Thoughts on Fast Forword?

[momsuz123]

Give it to me, the good, the bad, the ugly...did you like it? Was it worth it? DD audiologist mentioned this as "the big guns" compared to earobics. DD is still struggling with phonetic awareness, and has been working with an OG trained SLP for awhile now. This was brought up again as something we should possibly consider. Any advice? Thanks.

[DyslexicParent]

Be sure to read the third-party studies before paying for this expensive product. Fast ForWord is one of the numerous treatments I researched, and I was very disappointed with the results from the scientific studies. For example, read A systematic meta-analytic review of evidence for the effectiveness of the ‘Fast ForWord’ language intervention program:

Conclusions

There is no evidence from the analysis carried out that Fast ForWord is effective as a treatment for children's oral language or reading difficulties.

[Lecka]

I looked at Fast Forward for my son and didn't think it was a good choice for him. He did have success with speech therapy though.

 

I had an impression like it may not help when it is a blanket intervention for reading, but for the kids who are helped by it, they are helped.

[AliR]

DD10 did four months of Fast Forward last year at home, rather than via a therapist. She has APD, and a significant language disorder which puts her in the single figure percentiles for both receptive and expressive speech. No problems with reading, but the language disorder does affect written output.

 

The good things: there was a noticeable improvement in her ability to 'hold' words in her memory. For example, if she formulated a sentence for writing, she'd remember it for long enough to get it on paper. Her ability to take part in conversations improved, as she can now process language quickly enough to follow conversations. I can't really comment on how it would remediate problems with phonemic awareness as that is not an issue here, but the sections that covered this were certainly very intensive. The support is very comprehensive and we never had a software glitch. DD enjoyed most of the 'games'.

 

The bad things: it can be very draining as the level of concentration required is very high. This impacted on our ability to keep on with academics during the therapy period. Where it became difficult (when pushing DD on her particular areas of weakness), I needed to be there all the time as a cheerleader otherwise DD would fall apart. Looking back, I am glad we persisted, although it was not fun at the time.

 

At $1,500 we feel it was worth it as traditional speech therapy was just not dealing with the root cause of the communication issues.

[Alessandra]

A number of people here have been pleased with Barton. Would that be something too look at?

 

I used and likes M.J.Adams, Phonemic Awareness. But, as you can tell from the title, the book's scope is limited.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Phonemic-Awareness-Young-Children-Curriculum/dp/1557663211/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365184751&sr=8-1&keywords=marilyn+phonemic

[Lecka]

This is stuff you need to pass the pre-test for Barton.

 

She has used the pre-program Barton recommends and it has not worked well, that is why she is heading this direction.

 

I hope it will work out!

[momsuz123]

This is stuff you need to pass the pre-test for Barton.

 

She has used the pre-program Barton recommends and it has not worked well, that is why she is heading this direction.

 

I hope it will work out!

Yes Lecka, we tried LiPS, and DD met so much resistant with it. Tears. all. the. time. I honestly think taking me out of the equation (or semi-out of the equation) and finding a SLP that is OG trained has helped. DD was tested by an excellent audiologist in Illinois that specializes in APD. DD passed the tests, barely. DD has had VT and improved, but not 100%. DD is also in OT - has vestibular issues. We tried earobics, little success. It is looking, honestly in my opinion, that DD may have a mild APD, and dyslexic. She wants to learn now, wants to read - but fatigues very fast. Hearing is just continuing to be an issue. She worked hard to spell the word "fixing". Got it right. Then spelled the "mixing" "miing". When I questioned her on it, she said oh, "micking". No clue about the rhyming. UGH. Such a tough decision. Thanks all. I am always open to advice and ideas. It helps to have you all to bounce things off of.

[Lecka]

My son is still hit or miss on rhyming. It is better than it used to be, but he is wrong a lot. He does notice when we are reading a book with rhymes on every page, about halfway through, so that is something.

[nutella08]

We did FFW at home over the course 8 months last year based on the suggestions of our audiologist & SLP. We have also been undergoing individual & group SLT during the last year. We saw significant improvement with attention and listening comprehension, but it's hard to pinpoint what contributed most to his gains. FFW expensive but overall, I'm glad with did it.