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Anyone use Fast ForWord


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Is anyone familiar with this program?  We recently had our daughter tested for learning disabilities, and the results came back as "partially remediated atypical dyslexia".  The program Fast ForWord was recommended to us by the testing agency, but the subscription fee is hefty ($150-$400 per month).  I haven't had a chance to look online for reviews, but thought I'd ask here as well,  Thanks!

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I haven't used it but have heard mixed reviews. Some say it is amazing and their child has improved so much by using it. Others have said their child didn't improve at all and it was an expensive mistake. I'm looking into it too. Another recommendation is HearBuilder. It is similar but not very expensive. My daughter is being evaluated by a speech and language center at a nearby University in Feb. so I'm hoping they can help me choose one of these or have other suggestions.

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My son completed the entire series and had remarkable results. It is a daily commitment,  I liken it from the scene out of the original Karate kid where Daniel paints the fence. Basically you are painting a fence with your auditory system. I did not pay the monthly subscription I went through a private coach and purchased a year subscription. It took real dedication but in my sons case we tested him before and after by a private independent audiologist and he had huge huge gains in Auditory processing. Also improved in verbal expression, , dichotic listening, hearing in noise even though those areas are not explicitly stressed in the program. He improved his verbal expression significantly ( feedback from his teacher who did not know he was doing it was very very positive) also improved his reading by over 350 lexile points.  I have done many many programs for my son ( hearbuilder and accoustic pioneer and BrainHQ) but my son did poorly on those programs and quit because his auditory processing was getting in the way.  but after he did fast forword he was able to complete them quickly and with confidence. Fast Forword starts at the base level and works its way through the auditory system. It helped me to see where the glitches were and remediate them. I honestly do not know how I could have known my son struggled with sounds in the 500HZ range but it was obvious when we looked at the data ( Fast Forword is also awesome at benchmarks and data for improvement) Then the program continued to encourage my son to "paint the fence" until he mastered the skill and fully remediated it. 

I personally like the coach I worked with. She was online and contacted us often with tips and ways to get through it. She helped problem solve through my sons limitations and helped him achieve success. She also spent a lot of time showing me what the program was capable of and what areas it would help.  My son got up every morning and worked while I made breakfast. I had to  support often and sit with him. I also provided a lot of rewards and incentives to get my son through it. 

I personally do not like going through the main site of Fast Forword . There assistants are not knowledgable and they were no help to me. I almost gave up but then found a private coach and I am very very glad I did. I personally wish they would allow every struggling student to have access to foundations 1 and 2 as part of the school system. 

We commited to the program for 4 months for foundations and then 3 more months for foundations 2. Then we went on and did some of the reading modules. My husband and I wish we had done this program when my son was in kindergarten and we are so glad we did it in 4th grade. It was worth all the time and money.  I would suggest you not pay for it if you are not willing to strongly encourage your child and provide an allocated time to do the program. It took more time than my daughter uses to practace the piano each day and so if you have ever tried to get a child to do something consistently every day 5 days a week ( especially if it is something they are not good at) then you know what it will be like to get your child through the program.  I loved our coach and can recomend her. She checked our work daily and sent us data. She skyped us and she helped me problem solve through the program. We would have quit had she not done that. It is very tedious and you have to stick with it and work through the frusteration of being bad at something. The FF program works hard to give lots of encouragment and visual praise to keep motivation high. In our situation We were basically working on a weak area my son had over and over and over each day until he mastered it and was able to complete it at the level of a child his age. When we did the updated independent testing the gains were huge. 

 

There are several threads on Fast forword if you use google to search you will be able to read more about my experience and others who have done the program. 

 

Edited by exercise_guru
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  • 4 years later...

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