Neuron Learning

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) need to develop skills in their sensory system (sight, touch, taste and hearing). They require particular support with their auditory (hearing) sensory skills. Children with Autism often have difficulty perceiving the differences in sounds (an auditory processing disorder), and this is a core component of their attention, memory and language difficulties.

Fast ForWord Programmes Can Help Your Child With Autism

Fast ForWord is a suite of intensive programs which build the brain’s learning capacity. The programs address auditory processing difficulties by slowing sounds to allow children more time to listen and comprehend. A child using Fast ForWord begins to make connections in his or her brain for their underdeveloped language skills (e.g. understanding the difference between ‘big’ and ‘little’).

As the child becomes more competent, Fast ForWord increases the level of difficulty by speeding up the sounds towards the rate of natural speech. This helps the child use these skills in everyday situations and provides a basis for expanding on these skills.

Developing Language and Cognitive Skills

A child’s capacity to learn is improved by using Fast ForWord because it also develops the essential language and cognitive skills of memory (long and short term), attention, processing rate and sequencing.

Intensive repetitions develop skills

Each program is used for 30 to 50 minutes a day, 5 days per week. During this time a child will do about 35,000 repetitions which are designed to build new brain pathways (neural connections) and strengthen existing pathways. It has been proven that a child with ASD responds best to repetitive and intensive stimulation in order to develop skills.

Home Programs

Neuron Learning  provides autism help using Fast ForWord software at home anywhere in Europe, with remote tutor guided support. We offer local autism help at our provider centres.

The scientists at Fast ForWord are learning that their program is able to provide Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD) help, including Asperger's , because the errors they make in their language and reading are similar to higher functioning children, except that children on the spectrum make more of them.

Fast ForWord is very often able to completely resolve these language and reading errors for higher functioning children. And so, if the errors are the same, there is growing hope and evidence that it should also help ASD children. New autism study results and a growing body of anecdotal evidence (including our own experience) are showing gains in language and some progress in reading. Our providers give you the back-up required to ensure that your child benefits from the programs fully. This includes detailed weekly reports and telephone and email communication.

Testimonials

Communication Skills

" Despite a diagnosis of autism and severe learning difficulties, word decoding was never a major struggle for my daughter to learn. However, even aged 17 and after numerous special interventions and reading programs, her communication skills were below her chronological age.

Through research, I found out about Fast ForWord and Neuron Learning made it possible for my daughter to work on the program from the convenience of our own home. It was easy to set up and user friendly. The results were pretty interesting, and became encouraging within a few weeks of starting the program.

I am a believer in the fact that the program stimulated creativity. My daughter started experimenting with different sounds on her keyboard, listening to different music, started drawing the characters from the activities and even told us she was going to make her own Fast ForWord!

Comprehension and communication also improved; my daughter started asking for the first time in her life "what did you say?" and began asking the meaning of some words that she read or heard.

An emotional moment for me was when she said to me spontaneously "bless you" after she heard me sneezing; a short interaction, that most of us take for granted. It was a result of her new ability to distinguish sounds and respond accordingly. Her improvements in reading comprehension were a bonus that came along with her progress in the program.

She definitely achieved the most results in the least amount of time!"

Janine, Suffolk, England, September 2009

Language Gains

"For my autistic twins Fast ForWord has been a life changer. The early changes related  to language -- articulation,  leaps in vocabulary.  But now these gains seem to be generalising impacting everything. Better thinking, logic, and ability to attend."

Gemm parent 2009

Resources

Research: Students with developmental delays made significant gains in their language ability

Following Fast ForWord participation, students with Autism Spectrum Disorder reached the average range in auditory discrimination skills and their overall language ability improved by approximately one year.
Click here to see the full report 

Open a Child's Windows to Language

Most professionals and parents believe that auditory processing disorders are a core component of the attention, memory and language difficulties of children with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Article by Dr Marty Burns published in Autism Asperger’s Digest magazine. Click here to see the article

Fast ForWord Short Summary Flyer.

 Please download the flyer here