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Forum -> Parenting our children -> School age children

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pecan

Thu, Nov 28 2013, 10:26 am

I have a son who's gone for vision therapy and still has reading issues. When they dismissed him from VT after a year and a half, they said this is the way he is. VT isn't really helping anymore. He also has trouble focusing. I keep seeing these programs advertised. What is the difference between the neurolinks and fastforward program. Has anyone had success with these?

amother

Thu, Nov 28 2013, 11:11 am

I looked into both and they are very expensive and they don't promise results. Did you take your son to a better eye doctor to get an actual diagnosis? What exactly is his issue?

To me these programs are more geared towards add children.

I also would love to know If anyone actually used any of these programs.

pecan

Thu, Nov 28 2013, 11:23 am

Yes, I took him to a different, better eye doctor who changed his prescription about 5 months ago, and also recommends vision therapy. But I see in both places, the vision therapists do the same thing. My guess is that I need something that targets all of him to speed him up, help him focus, and train his muscles which are low toned throughout the body. He's received speech therapy and occupational therapy for years.

amother

Thu, Nov 28 2013, 12:45 pm

Fast forward seems interesting and u can do it in ur own home. Neurolinks u have to travel to Williamsburg once a week I don't know if u can do that and it's very expensive and still new

pecan

Thu, Nov 28 2013, 2:51 pm

Do you know anyone who's had success?

amother

Thu, Nov 28 2013, 4:23 pm

spinkles

Thu, Nov 28 2013, 7:59 pm

There's a journal article called "A systematic meta-analytic review of evidence for the effectiveness of the 'Fast ForWord' language intervention program," which was published in 2011 in the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry.

This is the abstract of what they found:

Fast ForWord is a suite of computer-based language intervention programs designed to improve children's reading and oral language skills. The programs are based on the hypothesis that oral language difficulties often arise from a rapid auditory temporal processing deficit that compromises the development of phonological representations. A systematic review was designed, undertaken and reported using items from the PRISMA statement. A literature search was conducted using the terms 'Fast ForWord''Fast For Word''Fastforword' with no restriction on dates of publication. Following screening of (a) titles and abstracts and (b) full papers, using pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria, six papers were identified as meeting the criteria for inclusion (randomised controlled trial (RCT) or matched group comparison studies with baseline equivalence published in refereed journals). Data extraction and analyses were carried out on reading and language outcome measures comparing the Fast ForWord intervention groups to both active and untreated control groups. Meta-analyses indicated that there was no significant effect of Fast ForWord on any outcome measure in comparison to active or untreated control groups. There is no evidence from the analysis carried out that Fast ForWord is effective as a treatment for children's oral language or reading difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I don't know anything about Neurolinks, I've never heard of it.

spinkles

Thu, Nov 28 2013, 8:02 pm

How old is your son? What is his current reading ability?

pecan

Sat, Nov 30 2013, 10:32 pm

He is 9 years old. This is for reading hebrew. His fluency is slow, but his accuracy isn't so bad. But all of him is slow, he's low muscle toned all over. I don't feel that more vision therapy is the answer. What can speed up a child, and help his reading together?

amother

Sat, Nov 30 2013, 10:58 pm

For my child, A good OT specializing in visual perception helped somewhat in those areas.

pecan

Sat, Nov 30 2013, 11:03 pm

He's had OT for years. But an OT that specializes in visual perception? Where can I find one?

amother

Sat, Nov 30 2013, 11:46 pm

Are you in Brooklyn?
I can pm you the OT I use if you want.

seeker

Sun, Dec 01 2013, 12:53 am

I've researched a number of such programs, including Fast ForWord, and would be happy to have a private conversation to help you figure out whether any of these would be appropriate for your child.

Fast ForWord is geared specifically for auditory processing, though it can help with a range of related issues as well. So my first question is if you're sure the reading difficulties are related to vision, or if there are other factors playing into it. Neurolinks I don't know enough about, I was not able to find much info on it, but I do know of a couple of other programs that may be of interest to you, including one that is lower cost. But it would be much easier to discuss the details in person, back and forth.

I don't know if any computer-based program that would affect muscle tone, I guess you need to continue pursuing physical and occupational therapy for that. But there are programs that can improve mental processing speed, that have been supported by research. I question the conclusion of the journal article cited by chana_f; I read some of the studies that one is based on and it's not so clear-cut. For example, one experiment compared Fast ForWord to intensive, in-person therapy and found that there was "no advantage" because the outcomes were similar - but I would say even with similar outcomes there is a huge advantage to taking up less time and personnel! At least one of the other studies did not follow the protocol for using Fast ForWord, so I don't consider it valid if it didn't work as expected when it wasn't used properly.

I'm on a tablet now (which I'm not at all used to) so I can't zip you better links offhand at the moment. But please do Pm me to continue the conversation with respect to your kid's individual needs.

amother

Sun, Dec 01 2013, 1:01 am

Seeker, Can I ask what programs you're familiar with that speed up general processing?

amother

Sun, Dec 01 2013, 1:03 am

Op, are you confident in the OTs and PTs that have serviced you?
Personally, I've found that there was a huge difference when I researched and found excellent therapists.

seeker

Sun, Dec 01 2013, 1:16 am

amother wrote:

Seeker, Can I ask what programs you're familiar with that speed up general processing?

PM me, different things are suitable for different needs. I don't want to go making claims on the public forum that won't apply to everyone.

pecan

Sun, Dec 01 2013, 10:55 am

amother above, can you please pm me the OT that specializes in visual processing. Yes, I'm in Brooklyn. And seeker, I will pm you.

coloredleaves

Thu, Jun 12 2014, 12:29 am

I wanted to readdress this. has anyone personally used the nuerolinks program- or perhaps fast forward? or does anyone know someone well who has? to me the cost isn't an issue if it is likely to work- as tutoring, pull outs etc... cost more money than that over time. The child in question is not severely disabled. This is for more for mild school difficulties and slowish reading in a middle schooler.

Tirza

Thu, Jun 12 2014, 12:49 am

Yes, I used the Fastforword program this past summer for my (then) 14 year old daughter who has always had a wicked case of auditory processing disorder. It is easy to use. The audiologist loaded the program onto our laptop. The child uses the program at home for 30 minutes a day, 5-6 days a week. The graphics are colorful and lively and fun for the child to use. My daughter first completed the auditory program and then moved on to the reading program. The audiologist monitored her activity remotely from her office computer and sent me a detailed report every week.
At first, I was disappointed because I didn't see results. Then, towards the end of the program, I saw that her ability to understand conversation and respond appropriately was improving. She didn't need to have things repeated to her as often, and her short-term memory improved noticeably. The changes continued to appear, slowly but steadily over the next few months. It was great, I was so happy. Having a conversation with my daughter is an entirely different experience now than it was a year ago. (And her reading level has improved about two grade levels, probably from the reading program, not the APD program). It's as if somone reached into her brain and connected the wires correctly!
I am so happy that we did Fastforward. It was exactly what she needed to help get her ready for high school. Worth every penny.
But just to be clear- it's not a magic cure for every LD out there. You have to have your child assessed by an audiologist first to see if the program is a good match for him.

seeker

Thu, Jun 12 2014, 1:06 am

PM me. I know a lot about these kinds of programs, including people who have used them. But as I said above, I don't make blanket recommendations. I'd rather talk personally and help you figure out what's best for your child.

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