Typical Student Profiles

Children come to us for help mainly with reading and/or language based learning issues, such as attention stamina in class.  Here are some typical profiles.

Slow start to reading
Most struggling early readers have a phonics problem.  They either do not hear the phonemes -- the tiny fragments of sound that make words - or it requires a lot of effort to do so.  And so their reading is labored.  Fast ForWord works directly on phonemic awareness by building auditory processing skills that improve listening accuracy.  These gains make the connections between word memory and text clearer and more automatic, leading to a more comfortable reading style.  

Weak reading comprehension
Three primary sources of reading comprehension issues are: (1) a labored decoding style that is taking up brain capacity that should be available for comprehension, (2) weak working memory where the students finds it hard to take in and retain the information, and/or (3) poor attention stamina, an inability to stay engaged while reading.  Fast ForWord isolates and targets each of these issues, separately and in combination. 

Drifts off in class
For these children, we are all talking at 50 miles per hour, while the child may be listening at 40 miles per hour.    Listening is exhausting, and often the third of fourth sentence in a sequence is just lost.  Children with auditory processing issues will often drift off in class (from exhaustion) or they will tune in and out, missing great chunks of instruction.  Fast ForWord speeds up language processing.  This leads directly to being able to follow the teacher more comfortably in class and more success with multi-step directions. These gains almost always also lead to a boost in confidence as faster processing effectively slows the world down, making it more manageable.

Homework battles, reluctant to start homework

There are many reasons for a reluctance to do homework, ranging from elementary-age-itis through avoidance issues due to learning issues.  Isolating the problem requires a parent interview.  Some of the causes are beyond the scope of Gemm Learning, but the ones we can help with revolve around two big issues:  (1) avoidance behavior relating to a reading problem, and/or (2) inattention in class leading to missed instruction on the homework topic and perhaps even uncertainty about the actual homework assignment.   In these types of cases, covered above, we have had great success in changing homework habits and attitudes.