Fast ForWord
Summer Intensive Reading Boot Camp...At Home
The Fast ForWord family of products, developed by Scientific Learning, helps learners of all ages rapidly improve language and reading skills in just weeks instead of years. The computer-based products combine research on how the brain learns with the latest technology to develop the skills needed to become a good reader. The products and the science behind them have been the subject of numerous national news articles including features in Time and Newsweek magazines, and The Wall Street Journal.
Following an intense, engaging, and individualized protocol, students using Fast ForWord products make gains in the skills critical to language and reading. On average, students make gains of 1-2 years in just 4-8 weeks. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 40% of the 53 million school children in America need to learn to become better readers.
"If students cannot follow directions or clearly understand what is being said to them in the classroom - an oral based learning environment - then they may find learning and the classroom experience challenging. They also may become bored, distracted and display disruptive classroom behavior," said Dr. Steve Miller, Senior Vice President for Research at Scientific Learning. "Fast ForWord addresses those language issues and establishes firmly the language-link that has been found to be fundamental to becoming a good reader and learner." Fast ForWord Language, Fast ForWord Language to Reading, Fast ForWord Reading and Fast ForWord Middle & High School programs are used for students in K-12. The programs feature interactive, animated game-like exercises and use patented technologies to adapt to each student's skill level.
Students train with Fast ForWord programs 90 to 100 minutes a day, five days a week for four to eight weeks. Each day's results are transmitted via the Internet to Scientific Learning which produces reports that on-site professionals can use to guide a student's progress.
The gains made by participants in the program at the Tarnow Center have been excellent, in part, because of Fast ForWord's use in a total therapeutic intervention plan.