Frequently
Asked Questions About Our Reading Comprehension Program
How long does it take to go through
the IdeaChain program?
How much time do you need to spend each week on
IdeaChain?
Is IdeaChain suitable for adults?
Will IdeaChain help those who have trouble reading
the words?
What kind of support is available for individuals
using IdeaChain?
Does IdeaChain help with math?
How do I know if IdeaChain will help me or my
child?
What is the youngest age at which someone can
use IdeaChain?
How is IdeaChain different from
what my child will get working with a tutor or in a private learning
center?
Do you send out sample lessons?
How long does it take to go through
the IdeaChain program?
Generally it takes 6 weeks to 3 months to go through the IdeaChain program.
Six weeks is galloping through - not necessarily recommended. Three
months is an average time and it could take 4-6 months or more for a
student with significant comprehension difficulty. Top
How much time do you need to
spend each week on IdeaChain?
Four sessions a week are recommended for IdeaChain implementation. Many
families spend some weekend time as well as some weekday time working
on the program. Initial lessons may take 45 minutes or more. As you
become more proficient with the activities many families will spend
slightly less time on a particular day's session.
When you begin the program, all of your IdeaChain lessons
will be done with the materials we provide. As you learn the activities,
we recommend that you begin doing the lesson using material from a student's
homework or, for an adult, using material from the work place. That
way you are not only developing mental imaging but you are applying
it to real life situations. Top
Is IdeaChain suitable for
adults?
Yes. In fact it is excellent for the individual who feels that economic
opportunities are being limited by their ability to grasp and understand
information. IdeaChain can be done in the privacy of your home. The
program is scripted so that you do everything correctly and in the right
order. Top
Will IdeaChain help those
who have trouble reading the words?
If an individual has been through a sound structured language program,
a phonics program, and still has not had satisfactory results, IdeaChain
is an excellent additional support program. Reading words requires an
individual to connect letters (shapes) and sounds. The shapes and patterns
of letters may not be stable in the mind. Although IdeaChain does not
work with letters specifically, it does have an impact on stabilizing
images and therefore helps with fluency. Top
What kind of support is available
for individuals using IdeaChain?
Your investment in IdeaChain includes toll free personal support and
coaching. MindPrime's 800 number is displayed prominently on the front
of every lesson manual. If you have a question, getting an answer is
as simple as picking up the phone and dialing 800-460-8484. If someone
is not available to speak with you immediately, we arrange a convenient
time to call back. Top
Does IdeaChain help with math?
IdeaChain can be particularly helpful when working with math word problems.
Many individuals have have difficulty because they cannot see, mentally,
the situation described in the problem. Once they grasp the action in
the problem they are able to do the math correctly. In addition, memorizing
math facts has a visual component which can be strengthened by using
IdeaChain. Top
How do I know if IdeaChain
will help me or my child?
Please review the profile on the home page of our website (Do you see
yourself -- or your child -- in this profile?).
If you click the word MORE after each point of the profile, you will
see additional comments about that particular characteristic. Adult
and child characteristics are listed separately. Individuals who fit
several characteristics of the profile are excellent candidates for
the IdeaChain program. Top
What is the youngest age
at which someone can use IdeaChain?
Generally we start at 6 years old. On occasion, when a family is aware
of a child's significant language difficulty at an early age, we have
used IdeaChain with children as young as 5 years old. In this instance
IdeaChain can be an excellent program to support family interaction.
We recommend that anyone working with a child below the age of 6 contact
us directly about how to customize the program for use with a young
child. Top
How is IdeaChain
different from what my child will get working with a tutor or in a private
learning center?
In almost all instances in schools, tutoring situations and private
learning centers, the individual is taught academic strategies. That
is, the child learns how to locate facts, how to locate main idea, how
to develop a summary, draw conclusions, make inferences and so on.
Students who have been exposed to these strategies year
after year in school and have not responded, are not likely to find
them effective. IdeaChain goes to the heart of reading comprehension
difficulty. It addresses the fact that individuals cannot pull isolated
pieces together into a whole or grasp and understand concepts easily
because of weak mental imaging. Working with IdeaChain provides an effective
comprehension strategy which does not repeat what an individual has
done in school. Top
Do you send out sample lessons?
IdeaChain's process is a step by step process that cannot be explained
by looking at one piece of the program. That is why MindPrime does not
send out sample IdeaChain lessons. However, we do offer a money back
guarantee so you can have the entire program in hand to review in your
own home or school. That way an informed decision can be made looking
at the entire program. If the program does not fit your needs, send
it back and we will refund your credit card. Top
