Fast ForWord has a computer game feel, score counters, dings, animation – to engage children. And for most children, for at least a month or two, the routine is fine.
However, it’s serious brain-changing work. It needs frequency and intensity. The exercises try to provide variety, by cycling in and out, but the reality is that there is a lot of repetition.
And so the novelty wears off for some children, and so you will need to be more attentive. So what to do? Here are some thoughts.
Does your child understand the why?
Buy-in really helps. To get buy-in, start by connecting Fast ForWord to the reasons you are doing it, the difficulties in your child’s life that you expect Fast ForWord to help with. For ideas on how to talk to your child about it, go to this page.
We also have pledges you can have your child read, sign, and put on the wall. Download pledge here.
Is there an exercise causing distress?
Quite often a dislike for Fast ForWord comes down to difficulty with one exercise. While that is good news – it indicates a gap in your child’s learning that needs help – it can be frustrating.
Ask your child if there is a problem exercise. Observe your child on the program. Look at the weekly progress email – is there an exercise flat-lining? More on how to take advantage of the reports to manage your child’s sessions here.
If there is a problem exercise, you have a couple of options:
- Go to the page in My Gemm for the program (the list is here), and look for “intervention strategies” which provide ways for children to get started on an exercise or get over a hump. The program manual also has tips on how to work on the exercise.
- Contact Gemm Learning Support – if we haven’t contacted you first! We are able to see every click, every error and so may have insights. If not, we may recommend we do a live remote session with your child to try to get things going forward.
Note also, read the “Exercise Descriptions” document so you can see what that exercise works on. It will give you an insight into at least some of the difficulties your child is encountering.
Are you using incentives?
It’s usually not necessary to start with incentives on day one. During the normal honeymoon period, let the exercises provide the motivation. But if the push back is from the beginning, if your child understands the why, and if there are no obvious difficulties with one exercise, then it’s time to bring in the reinforcements – incentives!
We have seen incentives range from tokens that can be cashed in, to weekly rewards or bigger things. Read this article on motivating your child here.
Change your routine – avoid late starts
This is a challenging program that is accessing fundamental and deep-seated weaknesses in your child’s learning. So it can be a little uncomfortable and it can be exhausting.
Our recommendation is to do it right after school, or in the morning, if your child is a morning person. If your child is not enjoying the program and is doing it later in the day, consider moving things around to do it earlier.
Another source of discomfort might be a rushed or crammed feeling. Your child needs breathing room between projects. If the schedule is crowded, consider dropping things for a few months.
Pro Tip: pause the homework. For elementary age children, nothing is more important than learning to read and learning to learn. Many of our parents tell the school about our program, and many teachers will go along with pausing or reducing the homework for the first 2-3 months of our program.
Be careful not to sacrifice favorite things
It could be that the dislike of Fast ForWord is more about missing something else, e.g., playing a sport, because of the Fast ForWord program. You know the importance in your child’s life right now of seeing this program through to completion – it has the potential to be transformative for your child. And so you have may made room in your child’s schedule by removing something loved.
The trade-off you are making may not be understood by your child. And so if there is an adverse reaction to the program, take a look at the schedule. Is there a better way to carve out time for Fast ForWord that does not get the same adverse reaction from your child?
Here are signs of change to look for
