Dismissing FFW Students: What are the

clinical criteria?

Students selected for Fast ForWord are typically students with a

disordered profile, either as learning disabled or speech-language
disordered. These are students who are struggling as learners,
particularly with literacy. They are also students who have been
identified by an RTI (Response to Intervention) strategy, who have not
significantly benefitted from other interventions available at your
school.
These students often have secondary or coping behaviors because of
their learning issues, and often see themselves as unable to learn or
unable to read. These are the symptoms of an underlying difficulty
with the underlying cognitive skills including difficulty with memory,
attention, processing skills and sequencing.
The goal with all of the students recommended for FFW is to:
1. Address the underlying cognitive skill difficulties with memory,
attention,
processing skills and sequencing (MAPS)
2. Address the reading skill deficiencies that are symptoms of the
MAPS difficulties, and bring the students to the appropriate grade
skill levels with
literacy
Dismissal decisions, then, consider these 2 goals. Students should
only be dismissed if:
1. They demonstrate that their reading skill levels are at grade level
2. That there is another specific reason why goal #1 cannot be
achieved (e.g. motivational issues even though many strategies
have been used, demonstrated potential which would make
these goals unachievable)
Most children complete more than one FFW program before being
dismissed. Typically students complete:
Kindergarten Languagev2
Grade 1 Languagev2 + Reading1
Grade 2-3 Languagev2 & R1, R2, possibly Language to Reading
Grade 4-6 Language v2 & Language to Reading & R1, R2
Grade 7- Literacy, Literacy Adv, R1, R2, R3
Completion of these processing programs and reading programs will
bring students to their appropriate reading skill levels for their grade
level.