Reading/Auditory Memory & Fast Forward?

I am a curriculum consultant in South Carolina. Many parents of learning disabled children are asking me about “fast forward”. How do I find out more about it? Thanks!!

Greetings Nanette,

Go to:
http://www.fastforword.com

Blessings, momo

My son went through FFW last summer and improved his memory to the low normal range, according to testing done afterwards. He Memory problems were one of the major reasons the audiologist recommended it for him. He had had three years of conventional speech therapy that had at least partly focused on memory and we had much more dramatic results with FFW. Speech had never got him into the normal range.

Earobics has a memory component to it with one game. My son couldn’t even do the first level of it though before FFW. I’d say buy Earobics and try it out. It is much cheaper. If the child can progress, then you probably don’t need FFW (although I read someone who did Earobics and then FFW on the CAPD board and recommended it that way). FFW artificially slows speech down and so is especially recommended for kids who have difficulty decoding speech rapidly enough.

Beth

Dear Nanette,
I am also in South Carolina and am a provider for the FastForWord
programs. If you need some information or just opinions, E-mail me and I’ll provide my phone #. You can also get tons of information on the programs from the Scientific Learning website at www.ScientificLearning.com. Good Luck. Ann

I am a parent who’s child had speech problems pre-k-1st. I was told every year that he scored in the 1 percentile in memory. When I asked about the sentences he couldn’t repeat I discovered that I couldn’t repeat them either and I’m a college grad! What I found was that he was paraphrasing everything, getting all the essential elements, which in my opinion is more important than being a parrot because it shows comprehension. To make matters more amusing, I discovered that while he couldn’t recite 2 random numbers in order, putting him in the 1 percentile, he had scored in the 99 percentile in his ability to recall random numbers backwards(showing that he had good organizational skills)! Come on! How could he recite 6 numbers backwards if he can’t hold 2 numbers in his short term memory? Duh! I think some kids lean toward sequential thinking and some toward more abstract/spatial thinking, and some kids can be just plain bored by the tests. If the child can do well in school (mine is a good reader who always has his hand in the air) I don’t there is necessarily a problem and one must look at all the tests as a whole, not piece by piece and be illing to use a little common sense. P.S. I worked extensively with my children using both Reading Reflex-McGuinness as well as Hooked on Phonics. I think it made a big difference in their reading.(Our school uses a whole language approach which I am personally opposed to). Fore rote memory, how about encouraging the child to learn the words to various songs?KathleenW wrote:
>
> A friend’s almost 7 year old daughter is just finishing 1st
> grade. Although she tests out reading at just about grade
> level, she is in a high achieving school district, so is on
> the bottom of the class for reading.
>
> She has been tested as having an auditory processing deficit
> – auditory memory (or tolerance fading memory) subtype and is
> noted to have difficulty in following classroom directions.
>
> Her mother is interested in Fast Forward, and I think the
> program is great for someone who has a specific type of
> phonological auditory processing deficit (as my niece who
> really benefitted) but as I remember, it only had one “game”
> that dealt with auditory memory. I would think that Earobics
> (a lot cheaper!) or the Laureate Systems “Following
> Directions” CD for the home would be better? Or maybe some
> sessions with a speech-language pathologist?
>
> I’m not a fan of PACE because my son (who has very similar
> deficits as this girl) went through it last summer and we saw
> absolutely no improvement at all!
>
> I also think that giving her a little “phonics boost” with a
> tutor might be helpful – Phonographix or other general
> phonics programs would likely be OK, I think. And obviously
> daily reading is a must.
>
> Any thoughts or ideas would be most appreciated. Thanks.
>
>
> She has been tested for reading.
> Woodcock-Johnson (tested at age 6 yr.8month)
> Letter Word ID Age 7-11, grade 2.4, std 123, 94%
> Passage Comp Age 7-4, grade 1.7, std 112, 79%
> Calculation Age 6.6, grade 1.2, std 98, 43%
> Applied Problems Age 7-0, grade 1.6,std106, 64%
> Science Age 6-4, grade 1.2, std 92, 30%
> Soc Studies Age 6-8, grade 1.3, std 101, 54%
> Humanities Age 6-8, grade 1.3, std99, 47%
>
> Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales
> Word Recognition grade 2.4
> Oral reading (instructional level) grade 1.8
> Silent reading (independent level) grade 1.4
> Listening comp grade 2.4
>
> SlingerlanScreening for ID children with Spec Lang Disability
> form A
> Visual Perception-written response: 10/10 accuracy (1 self
> correct)
> Visual Perc-Visual memory 9/10; transposition, 2 self
> correction
> Visual perception/discrimination: 5/8 accuracy; transpositio
> Visual perception memory written response 5/12 accuracy;
> number reversal; letter forms, numer formation, geometric forms
> Auditory Perception; memory, written response: letters: 4/4;
> numbers 4/4; spelling 8/8; spatial organization difficulties
> Auditory Perception Memory written response: 12/14;
> substitutions
> Auditory Perception memory 12/12
>
> Sorry so long!

Tell me more about why you didn’t like PACE. We are thinking about it. I’ve also considered BrainSkills which is only $500 and a home program version of PACE.