Selected Stories

All Make Progress

More than one client seemed to have multiple difficulties, things in addition to the language-based learning problem that Fast ForWord is designed to address. In these cases, results have been less dramatic that for our first client: although we believe that these students have made good gains as a result of Fast ForWord, they still have the other problems and still need service in school. We also find that the gains a student might make in reading depend not entirely on what we can do, but also on how effectively the school can take advantage of the window of opportunity for teaching that we can open for them. In most cases, schools have done a wonderful job following up, but in at least two cases there was little support from the school. In these cases, there was good progress in oral language skills but not as much as we had hoped for with respect to printed language skills. Of all of the students we have completed, three have made progress but not as much progress as we had hoped. We are unable to report results from two students, who worked at home sites hundreds of miles away, because their parents have not followed through with post-testing.

Unpredicted Benefits

One unusual result occurred with a boy we saw. Before Fast ForWord, he had been through extensive testing for allergies because he had a chronic need to snuffle and clear his throat. No illness could be found, so allergies were suspected as the cause. Following Fast ForWord, his receptive language skills improved markedly and his "allergy" symptoms disappeared. Evidently, his "allergy" was due to anxiety and stress and not to the causes that people had suspected. He still has some learning problems, but his parents reported a great deal of satisfaction with the improvement they see at home. The improvements were great enough from Fast ForWord that they asked to try Step 4word. This is one of our cases in which treatment was stopped, due to family circumstances, before we believe it was finished. Testing results do not show dramatic gains in reading skill as a result of Step 4word, but both student and parents are satisfied that the benefits were worth the trouble.

A High School Student

A high school student we recently graduated from our program came to us because she felt so much pressure in school that she was in tears every day. Although she was evidently dyslexic, she was getting good grades simply because she was so diligent and hard working that she worked herself to a frazzle. Because she was knocking herself out with her effort she was earning good grades, so the school would not qualify her for special education. A school psychologist who saw her was concerned that this student would soon become overwhelmed with frustration. We accepted the school psychologist's evaluation, which included all we needed in terms of the student's language processing abilities. She started Fast ForWord with us, quickly finished it and moved on to Step 4word. After several weeks with us, she finished up at home.

By the end of that time, she was reporting that school seemed easier. She did not have to spend so much time on homework. She was much more able to keep up her good grades without feeling overwhelmed by the effort. In short, she is now a much more normal, high-achieving student. We contacted the school psychologist who did the school's evaluation and paid her to post-test this student for us. The results confirmed her significant progress. Also, we contacted two of her classroom teachers. They reported significant, positive changes. She is now much more able to follow classroom discussions, to understand abstract language, to use descriptive words and humor in her writing, she can read and spell better, and she is better able to handle mistakes without becoming upset.

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