GrammarTrainer is a series of software courses that teach children to communicate with longer sentences while improving their grammar and writing. Simple to use, yet brilliantly conceived, GrammarTrainer picks up where ABA often leaves off.  Once a child has a basic working vocabulary and can type, GrammarTrainer helps the child systematically and logically expand his or her ability to communicate through learning to speak in more complete sentences, make better use of abstract words, and ask more questions.  Developed by a linguist for her autistic, deaf son, it has a simple, non-distracting interface.  It is best to go through these courses in sequence.  

Grammar Trainer Level I

33 Lessons. Each lesson offers between 8 and 50 exercises.
Topics include:

1. question words (who, what, where, which, how many)
2. numbers
3. opposites
4. abstract parts of sentences (the, a)
5. verbs - singular and plural (is, are, has, have)
6. preopositions (in, on, under, over, between, around)
7. position (front, back, middle, close, far)
8. quantity (some, all, none, few, both, each, every)
9. pronouns (it, they)
10. adjectives (big, bigger, biggest)
11. possessive nouns (the square's stripes)
12. asking and answering a variety of types of question (what, where, which, how many, and yes-no)   

Grammar Trainer Level II

30 Lessons. Each lesson offers between 32 and 212 exercises.
Topics include:

1. a variety of verbs, regular and irregular
2. verb tenses (past, present, future, progressive)
3. pronouns (he, she, it, they, him, her, them, her, their)
4. abstract parts of sentences (the, a, that, which)
5. negations (isn't, didn't, don't, doesn't, won't)
6. subject, objects, indirect objects and correct word order
7. prepositions (across, along, around, to, from, over, under, through)
8. time phrases (yesterday, tomorrow, next year, in three days, an hour ago)
9. describing basic facial expressions (happy, sad, angry, surprised, scared, worried)
10. relative clauses
11. answering what, where, who, whose, how and why questions

Grammar Trainer Level III

GrammarTrainer3 consists of 41 lessons, and uses text and illustrations to teach:

1. how to ask a variety of complex questions, including
1. yes/no questions
2. who questions
3. what questions
4. where questions
5. which questions
6. why questions
2. passive sentences like The boy was kissed by the girl.
3. compound verb tenses as in In three hours the boy will have swum.
4. subordinate clauses as in The girl was swimming while the boy was reading.
5. embedded clauses as in The boy wants the girl to give him an apple.
6. sentences with verbs of saying as in The girl said that she was hungry.
7. comparative sentences like The more presents the boy has, the more excited he gets.
8. if-then sentences as in If the girl says "boo" then the boy will feel scared.
9. more time expressions: before, after, while, until
10. how to calculate first, second, and third person pronouns from different frames of reference
    1. I, me
    2. we, us
    3. you, your
    4. he/him/his, she/her, they/them

GrammarTrainer Level IV

GrammarTrainer4 is consists of 16 lessons, and uses text and illustrations to teach:

1. how to calculate direct quotes from reported speech
   1. in statements: e.g., "I want you to tie your shoes." from He said that he wants me to tie his shoes.
   2. in requests: e.g., "Tie your shoes." from She told you to tie your shoes.
   3. in questions: e.g., "Whose shoes do you want me to tie?" from He asked me whose shoes I want him to tie.
2. how to calculate reported speech from direct quotes
   1. in statements: e.g., He said that he wants me to tie his shoes from "I want you to tie your shoes."
   2. in requests: e.g., She told you to tie your shoes from "Tie your shoes."
   3. in questions: e.g., He asked me whose shoes I want him to tie from "Whose shoes do you want me to tie?"
3. how to calculate first, second, and third person pronouns from different frames of reference
   1. I, me, my
   2. we, us, our
   3. you, your
   4. he/him/his, she/her, they/them/their

Features

Created by a professional linguist, GrammarTrainer is well-suited for children who have already made progress through through ABA or other speech and language therapies but are ready to progress to the next level in developing communication skills. Economically priced, each Level provides up to a year's worth of structured lessons for considerably less than comparable software. 

