1. Helping Your Child Put the Pieces Together
Hello!
This presentation was created FOR PRIVATE PROVIDERS OF FAST FORWORD AND READING ASSISTANT. You may use it as a template for preparing your own PowerPoint presentation for your customers and prospective customers. This PowerPoint presentation is simply a suggested template for you to use in presenting to parents. It can easily be modified with your clinic’s information. Of course the presentation has information on the neuroscience behind Fast ForWord products but it also has information on each product. So if you have parents attending your presentation with children in middle school or high school, you’ll probably want to skip slides on Language and Language to Reading and concentrate on Literacy and Literacy Advanced. In addition, most slides have notes to assist you with your presentation. And several slides include animation and sound bites.
We hope you’ll find this presentation helpful. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Scientific Learning’s Customer Support at or

2. What clues let us know
students will struggle to learn?

3. Does Your Child ... Misunderstand what you say?
Request that information be repeated?
Give slow or delayed responses?
Use only a few descriptive words when speaking?
Seem reluctant to engage in conversations?
Have difficulty reconstructing a story in its appropriate order?
The language problems that many children struggle with are not always obvious to strangers. But parents and teachers can usually tell when things aren’t right. Do you recognize any of these problems in a child you know?

4. In School, Does Your Child ...
Have difficulty remembering/following oral instructions?
Not remember the question when called upon in class?
Have difficulty with ambiguous language or idioms?
Have difficulty with phonics, reading or spelling?
Have unexplained behavior problems?
Or these?
Teachers are especially attuned to language problems because they see the impacts on other academic areas. They know that a child who can’t follow what’s going on in class -- or can’t participate -- is going to have academic problems in other subjects.
Particularly in the early elementary years, when most classroom instruction depends on spoken words, children with language problems tend to fall behind and not build the foundation they need in later years.
For a child with language problems, math gets harder when you have story problems. Science gets harder when you have to read an article from the library. Any subject gets harder when you’re expected to give a presentation in class.

5. Slow Language Development
For a variety of reasons, some children don’t process the sounds of language well
They don’t register the difference between “ba” and “da”
Their abilities to understand directions and sustain attention are weak
They lack the foundation to link sounds to letters

6. How Early Language Problems Occur
Due to:
Hearing problems or ear infections (otitis media)
Genetic inheritance
Insufficient stimulation
Many other unknown causes
A child may begin to “process” sounds ineffectively.
Through repetition, the brain “practices” these ineffective patterns, and they can become ingrained.

7. Processing Sound is a Challenge for the Brain
Consonants
4000
3000
2000
1000
Frequency (Hz)
/ba/
/da/
Time (msec)
Many sounds of the language, especially consonants, are produced very quickly - they last less than 1/12th of the second each." For example, how many sounds in the word 'splashed"? "Seven" but that word only lasts 1/4 of a second long. You know how hard it is to figure out all the sounds when you are trying to learn a foreign language. It is difficult to hear every sound inside of a word even for adults who know one language well.

8. Processing Sound is a Challenge for the Brain
Consonants
4000
3000
2000
1000
Frequency (Hz)
/ba/
/da/
Time (msec)
This illustration shows how subtle the differences are between /ba/ and /da/ for example. The part of the speech that tells us which sound we are hearing is just 40 millisectons (40 hundredths - or about 1/12th of a second).

9. Small changes in timing… Big changes in meaning
To show how important this timing is, listen to what happens when we add just a sliver of silence between two sounds. The first word is SAY. Now you would think that if I put 1/10 of a second of silence between the /S/ and the /AY/ you would hear s ay. But what do you hear? You hear another sound. Why?  Because you have brain cells that have learned that when there is silence between two sounds, expect a stop consonant like /P/ or /T/. The reason we call them stop consonants is that the sound is literally stopped for a split second before we release it. You have consonant detector brain cells that have learned that.
100
milliseconds

10. How New Technology Helps
Consonants
4000
3000
2000
1000
Frequency (Hz)
/ba/
/da/
When the acoustic differences of these two consonants are stretched to 80 msec., participants with language problems begin to perceive the difference.
Time (msec) 10

