Orton-Gillingham and Dyslexia Part 4 of Demystifying Dyslexia: A Guide to Multi-sensory Approach 

 

Throughout Dyslexia Awareness Month and beyond, let’s promote a more accessible and inclusive world for students with dyslexia and celebrate dyslexic excellence! The impact of dyslexia on students in the classroom can be profound. However, educators can help them excel when they provide the support they need. 

An important way to honor Dyslexia Awareness Month is understanding and incorporating the Orton-Gillingham approach to help students at all levels learn to read. The Orton-Gillingham programs for dyslexia use a step-by-step learning process involving letters and sounds that encourages students to advance upon each smaller manageable skill learned throughout the process. This teaching approach empowers educators to develop an individualized, structured, multi-sensory plan to teach reading and vocabulary skills. Orton-Gillingham was the first approach to use explicit, direct, sequential, systematic, and multi-sensory instruction to teach reading, which is effective for all students and essential for teaching students with dyslexia.

Reading programs incorporating the Orton-Gillingham approach into a broader Structured Literacy foundation deliver strong outcomes of academic success — allowing students to sync learning with the distinct ways their brains process information.

While there is no cure for dyslexia, IDA-Accredited Orton-Gillingham programs, like IMSE Impact, have demonstrated efficacy in enhancing reading and writing proficiency for students with dyslexia. By employing multi-sensory tools to teach phonics sequentially, students can engage cognitively and develop increased confidence in their reading, writing, and language skills.

 

Approaching Dyslexia with Orton-Gillingham

 

In the 1930s, Dr. Samuel T. Orton, a neuropsychiatrist and pathologist, collaborated with educator and psychologist Anna Gillingham to formulate the Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction. This method was specifically designed for students showing signs of dyslexia. Their approach integrated direct, multi-sensory teaching techniques with a meticulously structured sequence of phonics lessons encompassing auditory, visual, and kinesthetic components.

While Orton-Gillingham instruction is well-regarded in the field of dyslexia, specific statistical research is limited because it is an approach with a set of principles and methods — and not a defined program of instruction. However, educators harnessing the Orton-Gillingham teaching approach do report positive results. 

For example, take Mountain Mahogany Community School’s 2022 reading proficiency scores, which reached 50% on its state assessment after implementing Orton-Gillingham into its reading program — a 30% improvement from its 2018 results. 

Reading programs that are neuro-developmental and follow the elements of an Orton-Gillingham approach hold the potential to teach almost all children to read. Research from the 1990s revealed that 97% of kindergarten children who showed early signs of weak language skills were prevented from experiencing severe reading difficulties when given neuro-developmental, multi-sensory, systematic, structured instruction.

 

How Orton-Gillingham Works

 

The Orton-Gillingham approach empowers educators to develop an individualized, structured, multi-sensory plan to teach reading and vocabulary skills. The Orton-Gillingham multi-sensory approach incorporates four key elements — sight, hearing, touch, and movement — to ensure that students are not only able to use learned strategies but can also explain the how and why of phonological strategies. This teaching approach encourages students to see, say, sound, and write letters to master decoding and encoding of words, which works well for students with dyslexia who lack a basic level of phonemic awareness.

Orton-Gillingham instruction follows four critical components: 

ISME offers a spectrum of training programs to equip educators with the tools needed to support all students in achieving their literacy learning potential — including Orton-Gillingham for dyslexia through the Comprehensive Orton-Gillingham Plus Training. This 30-hour hands-on, interactive, and personalized class provides a complete understanding of IMSE’s enhanced Orton-Gillingham method, the essential components of literacy, and the tools necessary to apply it in the classroom. After participating in this accredited Structured Literacy course, educators will understand the structure and foundation of the English language and the research behind the science of reading, as well as gain a basic knowledge of how to assess and teach students in all three tiers of RTI – including students with dyslexia. 

Incorporate Orton-Gillingham instruction and activities into your school’s reading programs to better support students with dyslexia.  

 

Strategies to Implement Orton-Gillingham for Dyslexia

 

Apply a multi-sensory approach to teaching students with dyslexia for a dynamic and exciting atmosphere that empowers readers with fun and creative activities. From finger tapping as students say sounds and words and writing words directly onto sand-filled paper plates, to placing their hands over their throats to identify the type of consonant they’re saying from their vocal cord vibrations, a multi-sensory approach engages multiple senses to support learning and effectively move through complex concepts. 

Here are some practical activities that teachers can incorporate into their reading programs when teaching students with dyslexia:

Be sure to celebrate students’ progress and achievements to boost their confidence and motivation as you incorporate the activities above.

The understanding and proactive support of students with dyslexia are cornerstones of an inclusive learning environment that celebrates diversity and individual strengths. Educators hold the power to make a profound difference in students’ lives by providing tailored strategies, accommodations, and a supportive atmosphere that encourages their growth and development.

By embracing dyslexia awareness and promoting Orton-Gillingham instruction, we not only open doors to academic success but also nurture the self-esteem and confidence of all students. It is through our collective commitment to supporting students with dyslexia that we can truly transform their educational experiences, empowering them to overcome challenges and reach their full potential.

IMSE is dedicated to supporting districts and schools as they progress toward their literacy goals. Throughout Dyslexia Awareness Month and beyond, explore how to reach all tiers of learners through ISME’s offerings of educational products, training descriptions, and schoolwide or classroom online training. 

Explore the entire blog series released this Dyslexia Awareness Month:

 

 

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