Joel has apraxia as well as dyslexia and has advanced hugely in both areas, primarily through the use of FastForWord and Reading Assistant+. His older brother is on the autism spectrum and has also progressed hugely through using FF and RA+ but that’s another story!
Here is Joel’s story from his parent’s perspective:
What would you say to introduce Joel’s story?
Joel is a very friendly and endearing boy. He has always been very affectionate. We noticed he was speaking very differently since he was young. We termed it ‘Joel-ish’. He was always very patient with others having difficulty understanding him.
Joel was never able to read on his own. At 11 years old, he still could not decode. We would read something to him and what he read back to us was not what was read to him. When he was given a book he could not read it even in ‘Joel-ish’. 9 months ago he started to read and then he also started to write. Before that he could not write anything beyond 3 letter single words, never sentences. Now he writes in sentences and uses punctuation.
What were early clues you had that Joel would need extra support with learning to read?
When Joel’s brother who is 3 years younger than him could read and he couldn’t, we got very concerned that he was not able to read. It bothered Joel that his brother could read and he couldn’t. His heart is very fragile, he is very sensitive and very emotional.
What did you do next?
In 2016, we lived in a different city and we started doing FF through his home schooling. We got a license to do the program but we weren’t attached to any skilled provider who could guide us or Joel. We were doing it on our own. We didn’t see any progress. In 2017, we started working with a skilled provider who guided us and Joel. With the advise of the provider, Joel also changed from doing Fast ForWord 3 times a week to 5 times a week. We also started using Reading Assistant Plus then, with guidance.
How did it go for you?
It has been tremendously joyful. When we saw Joel accomplish learning to read, he was very happy. You could see the joy in his face. He could read the words before him. We were very happy for him.
What worked?
The pace is so digestive, a little bit at a time and it breaks down the pieces into digestable parts. As a parent, we could not break it down for him in this way. Fast ForWord broke it down into minute pieces that triggered something that caused him to change what he heard and then he was able to progress level by level to read. Now that he is moving from a focus on speech sounds to language, the program is again breaking the portions into pieces he can digest.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about Joel and the difference Fast ForWord has made for him?
I think the Fast ForWord program made the process of learning to speak clearly and read less frustrating for Joel and for us as parents. Having him experience that sense of fulfillment is the best thing for him and the family. it’s not just the progress in reading, writing and language, it also did him a lot of good in his self-esteem. He wants to go to the library now and read more and more books. It has affected the whole family.
The program is a program but because you made it so much more relevant to us and to him as a person, this has made a big a difference. Thank you again for contributing to this. It makes a difference for many parents and children.
Thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity to share our family’s blessing and journey with you, supported by a program that has benefited our children. We hope the sharing of Joel and our family’s experience with Fast ForWord will encourage more families to use it to help their children.
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