11. Acoustically Modifying a Sound Creates a “Pure” Signal
Natural sounds
“overlap” ba ba ba ba
Fast ForWord processes sounds so that they are distinct
Here is a picture that may help you visualize what these products are trying to accomplish. For a child with a language problem, similar sounds may not be processed with enough distinction. As you can see at the top, they can seem to overlap.
We saw with the voice prints why this might be the case. If a child is not processing sounds efficiently enough, they may be missing out on the critical information that makes these two syllables different. If that’s the case, these two syllables might sound just about the same, or they might sound different, but inconsistently.
By acoustically modifying the speech sounds, slowing them down and selectively emphasizing them, they are made more distinctive. They give the child a clearer signal, a better “example” on which to practice. In the most processed state, the distinctive characteristics of each sound are emphasized. ba ba

12. Progress Towards Natural Speech
Fast ForWord clients begin with the most acoustically modified language sounds ba ba ba ba
As a child learns to recognize the sound or word in that way, the products gradually introduce less processed versions of the sound, so that the child can “practice” — and learn — his or her way toward understanding and following normal speech sounds… this is what they experience every day in school and on the playground.
The products are building up representations in the brain (neural pathways) for phonemes that were not learned well early in infancy
These phonemes were not learned either because the person was not initially exposed to them or because they could not distinguish the acoustics well enough to set up distinct representations for each phoneme in the language. ba ba
and progress toward more natural language

13. Optimal Learning Equation
Brain Fitness is improving the participant’s ability to capture, process and retain proven instruction
Individualized Learning is a set of research-based, adaptive exercises that individualize instruction

14. Brain Fitness Brain Fitness is improving the participant’s ability to
Brain Fitness and the Optimal Learning Equation - Neuroscience research has proven that brain exercises focused on Memory, Attention, Processing Rate and Sequencing coupled with research-based instruction accelerates learning.
Brain Fitness is improving the participant’s ability to
capture, process and retain proven instruction

15. Brain Science and the Literacy Gap
At Scientific Learning, we believe the literacy gap can be addressed by leveraging some key scientific discoveries on how the brain learns.
As you can see, some of the most notable magazines have written important articles on how brain science can inform learning.

16. Products
LANGUAGE products build foundational reading and language skills for elementary school aged participants
LITERACY products build foundational reading and language skills and are tailored to the middle and junior high school aged participants
READING products build critical reading skills so districts get the most from their existing instructional approach
Reading Assistant combines speech recognition technology with courseware to help participants strengthen fluency, vocabulary and comprehension to become proficient life-long readers

17. Proven “Brain Fitness” tool
Effective - Positively impacted the lives of over 2 million learners worldwide
Efficient - Using Fast ForWord, participants from pre-K to post-secondary levels have realized achievement gains of one to two years in as little as 8-12 weeks
Enduring - Evidence of improved and sustained learning outcomes following the application of neuroscience theories may be found in the 200+ studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of Fast ForWord programs.

18. Fast ForWord Products Language / Literacy Series Elementary:
Language v2
Language to Reading v2
Secondary:
Literacy
Literacy Advanced
Reading Series
Reading Readiness
Reading Level 1
Reading Level 2
Reading Level 3
Reading Level 4
Reading Level 5
Fast ForWord Language software is for participants who are struggling with reading & need to develop the pre-reading & language skills for successful learning.
Language Basics is designed for young children, 4 to 6 years old, it builds the basic skills necessary for language & reading development & prepares them for Fast ForWord Language.
Fast ForWord Language builds fundamental cognitive skills of memory, attention, processing & sequencing (Learning MAPs) in the context of key language & reading skills, including listening accuracy, phonological awareness & language structures.
Fast ForWord Language to Reading builds on the cognitive & language skills addressed in Fast ForWord Language. Continues to improve the key cognitive skills (Learning MAPs) through exercises focused on sound-letter comprehension, phonological awareness, beginning word recognition & English language conventions.
Fast ForWord Literacy is similar to Fast ForWord Language, but with graphics tailored to older students. The age appropriate contexts build fundamental cognitive skills of memory, attention, processing & sequencing in the context of key reading skills such as phonological fluency & language structures.
Fast ForWord Literacy Advanced is new to the Fast ForWord family, it is a neuroscience based literacy product specifically developed for secondary & young adult education. It continues building a strong foundation of fundamental cognitive skills in the context of language & reading skills including: advanced listening accuracy, auditory sequencing, listening comprehension, word analysis, English language conventions, vocabulary, phonological memory & sustained attention.
Fast ForWord Reading Series provides for a sequenced learning environment that advances the key cognitive skills (Learning MAPs) in the context of sequentially appropriate reading skills. Currently we offer Fast ForWord Reading Readiness and Fast ForWord Reading Each Reading product is equivalent to that grade level. For example, Reading 1 is equivalent to 1st Grade reading, however, it’s important to use Level 1 as opposed to 1st Grade.
Fast ForWord Reading products work on and develop:
Paragraph Comprehension
Passage Comprehension
Sentence Comprehension
Listening Comprehension
Listening Accuracy
Spelling and vocabulary
Word Analysis
English Language Conventions
Language Structures
Organization & Focus
Phonological Awareness
Phonemic Awareness
Decoding
Fluency

