and listener. He is able to participate in school and during outside activities. Benjamin is living his potential