How the Orton-Gillingham Approach Teaches Students with Dyslexia

The Orton-Gillingham approach has long been considered the gold standard of education for students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Years of data have demonstrated that Orton-Gillingham is the best prism through which children can learn to read, write, spell, do math and develop other skills.
Orton-Gillingham overcomes language-based challenges via a structed, sequential,
multi-sensory approach, based on the understanding that children learn in a variety of ways and that no one way of teaching works for everyone.

Can Orton-Gillingham Be Taught in Classrooms?

While the Orton-Gillingham approach is most associated with individualized and small-group instruction, it is also useful in classrooms. Indeed, the science of neurology has this Millenium begun to suggest that Orton-Gillingham may be the best approach for most students, not just students with learning disabilities.

How Does Orton-Gillingham Work for Dyslexia?

Orton-Gillingham’s primary innovation nearly 100 years ago was to break down letters and words into their most elemental forms and combine them in familiar patterns to form comprehensible meaning. The fundamental principle by which teachers employ Orton-Gillingham is customized to each student’s needs and abilities, so that while children are learning via the same approach, each child’s journey is different.
Based on the science of reading, Orton-Gillingham has served as the basis for a series of refinements and improvements that now fall under the rubric “structured literacy.” Structured literacy is designed to focus the attention of the student and teacher on the basic structures of language, including sounds, letters, spelling and sounding patterns, syllables, prefixes and suffixes, and more.

How is the Orton-Gillingham Approach Used to Teach Dyslexia?

Teachers employing the Orton-Gillingham approach begin with the most basic skills and build upon them over time. Concepts are taught and mastered iteratively and cumulatively so that students master increasingly complex ideas. As a student struggle or advances, lessons are adjusted to create a bespoke experience that works for that particular child. Failing forward is a key element of the Orton-Gillingham approach; errors are considered learning opportunities with immediate, finely tuned feedback.

Examples of the Orton-Gillingham Approach in Teaching Dyslexia

Here is an example of how the approach works for children with dyslexia, moving from
simple to complex concepts:

1. The student learns the sounds that letters make and how they correspond to letters. The student might learn the letter “s” and how “s” sounds.
2. Upon mastery of that concept, the student learns two-letter combinations, e.g.,“sh.”
3. The student then moves to more complex patterns and multisyllabic words. These lessons are delivered in multisensory form so that students can experience the concepts in a variety of ways.

For example, the teacher might:
1. Show a flashcard or write letters for students to see,
2. Speak the letters and words out loud and direct the students repeat them, and
3. Instruct the students to write the letters.
This series of practices engages the visual, auditory and tactile senses, and builds a
strong foundation for students to understand increasingly complex language patterns.

School for Students With Dyslexia in Charleston SC

At Trident Academy, a school for students with learning disabilities in South Carolina, the Orton-Gillingham approach has been used for 20 years to help students catch up with their peers and return to regular public and private schools to graduate high school. Hundreds of parents of children with dyslexia and other learning disabilities have attested to the impressive gains their children have made using the Orton-Gillingham approach at Trident Academy, gaining lifelong skills needed to become successful adults.