19. Fast ForWord LANGUAGE v2
Completely redesigned, the LANGUAGE v2 series:
Includes fun, engaging characters ready to motivate participants to achieve their personal best
Offers built-in supportive tools help struggling clients to achieve success more quickly
Provides intervention sessions that can accelerate academic achievement by an average of one to two grade levels

20. Fun Engaging Characters

21. Fast ForWord Language v2
Develops the following foundational learning skills:
Listening Accuracy
Auditory Sequencing
Phonological Accuracy
Phonological Fluency
Auditory Word Recognition
Listening Comprehension

22. Fast ForWord Language to Reading v2
Focuses on helping participants make the link between spoken words and reading
Advanced Listening Accuracy
Advanced Auditory Sequencing
Word Analysis
Listening Comprehension
English Language Conventions
Following Directions

23. Fast ForWord LITERACY
Our LITERACY Series products build foundational reading and language skills to help clients become successful learners in the classroom.
The Fast ForWord LITERACY series is appropriate for middle and junior high school aged participants and adults.

24. Fast ForWord LITERACY
LITERACY - moves middle and high school aged participants toward grade level reading skills, with a focus on listening accuracy, phonological awareness, and language structures
LITERACY Advanced - designed to appeal to older participants while strengthening their processing efficiency so they can establish a foundation for learning

25. Fast ForWord READING
Our READING Series products increase processing efficiency and build critical reading skills
Reading Series
Reading Readiness
Reading Level 1
Reading Level 2
Reading Level 3
Reading Level 4
Reading Level 5

26. Fast ForWord READING
Applies the discoveries of neuroscience to accelerate these important reading skills
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Decoding
Spelling
Vocabulary
Syntax
Grammar

27. Uses Speech Verification to help clients become proficient readers
Guided oral reading using the computer as a patient supportive listener
Uses Speech Verification to help clients become proficient readers
Develops Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension
Follows Reading First guidelines in the 3-tier system
Guided Oral Reading is the only research proven method for developing fluency. Students read orally to a supportive listener. The supportive listener corrects them when they struggle. This model is simply not scalable in a classroom environment. Reading Assistant uses technology to provide Guided Oral Reading through high tech speech recognition.
Students read into a headset microphone and the Reading Assistant listens and intervenes when they struggle.
Reading Assistant has components that address vocabulary and comprehension. Vocabulary is introduced within the context of the passage and comprehension questions use a variety of strategies to ensure students are gaining comprehension while they read orally.
The Reading Assistant Manager provides reporting for teachers and administrators. It also provides an easy mechanism for teachers to deliver individualized instruction.

28. Developing Vocabulary
“Repetition and multiple exposures to vocabulary items are important.
Learning in rich contexts, incidental learning, and use of computer technology all enhance the acquisition of vocabulary”
National Reading Panel 2000
We know that in order to acquire vocabulary students need to be exposed to the vocabulary word within context. The National Reading Panel tells us that the use of computer technology can enhance the acquisition of vocabulary.
Reading Assistant exposes students to over 5,000 academic vocabulary words. These words are defined within the context of the passage to help students acquire them.

