What is the Orton Gillingham Approach?

Orton-Gillingham: A Scientifically-based Reading Program

The Orton Gilligham approach is a multisensory structured and systematic way of teaching reading. Although it was originally developed by Samuel T. Orton and Anna Gillingham as a way to teach dyslexic students to read, it is an effective method of reading instruction for almost every student. Together, they developed specific teaching techniques that focus on the breakdown of language to single speech sounds in relationship to a letter(s) in the alphabet.

Dr. Stanley Torrey Orton (1879-1948) was a pioneer in the field of language processing disabilities. Dr. Orton was fascinated in his observations of healthy and bright children who were unable to read, write or spell. Thus, he hypothesized that their struggles were physiological. He referred to their condition as strephosymbolia or twisted words. Today, we refer to this condition as Dyslexia. Anna Gillingham (1849-1962) was a teacher, friend and a close follower of Dr. Stanley Orton. She worked on categorizing and structing material in a way that allowed it to be taught systematically—systematically and sequentially, through blending, words are rebuilt. Stanley Orton's techniques have become today's foundation of many excellent code-emphasis interventions used in aiding "reading-challenged" children.

The Science behind it all

Neuroscientific research based on FMRI technology has documented synaptic activity in the brain during reading and spelling specific word types. This information has taught us how the human brain processes language and allowed us to tailor reading instruction to the ways that the human brain actually works.

Scientifically-based reading programs teach children the structure of language while reinforcing the areas of the brain that support reading and spelling. Code-emphasis phonics instruction that breaks words down to the smallest of speech sounds and then builds them up into words, words into sentences, sentences into text, actually supports the areas of the brain that process written language. Explicit, systematic and sequential instruction rich in phonic awareness, orthography, morphology, syntax and semantics is essential for struggling readers. It provides students with a solid foundation with which they can build upon.

What are the goals of an Orton Gillingham reading program?

Orton-Gillingham is an approach to reading instruction, not a curriculum. As such, we approach every student individually and meet them where they are in their reading journey. We begin with a thorough assessment to appropriately determine where your child is struggling. Then, we begin by breaking language down into its smallest parts, phonemes, or units of sound, and building up from there systematically. We focus on how and why letters sound and work the way they do to build scaffolding so that your student can fundamentally understand how language and words are built.

How an Orton Gillingham reading program works

Before your student really hits the ground running, we need to understand where your child is. Once this is established, we systematically and sequentially build on his or her existing skills. Using a multisensory approach, we engage tactile, auditory, kinetic, and visual pathways so that students stay engaged and master the essential skills involved in reading. To learn more about what happens during a session with your reading tutor in Excelsior, visit our reading tutoring page.