Understanding Orton-Gillingham: Support for Dyslexic Students
Dyslexia is a disability that affects millions of people worldwide, defined by the Mayo Clinic as a “learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words.” While it affects people of all ages, its impact on children in their early development stages is especially challenging. It can affect not only reading and writing skills, but also speech development and language processing. This presents major difficulties in students learning these skills for the first time and may delay or hinder their comprehension altogether. Among the variety of therapies and techniques available to help students with dyslexia, the Orton-Gillingham method stands out as it incorporates multi-sensory information and individual letter-sound learning into reading, writing, and speech development. Dyslexic students often struggle with differentiating individual and groups of letters on paper, so the use of alternate sensory information to associate with letter-sounds helps to separate them and improve their comprehension of words.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is a technique used by specialized instructors to help students develop skills based on multi-sensory information and individual components instead of Balanced Literacy or Whole Language Learning, techniques that put a greater emphasis on independent student learning and large-group teacher instruction. One of the boons of Orton-Gillingham is its focus on smaller or individual group learning which allows for better flexibility with each student’s learning. Understood.org describes Orton-Gillingham as a method that “explicitly teaches the connections between letters and sounds.” To do this, instructors pair letter-sounds to other sensory information such as a visual or movement. This helps to improve student comprehension and memory of letter-sounds and keeps them distinct from other letter-sounds which is especially beneficial for students with dyslexia. By building smaller skills and understanding letter-sounds, students can build up to fluently reading and comprehending words, sentences, and finally develop proficient reading and writing skills.
Samuel Orton was a neuropsychiatrist who focused on the neurology of language processing and reading disabilities. By studying individuals, specifically, children, who had difficulty reading or processing words, he was able to develop specific methods by which he could effectively develop these skills. He summarized his findings in his 1937 book: Reading, Writing, and Speech Problems in Children. Orton emphasized the interconnection of reading and writing in development for children with dyslexia. Anna Gillingham was a psychologist and instructor who worked with Dr. Orton to train teachers based on Orton’s techniques. This, and more information about Samuel Orton and Anna Gillingham’s background can be found at the Ortonacademy.org page “Who Were Orton and Gillingham?”
Ortonacademy.org describes the Orton-Gillingham method as “...more properly understood and practiced as an approach.” As opposed to specific steps or instructions, Orton-Gillingham involves general concepts and ideas that can be incorporated into reading, writing, and speech development. One of the hallmarks of the method is that it is entirely paced on the abilities and progress of the students. Practitioners who are trained and specialized in the Orton-Gillingham method gauge student understanding through each skill and can pause or even re-teach skills if necessary. Building sounds and letters on top of other letters requires that certain skills be taught and understood before moving on, so practitioners ensure that students have complete comprehension of a topic before proceeding. This ensures that the students develop a strong foundation for their skills that will allow them to excel in other stages.
Orton-Gillingham has been incorporated into school curriculums like those at the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education. Teachers can get accredited at programs such as The Bridge Academy and The Carroll School. We also use Orton-Gillingham in our tutoring sessions here at Your Learning Toolbox! We take advantage of the techniques the Orton-Gillingham method provides when helping students learn to improve their reading, writing, and speech skills. It is especially helpful for students with dyslexia who have difficulty distinguishing between certain letters. Orton-Gillingham can be used both in person, and virtually, as students can see the movements the instructor is doing and repeat it themselves. We encourage teachers and parents to learn about the Orton-Gillingham method as it is not only an exceptional tool for building foundational skills in all children, but a game-changing technique for children struggling with dyslexia.
