Fast ForWord

Fast ForWord is a computer based program that can help your child improve basic skills like language recognition, reading readiness, spoken and written comprehension, and the ability to pay attention – the building blocks of all learning.  The Fast ForWord reading intervention products support existing curriculum—they don't replace regular therapy sessions. Because the exercises are based in the science of how the brain works, the results are lasting and often life-changing.

Fast ForWord is designed for:

• Reading intervention for K-12 students who are reading below grade level.
• Developing brain processing efficiency through intensive, adaptive exercises. 

The Fast ForWord program develops and strengthens memory, attention, processing rate, and sequencing—the cognitive skills essential for learning and reading success. The strengthening of these skills results in a wide range of improved critical language and reading skills such as phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, decoding, working memory, syntax, grammar, and other skills necessary to learn how to read or to become a better reader.

• Memory
• Attention
• Processing Rate
• Sequencing Ability

The Fast ForWord program is based on the science of how the brain learns and retains information. It utilizes the principles of neuroscience to exercise and develop the brain's processing efficiency, essential for academic learning and reading success. Brain plasticity research demonstrates that completing learning tasks in a frequent, intense timeframe accelerates learning. The Fast ForWord program is based on these neuroscience principles.

There are four key cognitive skill sets that, when developed together, improve learning and reading. These skill sets are:

• Memory - The ability to store information and ideas. Memory is essential for word recognition, comprehension of complex sentences, and remembering instructions. Fast ForWord software enhances working memory, short and long-term memory.
• Attention - The ability to focus on information and tasks, and ignore distractions. Fast ForWord products are designed to improve both attention and focus.
• Processing Rate - The rate at which a student is able to accurately perceive and manipulate information. In the context of reading, processing rate refers to the rate at which a student can distinguish speech sounds and identify letter and word forms to create meaning. Fast ForWord software increases the rate at which students are able to process incoming information.
• Sequencing - Placing the detail of information in its accustomed order (for example, days of the week, the alphabet, etc.).  In the context of reading, sequencing is the ability to determine the order of letters within words or words within sentences. Fast ForWord products improve the recognition of the order of sounds, letters, and concepts. 

Reading is a demanding activity, calling for many specific events to take place simultaneously in the brain.

The Fast ForWord program applies the discoveries of neuroscience to accelerate these important reading skills:

• Phonemic awareness
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension
• Decoding
• Syntax