If you have a child who is dyslexic or simply struggles with reading, you’ve likely heard this term or the abbreviation (which is OG), but you may not be exactly sure of what it means, or how to find a qualified professional. This post explains the Orton Gillingham approach, so that you can answer if it’s right for your child.
Let’s start with the definition
What is Orton-Gillingham?
First of all, it’s not a specific curriculum or a pre-packaged program. Instead, it’s a highly structured and individualized approach to teaching literacy. Think of it like a personal trainer for reading. The personal trainer, also called a practitioner or therapist, assesses your child’s unique strengths and weaknesses and then creates a customized plan.
There are some key elements to the Orton Gillingham approach that all therapists follow.
- 1) Diagnostic and Prescriptive: The therapist identifies the child’s specific difficulties and tailors the lessons to address those exact needs.
- 2) Systematic and Cumulative: Concepts are explicitly taught in a logical, systematic, step-by-step manner. Each new skill builds upon the ones learned before it. The letters are introduced based upon frequency in English. They start with “i” and “p” rather than “a” and “b”.
- 3) Explicit: The instructor directly teaches the rules of the English language, leaving no room for guessing. Students learn the why, which helps them remember.
One of the cornerstones of the OG approach is that it’s multi-sensory. This is where the magic really happens for struggling readers and children with dyslexia. Traditional reading instruction relies heavily on sight. OG engages multiple senses—sight, sound, touch, and movement. This is especially important as it builds additional neural pathways in the brain and improves memory retention. Have you every heard of the term “muscle-memory?” You do something so automatically, you don’t even think about the steps. Well, that’s what OG does.
What does Orton Gillingham look like in practice?
Every therapist is different, but in general, an OG tutor might:
- Show a card with the letter ‘b’ (visual)
- Say the sound of the letter (b) and provide a keyword to remember the sound (auditory)
- Trace the letter ‘b’ on a rough towel (kinesthetic-tactile)
By engaging multiple senses, the brain creates a stronger, more lasting memory of the letter and its sound. It’s like building a bridge with multiple supports instead of just one. This is important because a struggling reader might need more repetition to create those pathways. By repeating and layering information, students build towards automaticity.
Today, OG is considered a foundational approach within the Structured Literacy family, and is grouped with other reading programs, such as Wilson, and Barton.
Who developed this approach?
In the 1930s, Dr. Samuel Orton, a neuropsychiatrist, and Anna Gillingham, an educator and psychologist, developed the Orton Gillingham approach (the name is not that creative), pioneering the idea of a systematic, explicit, and multi-sensory method to help struggling readers. Becoming an Orton Gillingham therapist requires several years of training, hundreds of clinical teaching hours and passing a national certification exam. Several organizations train and certify OG therapists. One is Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA). Another is the Orton-Gillingham Academy (OGA), and a third is the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE). You’ll want to find a therapist who has undergone extensive training and all three of these organizations ensure that.
Why is this approach effective?
A qualified OG practitioner has undergone extensive training and a supervised practicum, ensuring they can expertly address a child’s specific reading challenges. As the therapist works with your child, they adapt elements to the unique needs of the child. If working memory is an issue, breaking the pieces into smaller elements will ensure that the brain doesn’t stop processing information. Tweaks to learning can make a huge difference.
Honestly, the key to the effectiveness of the Orton-Gillingham approach lies in the training and expertise of the instructor. A few years back, there was some discussion questioning the effectiveness of OG. The consensus among experts is that when implemented with fidelity by a highly trained and certified therapist, OG is a powerful and effective intervention. The approach itself is sound, but its success is entirely dependent on the person delivering the instruction. Not surprisingly, a weekend workshop is not enough training.
How do you find an OG tutor?
We like to call ourselves therapists to convey the amount of training we needed to obtain our certification. If you are a parent trying to find an OG Therapist, here are a few tips:
- Look for certification. Seek out practitioners who are certified by reputable organizations like the Academic Language Therapists Association (ALTA), the Orton-Gillingham Academy (OGA), or the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Certification ensures a high level of training and experience.
- Ask for recommendations. Talk to your child’s school, educational psychologists, or other parents of children with dyslexia.
- Google “Orton Gillingham Tutors” and interview potential tutors. Ask questions about their training, certification, and experience working with children with dyslexia. Ask them to describe their approach and how they would tailor it to your child’s needs. Ask questions such as:
- “What is your training and certification in the Orton-Gillingham approach?”
- “How will you assess my child’s needs and track their progress?”
- “Can you provide references from other families you’ve worked with?”
Finding the right support for your struggling reader can feel overwhelming. Remember, you are their best advocate. The Orton-Gillingham approach, in the hands of a skilled practitioner, can be a life-changing key that unlocks the world of reading for your child.