The interface is simple, consisting of text and pictures; ideal for children who are easily distracted, are primarily visual learners or who are easily overloaded by too much sensory input. 

By improving grammar, GrammarTrainer helps children express more complex thoughts, understand more complex explanations and pick up more the language and social dynamics of daily life.
GrammarTrainer Features

Lessons incrementally lead to more challenging constructs, employing an unprecedented level of linguistic sophistication: 

1. Unlike all other linguistic software programs for language-impaired children, GrammarTrainer has the child actively construct the sentences (by clicking on words or typing them in) rather than passively clicking on correct answers.

2. Unlike all other linguistic software programs, GrammarTrainer provides, incremental, carefully-worded linguistic feedback, interactively guides the child toward the correct answer. 

3. GrammarTrainer covers a broad range of grammar topics, from simple phrases through long and complex sentences.

4. During each session, GrammarTrainer keeps track of which concepts the child is having trouble with and emphasizes exerices that cover these concepts, repeating them until the child masters them.

5. Each lesson has an open-ended answer portion that ensures that the child internalizes and generalizes the concepts taught.

6. The child earns points as he or she completes lessons that can be used to win treats and other incentives that can be typed in by parents and professionals at the beginning of a session. 

How Does GrammarTrainer Work?

GrammarTrainer is available as a CD or as an on-line course, which may be installed on a computer with the Windows operating systems and a version of either Windows Explorer or Netscape browser, or a Macintosh computer with Safari. 

If you subscribe to the on-line version of the program, GrammarTrainer, you will be emailed a link and a password, allowing access the software from any computer with an internet connection. You can then either download it to your local computer and run the software locally, without the internet . You can also run the software without downloading it, directly from the GrammarTrainer web site, making it possible for the child to work on a lesson in any location.

Typically, children take about a year to complete the lessons, although some motivated children have completed the lessons in a two-week period. To be effective, we recommend that children spend 1/2 hour a day 5 days a week using GrammarTrainer.

Who Will Benefit From GrammarTrainer?

GrammarTrainer benefits children who struggle with putting words into sentences and using correct grammar, have a vocabulary of a 2 year old or older, and can operate a mouse.

GrammarTrainer may benefit children who have received one or more of the following diagnoses: Autism, High Functioning Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Hyperlexia, Auditory Processing Disorder, Semantic Pragmatic Disorder, Apraxia, Aphasia, Hearing Loss and Deafness.

GrammarTrainer Demos

We recommend you try the interactive GrammarTrainer 1 and II demos to determine whether GrammarTrainer is the right program for your child and to determine if it is compatible with your computer and internet browser. Have your child try it or making the kinds of mistakes your child might make, and check out the interactive feedback. 

Click below, and allow a few minutes to load, longer if you're using a telephone modem connection.  You can go to the web page with the demos by clicking 

here.

The demos can run under Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers for PCs and the Safari browser for MacIntosh.  If you can run the demos successfully, the GrammarTrainer software will run on your computer.

Parents Praise GrammarTrainer

"A friend we haven't seen in a while came over and my son asked her lots of where and what questions! I think that this is a result of the question work he has done with GrammarTrainer." (Jill Harrison in Colorado).

"Our son is making a few more complete verbal sentences rather than just phrases and has gotten more conversational." (Ron Wang in Washington State)

"A really great program and definitely has improved my son's language and his written work." (Annette Vogt in Ontario)

"My son loves the grammar trainer! We have not had a single problem with motivation." (C. Clark in Kansas City)

""I really like the program and look forward to the more advanced lessons." (E.M. in Richmond, Virginia)

"This program is much better than other software programs I have tried. My son is making a lot of progress." (Lan Gao in New Jersey)

"Our son's school teacher noticed he is adding verbs into his daily talking. He is using longer sentences to express himself." (Don Huo in Washington State)

"My daughter continues to progress. Thank you so much for this program. It's exactly what she needed." (Mary Lou Zambrano in Florida)
About the Creator of GrammarTrainer

GrammarTrainer was created by Katharine Beals, a professional linguist with a son who is deaf and in the autism spectrum. s I have tried. My son is making a lot of progress." (Lan Gao in New Jersey)