About LearnFast 

 
LearnFast is an Australian and New Zealand business which was established to bring Fast ForWord to students via schools, clinical professionals (operating in the education, speech pathology, psychology, tuition, and learning difficulties arenas) and in homes. 

We are driven by the desire of the Founder, Devon Barnes    , to help as many children as possible overcome their learning and reading struggles, and to help every child achieve his or her potential.   This is reflected in everything LearnFast does, from the people we hire to the way the programs are implemented and managed, and to the program prices, which we keep as low as possible.  

We are based at our office in Lindfield, Sydney and provide Fast ForWord in Australia & New Zealand. Contact us to discuss how Fast ForWord can help your child or school today.

  

 

Who Are We?

  • Devon Barnes     is LearnFast’s Clinical Director
  • Bridget Leach manages all Fast ForWord school installations
  • Heidi Middlebrook takes care of the Fast ForWord programs done at home and in the LearnFast Centre at Lindfield, Sydney
  • Peter Barnes, Program Director, helps Bridget & Heidi and also looks after the clinics and tuition centres who use Fast ForWord  
  • Julie George is our accounts person
  • Renee Petherbridge, a speech pathologist, is our Language & Literacy Consultant
  • Angela Nucifora co-ordinates the support for home programs  

"If only there was some way to get into their brains...."

Devon Barnes     is a speech pathologist and audiologist who has worked with children struggling with language, learning and reading difficulties for over 40 years. Many times during those decades when working with a learning disabled child she would remark to colleagues, “If only there was some way to get into their brains and reorganise them, perhaps we could fix the problems”.

In 1997 Devon read about the work of Dr Paula Tallal, a renowned neuroscientist and decided to travel to the University of York in England to hear Dr Tallal present the results of the early trials of a set of exercises which were to become the foundation for the development of Fast ForWord.

The results were so impressive, Devon realised she had found something that could potentially ‘re-wire’ the brains of learning disabled clients.

The following year Devon completed the Fast ForWord Professional Provider training in New York and commenced offering the programs at her speech pathology & learning centre in Sydney.

Fast ForWord in Australia and New Zealand
Since 1999 LearnFast has provided Fast ForWord in Australia,adding New Zealand in 2007.


Career Opportunities
Contact us if you are interested in joining the LearnFast team