What is Orton-Gillingham Methodology?

Unlock the secrets of your child's brain and discover why curriculums based on the Orton-Gillingham methodology are transforming how children learn. Read on to explore the science behind this proven approach and its remarkable effectiveness.

The best way I like to explain the multimodal approach to parents is through an example. Let’s take the word “notes.” When you read that word, your brain processes it automatically. However, when a child encounters that word for the first time, their brain follows a detailed sequence.

First, the child sees the word visually. Their brain identifies the individual letters, notices the word’s structure, and recognizes the suffix. Then, the child attempts to pronounce each part correctly, relying on their knowledge of reading rules. For instance, they may recognize "not" as a familiar word but must understand that the silent "e" changes the sound of the "o." They also need to notice the "s" at the end, which indicates the plural form and adds a final sound.

Once the word is spoken, the child’s brain hears the blended word parts. This auditory input is then processed to connect the sounds to a meaning they already know in their spoken vocabulary. At this point, the child has successfully read the word.

As you can see, reading involves multiple areas of the brain working together. Each time a child practices this process, it strengthens the synapse (connection) in their brain. With repetition, this process becomes faster and more efficient until the word transitions from short-term memory to long-term memory. Once it’s stored in long-term memory, reading that word becomes automatic.

For a typical student, this process may take 4–14 repetitions. However, a student with dyslexia might require 40–200 repetitions to achieve the same result. It’s not a question of ability but rather the increased need for practice and repetition. Unfortunately, in classrooms with 20–25 students, providing that level of repetition can be extremely challenging, which is why students with dyslexia often struggle to keep up.

The reason students with dyslexia require more repetitions is that one or more components of their brain’s reading process may be weaker. For example:

• They might struggle to break words into parts, causing them to sound out individual letters or skip sounds.

• Speech challenges could make it harder for their brain to accurately hear and process what they’ve said.

• They may have difficulty processing sounds or manipulating them, leading to mispronunciations or near-correct words that don’t shift to accurate ones.

• Comprehension could be a challenge, meaning they read the words but fail to extract meaning.

• Retaining and applying new reading rules may be harder, leading to frequent errors.

  
  

The Orton-Gillingham methodology directly addresses these challenges. It uses a multimodal approach, where every activity in the lesson strengthens specific parts of the brain involved in reading, much like training a muscle at the gym. This approach not only teaches reading rules but also works to improve weaker areas of the brain. Research shows that the brain is highly adaptable, and targeted, structured practice can lead to remarkable growth in reading skills.