29. Elementary Reading Curriculum
Grade Band K-3 Reading Content
• 43 passages
• Reading grade level 1-3
• 2455 glossary words defined
K-3 Topics include Animal Behavior, Animal Poems, Animal Stories, Celebrations, Doctor Paulie’s Amazing Worm Digger, Family, I Can!, Keep the Lights, Burning, Abbie,
New Things in Nature, Rhymes and Songs, The Joke’s on Who?, The Snow Walker
Grade Band 4-5 Reading Content
• 134 passages
• 4082 glossary words defined
• Reading grade level 1-5
4-5 Topics include: American Symbols, Animal Habitats, Buttons for General, Washington, Celebrations, Colors, Extreme Weather, Folktales and Challenges, Friends or Enemies?, Mysteries
Poems About Nature, Silly Poems, The Five Senses, The Joke’s on Who?, The Snow Walker, Traditions from Other Cultures, What’s the Truth?, Women Who Fought for Freedom
Grade Bands K-3 and 4-5 – over 175 nonfiction, fiction and poetry selections to build literature appreciation

30. Secondary Reading Curriculum
Grade Band 6-8 Reading Content
• 152 passages
• 2690 glossary words defined
• Reading grade level 2-8
6-8 Topics include Animal Communication, Art Around Us, Clever Tricks with Water, Earth and Space, Egyptology, Escape to Freedom, Natural Disasters, Nobody’s Perfect
Planets and Stars, Pollution, Sleep and Dreams, Spain Discovers the New World, Tales from Beyond, Taste and Smell, The Truth is Out There, The Grand Canyon
Skateboarding, What We Eat, Where in the World?, Wizard of Oz
Grade Band 9-12 Reading Content
• 141 passages
• 2861 glossary words defined
• Reading grade level 3–adult
9-12 Topics include Airwaves, Art, Hope, and Pollution, Bright Lights, Big City, Columbus and the Taino Tragedy, Difficult Choices, Immigrants Then and Now
Merry-Go-Rounds, Messages on the Move, North American Adventures, Our Planet’s Challenges, Other Worlds, Preserved for All, Science and the Spread of Disease
Sleep and Dreams, Speech!, Tales with a Twist, The Great American Pastime, The Mother of Invention, The Sleep-Health Connection
Grade Bands 6-8 and 9-12 – Nearly 300 reading selections address the core units in the national science and social studies framework

31. Developing Comprehension
What Kind of Questions?
Key Question Types:
Important facts
Vocabulary meaning
Main idea
Cause and effect
Implication
The Best Question Types:
Occur during reading
Require analytical thought
Fluency and Comprehension are closely linked. Reading Assistant asks students questions to help illuminate meaning. Questions are asked at the end of passages or at critical points within the text. A variety of comprehension strategies are used and student mastery comes only when they can demonstrate understanding of a passage.

32. Fit Brains and the Optimal Learning Equation
The Scientific Learning Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ software products provide:
Innovative Learning
Brain Fitness
Improved Test Scores

33. Fit Brains and the Optimal Learning Equation
Our foundational work confirmed the concept of lifelong brain plasticity – that the brain can reinvent and reconfigure itself throughout life
Just as exercise promotes fitness, exercising our brain improves brain fitness in the areas of memory, attention, processing rate and sequencing.
Brain fitness develops a brain to better capture, process and retain proven instruction efficiently and effectively.

34. Fit Brains and the Optimal Learning Equation
Scientific Learning products offer:
Patented neuroscience technology to create enduring learning gains
Accelerated academic performance with proven results
Targeted individualized intervention
Precise monitoring of performance to create unique learning paths for each participant
Intervention tiers that are customized to suit instructional needs through appropriate product bundles
Comprehensive data reporting to support instructional decision making

35. For More Information Visit Scientific Learning’s Web site
Thank You!
For More Information Visit Scientific Learning’s Web site
Or, call toll-free
In summary, our approach to optimal learning is based on the principles of brain fitness:
1) Brain fitness develops a brain to better capture, process and retain proven instruction efficiently and effectively.
2) We develop accelerated learning software that combines advances in neuroscience with research-based instruction for learners from preschool to adults.
2) We partner with leading scientists to provide a research-based approach to improving learning by taking innovations from the lab directly to the learner.
3) Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant products have been proven to improve reading test scores on standardized tests for users who follow the prescribed protocols.
4) Scientific Learning is different from the competition because of its application of science in order to deliver Optimal Learning. 35