Fast Forward/Auditory Itegration training

we had a mixed experience with FF
i) SLC not very clear about where to start (several programs)
ii) Data not clear (I have a couple of advanced degrees in chemical engineering, so usually i can make heads or tails of data- but this was not so great)
iii)SLC minimized expertise required for trainer
iv) SLC not clear on protocol of administration
v) support for trainer from SLC was slim
vi) getting out school district to spring for it was tought enough- the implementation (getting a room, computer, headphones, trainer) seemed like planning the allied landing at Normandy

We did not see gains in reading
NOW my kiddo is dyslexic- clearly a phonolgical procressing burp (delayed speech, articluation errors, no sound letter correspondence in K)- I’m such a pencil necked geek- i went and read the original research papes in Science and Nature- not that I know beans about audiology or how brains work- but it seemed- extremely intuitive and sensible- maybe: there were gains in auditory discrimination? (hard to know district didn’t measure) after this- we went to Lindamood bell- now BIG difference- my gut feeling is that FF paved the way for sucess at LMB- but this is just my gut.

you ought to call FF and ask for REFERENCES.

good luck

Tammy

Dad posted a research article on Fast Forward not too long ago. Do a search for it. It may answer some of your questions.

A neuroclinical psychologist I recently consulted said research is showing that the changes to the brain hoped for through an auditory processing program like FF are showing up after intense programs like Lindamood Bell - without first going through the FF. I’ve asked for the references.

My son did Fast Forward. It permanently changed his receptive language skills. He is normal now (tests 113 on standardized tests compared to low 80s before). It was very striking—about half way through the program, he all of a sudden started asking questions. We also got some improvements in auditory memory but not to normal. His ability to discriminate sounds improved also but reading has not been an easy road. His issues are complex though and not all auditory related.

We didn’t do AIT but a milder program called The Listening Program. We saw improvements in auditory processing and fine motor skills. Personally, I wish we had done this program first. It made other things easier.

Neither program teaches reading.

Beth

My dd has CAPD/Dyslexia. When in K her worst scores were auditory discrimination and auditory memory.

We successfully did Tomatis (which is similar to AIT) and Earobics. I chose not to do Fastforword because I felt my dd was too young to have the attention span to get thru the training(she was 5). Prior to Tomatis, my dd was like teaching a brick wall. After, she was able to learn - although still needed remediation to catch up. I have always felt we still could have seen some additional gains in doing FFW, but we caught up so much in just Tomatis/Earobics, I’m not convinced I would have seen enough gains to justify the price and time.

AIT, Fastforword will make any remediation that you do come easier - but you will still need to do a program like LMB , PG, or plain old tutoring and potentially cognitive programs like PACE/MTC, Audiblox etc.

It depends on how severe your kids are to really make a sound recommendation, but you could cut/corners and do something like TLP/Earobics(Earobics 1 may be a bit young depending on how old your kids are) for under $500. This could kick start the auditory tonal training and use the savings on a good LMB or PG tutor - or even PACE/MTC.

Here’s another test you could do. Buy a copy of Earobics ($60) - if your child has extreme difficulty with it, you know there is a major sensory block somewhere. AIT and/or Fastforword could help break down that block. My dd could not get thru Earobics at all until after we did Tomatis.

I currently manage a Fast ForWord lab and have put about 100 kids through the program. I also had my LD son do FFW 1 & 2. The program provides very intensive auditory processing tasks. It’s intent is to increase the speed and accuracy for these skills. I would suggest you see where and how it might be provided. Many school districts have contracts with FFW, but may wait for you to ask them to provide it. On your own it is very expensive and you may need to weigh it against other needs.