The Orton-Gillingham Tutoring Approach
If your child has been diagnosed with dyslexia or placed on an IEP for a specific learning disability (SLD), finding the right help can feel overwhelming.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is the gold standard for teaching children with reading and spelling struggles. It uses a step-by-step, multi-sensory method to teach the foundational skills of reading and spelling, helping children process language in a way that makes sense to them.
Unlike traditional classroom instruction, which often moves too quickly for struggling readers, this method meets your child exactly where they are. The tutor introduces new concepts in a structured sequence, ensuring mastery before progressing, and uses multi-sensory techniques—like engaging sight, sound, and touch to make learning stick. Parents often describe the results as transformative: their child not only learns to read but begins to enjoy reading, taking pride in their accomplishments.
With the Orton-Gillingham approach, your child can experience meaningful growth in reading and spelling skills, paving the way for success in school and life.
What Does Multisensory Mean?
The Orton-Gillingham approach is multisensory, which means it engages multiple senses—sight, sound, touch, and movement—simultaneously during learning. This method helps students make stronger connections between letters, sounds, and words, making reading and spelling easier to understand and retain.
How it Works
In practice, multisensory learning might include tracing letters in sand while saying the sounds aloud, using colored tiles to build words, or clapping out syllables. These activities combine hearing, speaking, and physical movement to reinforce learning in a way that sticks.
Why it Works
Studies show that students remember about 10% of what they read and 20% of what they hear, but up to 90% when they combine seeing, hearing, saying, and doing. By engaging multiple senses, the Orton-Gillingham method ensures students retain the skills they practice far more effectively than traditional teaching methods.
Real Life Impacts
Multisensory teaching doesn’t just help students learn faster—it builds confidence, too. Children, once frustrated with reading, begin to enjoy it because they finally understand how it works. This approach unlocks their potential and makes learning a positive experience.
What Does Sequential and Explicit Mean?
The Orton-Gillingham method teaches reading and spelling skills in a logical, step-by-step sequence. Each new concept builds on what the student has already mastered, ensuring a strong foundation. This approach avoids overwhelming students by focusing only on skills they’re ready to learn.
How it Works
Students begin with the simplest concepts, like individual letter sounds, and gradually progress to more complex skills, such as blending sounds and decoding multisyllabic words. Each lesson is explicitly taught—students aren’t left to guess or figure it out themselves. This clear and structured method ensures consistent progress.
Why it Works
Research shows that explicit instruction reduces frustration and increases retention. By teaching skills directly and in a sequence that makes sense, students gain confidence as they master each step. This approach eliminates the guesswork, helping struggling readers succeed.
Real Life Impact
Each session builds on the last, reinforcing previously learned skills while introducing new ones at the student’s pace. This cumulative approach ensures that students truly understand and retain what they’ve learned, giving them the tools they need to become confident, independent readers.
What Does Cumulative and Incremental Mean?
The Orton-Gillingham method ensures that each new concept builds on the one before it. Students progress from simple skills to more complex ones in a logical, step-by-step way. Previously taught concepts are constantly reviewed, helping students strengthen their understanding and reinforce their learning.
How it Works
Each lesson begins with a review of previously mastered skills before introducing new material. Students practice breaking words into smaller, meaningful parts, like syllables or root words, to better understand how language works. This process helps students learn to solve problems independently instead of relying solely on a teacher.
Why it Works
Research shows that regular review is key to long-term retention. By revisiting past concepts while gradually introducing new ones, students can connect what they’ve already learned to new material. This cumulative process makes learning manageable and reduces the risk of gaps in knowledge.
Real Life Impact
This method transforms struggling readers into confident, independent learners. Students no longer feel overwhelmed or expected to guess at what they don’t know. Instead, they develop the tools and strategies to tackle reading challenges on their own, laying the foundation for lifelong success.
What Does Individualized Mean?
Every student learns differently, and the Orton-Gillingham method adapts to meet each child’s unique needs. Lessons are customized to align with the student’s current skill level, emotional state, and pace of learning. This personalized approach ensures students feel supported and set up for success.
How it Works
Tutors focus on breaking reading into small, manageable parts that reduce stress and build confidence. For students with reading anxiety or low motivation, the lessons are designed to be engaging and encouraging, combining face-to-face instruction with fun, interactive online activities.
Why it Works
Tailored instruction allows students to progress at a pace that works for them—moving quickly when possible and slowing down when needed. This flexibility helps close the gap for struggling readers while ensuring they fully grasp each concept before moving on.
Real Life Impact
Individualized lessons transform reading from a source of frustration into an achievable goal. Students gain confidence as they see steady progress, creating a positive experience that motivates them to keep improving. By addressing their specific needs, the Orton-Gillingham approach helps every student succeed.
What Does Phonics-Based Mean?
The Orton-Gillingham approach focuses on teaching the rules of the English language through phonics. Students learn how letters and their combinations (phonograms) create sounds, making reading and spelling more predictable and manageable.
How it Works
Rooted in the Science of Reading, Orton-Gillingham uses a structured, multisensory approach to teach phonics sequentially. Students build a strong foundation by mastering individual sounds, blending them into words, and understanding how spelling patterns work.
Why it Works
The English language is complex, but by breaking it down into clear rules and patterns, students gain the tools to decode and spell words with confidence. This method simplifies what once seemed overwhelming, helping students see progress quickly.
Real Life Impact
As students master phonics, they unlock the ability to read, write, and communicate with greater ease. Confidence grows as they realize they can decode even unfamiliar words, transforming reading from a struggle into a skill they can rely on.