Orton Gillingham

Orton Gillingham (OG) is a way of teaching reading and writing. It is an intensive phonics based method.  It is also multi-sensory. Multi-sensory instruction uses the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic pathways at the same time when learning new information. Orton Gillingham can help anyone learn to read and write.  Pilot studies have shown big improvements in reading and writing success when OG concepts are taught in K-12 classrooms. Unlike most methods of teaching English, students are taught directly by the teacher. It uses synthetic phonics taught in a sequential way using all three sensory pathways. There are studies that have shown that OG is the only evidence-based approach for teaching reading.

OG helped me improve my reading level by two grades in a seven-month period. At this point I am now learning advanced Orton Gillingham. Advanced OG teaches the meanings of Greek and Latin roots. It has helped me with spelling words correctly and understanding the meanings of words.

Studies have shown that when OG is used in the classroom all children are able to learn to read. So the real question is why aren’t all schools using this approach? OG has been around since 1935 when Samuel Orton and Anna Gillingham published their first book. Unfortunately, there are only a few schools using this evidence-based method to teach reading. Those schools that are using the approach, are not using it through 12th grade. Most schools are unwilling to spend the money to train their teachers to use the approach. If schools spent the money so that their students didn’t fall behind, they wouldn’t need to spend as much money for remediation. This would actually save money. The reading data shows that when children are caught up by 2nd grade, they remain at grade level with their peers. 

I wish more teachers would be trained in the Orton Gillingham approach. Unfortunately, teachers in Indiana are not taught how to teach reading. I believe there needs to be a law like the one in Ohio that requires teachers to be trained in this evidence-based approach. Marian College is the only college in Indiana that teaches this approach. Too many children in Indiana are falling behind in reading and this is unacceptable.

Assistive technologies have the ability to really help dyslexics. Dragon is a speech recognition software program which allows the user to wear a headset and speak to the computer. I use Dragon to write my papers. It allows me to express myself more freely. It is still important to know how to type and to edit, but Dragon allows me to create my initial draft. Dyslexia is a neurobiological learning disability that makes the task of writing difficult.  
E-readers have changed the lives of dyslexics.  It is now possible to listen to almost any book, including textbooks.  This is important because dyslexics often understand information that is presented to them through the auditory channel better than when they read the material themselves. Bookshare is a government-funded program that allows dyslexics to listen to almost any book for free provided that they have educational testing that confirms that they qualify for the service. In addition, Bookshare allows the user to change font size and increase the spacing between lines.
The LiveScribe pen is another technology that can help the dyslexic take notes. Note-taking is a frustrating task for many dyslexics because it’s difficult to listen carefully and absorb information during a lecture while simultaneously writing meaningful notes.  Speed is an issue and it is often difficult to keep up. The pen and notebooks look like typical pens and spiral notebooks.  When a student is listening to a lecture and realizes the information is important, the student begins writing in the notebook. As they begin writing, the pen begins to record the lecture. Later, if the student’s notes seem incomplete, he can place the pen on the exact page of his notes where the information is located and listen to the lecture at that point in time. It is also possible to plug the pen into the computer and transfer the  student’s handwritten words into text. I have used the pen and if you have a teacher that does a lot of lecturing and doesn’t provide notes, the LiveScribe pen can make note-taking easier. 
Apple’s AutoCorrect is also a very helpful tool for dyslexics since dyslexics often have trouble with spelling.  I have found it extremely helpful in writing blog entries and writing personal narratives because it narrows the choices for spelling. In the past, a dyslexic student would have to look up in a dictionary every word they didn’t know how to spell. 
Today, there are many technologies that are available to make life easier for the dyslexic student. It is exciting because with the current advances in science, this is just the beginning of the digital world and help for dyslexics. 

Indiana's Laws are Failing Dyslexic Students

In the state of Indiana, dyslexia is not a word used by most schools.  That’s because there isn’t a definition of dyslexia in Article 7 of Indiana’s education law.  Parents must wait for a child to fall far enough behind his peers before the school will test to see if the child has a Specific Learning Disability (SLD).  Dyslexics make up 80% of those that qualify as having a Specific Learning Disability. Unfortunately, this puts parents in the position of waiting. If they test too soon, the child can’t qualify for accommodations and intervention. If they test too late, after third grade, the child is past the optimal age for intervention. According to studies, dyslexics should get help as early as kindergarten.  Indiana’s education law makes dyslexics fail for several years before they give them any help. According to studies performed by Yale, less than 30% of dyslexics are ever identified and far fewer ever receive appropriate interventions. When they are identified, it is past the optimal age for intervention. By this point, the student is so far behind, it takes one-on-one Orton Gillingham tutoring to get them to grade level. This is very expensive and schools are not trained to provide this intervention nor willing to pay for it.  Currently, those children who have the resources to afford Orton Gillingham tutoring are able to close the gap. Those students that aren’t fortunate to have money, have little chance of closing the gap with the current interventions used in most schools. 

Laws around the country are changing.  Indiana is behind.  Other states are recognizing the social impact of this problem and are making changes.  They are recognizing the benefit of early intervention.  They are finding that it is less expensive to intervene early than it is to provide remediation later.  Data shows that if you get a student up to grade level by second grade, they remain on par with their peers.  As a state and as a country we can’t afford to ignore this group of students.