Not every problem is evident when the parent listens to the child speak. Often, poor readers may have started out as poor listeners. Poor readers may have learned to process speech at the syllable level, not at the speech sound level, due to limitations in their ability to process rapid incoming auditory signals. While speech sounds take 30 milliseconds to process, a syllable takes 130 milliseconds, which is compatible with poor readers' processing rate. Children who have difficulty with reading, which requires decoding at the level of the speech sound, may benefit from the Clinic's Fast ForWord program which serves children from ages 4 to 15.

Developed by Scientific Learning Corporation of Berkeley, Fast ForWord is a computer-generated, on-line auditory training program designed to help children learn to discriminate, sequence, and track speech sounds so they can process rapid speech. Fast ForWord Two is available for older children.