Are you looking for a new intervention to reach your students in special education? This page pulls together many of the resources that we have geared towards children with specific learning disabilities, auditory processing disorders (APD), dyslexia, specific language impairment, and autism. You'll find results and case studies, blog posts, and webinars that will give you a more comprehensive understanding of how Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant can help you improve learning for these students.
School & District Results
The following special education results were provided by the schools/districts based on their experience in working with Fast ForWord and/or Reading Assistant.
Working memory improvements helped all students make AYP (Haines Borough, AK)
View case study 
Literacy program success with students in special education at alternative school; students with emotional trauma (Canyon View, CA)
View case study
Decrease in special education referrals and rates (St. Mary Parish, LA)
View case study
View research report
Fast ForWord & Neuroscience in the News
- New Views into the Science of Educating Children with Autism (PDF)
- Dyslexia and the Brain: Research Shows that Reading Ability Can be Improved - Cornell University
- Undoing Dyslexia via Video Games – American Psychological Association
- Understanding the Causes of Dyslexia for Effective Intervention – Edutopia
- School Neuroscience Unleashes Students' Brain Power - District Administration
Peer-Reviewed, Independent Research
Fast ForWord has been extensively researched over the past 20 years. Read about how Fast ForWord has made a difference for students with disabilities:
Reading Disorders
Ylinen, S. & Kujala, T. (2015). Neuroscience illuminating the influence of auditory or phonological intervention on language-related deficits. Frontiers in Psychology, 6.
Summary: This is a review of studies that have explored the neural basis of behavioral changes induced by auditory or phonological training in dyslexia, specific language impairment (SLI), and language-learning impairment (LLI). [Fast ForWord] Training has been shown to induce plastic changes in deficient neural networks.
Dyslexia
The Stanford Study: Neural deficits in children with dyslexia ameliorated by behavioral remediation: Evidence from functional MRI
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Harvard Research: Children with developmental dyslexia were able to literally rewire their brain through computerized sound training
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Auditory Attention and Specific Language Impairment
Stevens, C., Fanning, J., Coch, D., Sanders, L., & H Neville (2008). Neural mechanisms of selective auditory attention are enhanced by computerized training: Electrophysiological evidence from language-impaired and typically developing children. Brain Research, 1205, 55-69.
Summary: Relative to the NoTx control group, children receiving [Fast ForWord] training showed increases in standardized measures of receptive language. In addition, children receiving training showed larger increases in the effects of attention on neural processing following training relative to the NoTx control group.
Auditory Processing and Language Impairment
Heim, S., Choudhury, N. & Benasich, A. A. (First online: 15 December 2015). Electrocortical Dynamics in Children with a Language-Learning Impairment Before and After Audiovisual Training. Brain Topography.
Summary: After Fast ForWord use, children with language learning impairment (LLI) showed improved language skills and changes in patterns of neural activity that indicate “a change in cognitive control strategies.” This is consistent with other recent neuroscience studies on children with and without LLI (Stevens et al., 2008) and children with dyslexia (Temple et al., 2003). All of these studies suggest that the improved language and literacy performance seen after Fast ForWord use may result from better application of attentional and memory resources.
Heim, S., Keil, A., Choudhury, N., Thomas Friedman, J. & Benasich, A. (2013). Early gamma oscillations during rapid auditory processing in children with a language-learning impairment: Changes in neural mass activity after training. Neuropschologia, 51, 990-1001.Krishnamurti
Summary: The authors concluded that measures of brain wave efficiency are not only correlated with auditory processing problems in children with language-based learning disabilities, but that the Fast ForWord Language program improves at least one measure of the brain wave efficiency and that is in turn correlated with improvements both in rapid auditory processing accuracy and also language skills.
Krishnamurti, S., Forrester, J., Rutledge, C., & Holmes, G.W. (2013). A case study of the changes in the speech-evoked auditory brainstem response associated with auditory training in children with auditory processing disorders. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinoloaryngology, 77, 594-604.
Autism
Russo, N.M., Hornickel, H., Nicol, T., Zecker, S., Kraus, N. (2010) Biological changes in auditory function following training in children with autism spectrum disorders.Behavioral and Brain Functions 6(60), 1-8.
Fast ForWord/Reading Assistant research summary that highlights selected studies and reports
View research summary
Recommended Webinars
Autism: New Research and Interventions
Presenter: Martha Burns, Ph.D.
Length: 60 minutes
New research on the underlying neurology of autism is exploding as is information on the most effective interventions available to drive positive neurological changes in children on the autism spectrum. Join Dr. Martha Burns as she discusses the new research and shares data on neuroscience-based interventions that have been shown to enhance language, attention, and social skills in children on the autism spectrum.
Dyslexia Research and Remediation
Presenter: Martha Burns, Ph.D.
Length: 60 minutes
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month! Join us to learn about the latest research on the processing weaknesses and early indicators in dyslexia. Most importantly, find out how to use this information to help your students. See a demonstration of the evidence-based Fast ForWord software.
New Science of Learning for Special Education
Presenter: Martha Burns, Ph.D.
Length: 45 minutes
Dr. Burns discusses the ability of neuroscience to profoundly impact education. Hear how the science of learning has guided the development of breakthrough technologies to enhance underlying memory, attention, processing and sequencing abilities in your students.
Recommended Blog Posts
Problems with the Human “Letter Box”: A Component of Dyslexia
Author: Martha S. Burns, Ph.D.
Have you wondered if dyslexia is a visual or auditory issue? Turns out it's a bit of both. Dr. Martha Burns explains the latest research on causes of dyslexia and what interventions can help.
Read Now
How Interventions Can Improve Auditory Processing Skills
Author: Martha S. Burns, Ph.D.
Auditory processing disorders can be traced to specific regions of the brain, especially regions of the brainstem. Find out how targeted intervention resulted in better listening skills and improved brainstem response to speech.
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Why Auditory Processing Disorders Are Hard to Spot
Author: Martha S. Burns, Ph.D.
Your most struggling student just isn’t listening — again. But could there be more to it? Auditory processing disorders can look a lot like inattention, and it’s not easy to tell the difference. Why is it so hard to figure out what’s going on?
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Author: Martha S. Burns, Ph.D.
New research centering on the electrical brain signals picked up by EEG is clarifying the relationship between auditory processing and language learning.
Read Now
Author: Bill Jenkins, Ph.D.
What if there were a way to predict dyslexia, so that affected children could receive earlier intervention? Recent research may have found a way to do just that—by looking at differences in the brain before children learn to read.
Additional Reading: The Role of Processing in Reading/Learning
- Early Hearing Speed Give Insight to Later Reading, Spelling Difficulties, Study Finds - Education Week
- It Could Be Possible To Predict Which Kids Will Struggle With Reading, Says Study - Huffington Post
Special Education Brochures
- Special Education Info Pack (PDF)
- Neuroscience-Proven Results (PDF)
- Special Education: This Year All Students Will Make Progress (PDF)
Researched at Top Universities
- Fast ForWord is the only reading intervention that has been substantiated by research at Rutgers, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Cornell, etc.
- Students make gains not only in reading, but in other academic and social-emotional areas as well.
