Looking ahead: An introduction to five exploratory studies of Fast ForWord

In this paper, we provide an introductory overview of a novel approach to l anguage intervention called Fast ForWord (FFW), developed by the Scientific Learning Corporation. More than 20,000 children have received FFW interven tion, and many researchers, clinicians, educators, and parents are asking q uestions about the effectiveness of FFW. To date, there are few evaluations of the treatment other than those that have been published by the develope rs of the FFW program. This introductory paper will discuss the underlying hypotheses associated with FFW, the components of FFW, and the few studies that have been published regarding the efficacy of FFW. A clinical outcome model based on the work of R. R. Robey and M. C. Schultz (1998) is proposed as a way of understanding the contributions and limitations of previous in tervention studies on FFW and as well as those presented in this issue. We end with a look at the questions that need to be asked by researchers and c linicians who are interested in FFW.