Orton-Gillingham

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The Orton-Gillingham approach is a multisensory phonics technique for remedial reading instruction developed in the early-20th century. It is practiced as a direct, explicit, cognitive, cumulative, and multi-sensory approach. While it is most commonly associated with teaching individuals with dyslexia, it has been used for non-dyslexic individuals learning to read, spell, and write. In the US, it is promoted by more than 15 commercial programs as well as several private schools for students with dyslexia and related learning disabilities.

Contents

The Academy of Orton-Gillingham, originally named “The Orton Society”, certifies individuals who have taken a training program with an OGA Fellow and who have completed a supervised practicum. This certifying committee is accredited under the NYS Board of Regents.

Orton and Gillingham

Samuel Torrey Orton (1879–1948), a neuropsychiatrist and pathologist at Columbia University, studied children with language-processing difficulties such as dyslexia. Together with educator and psychologist Anna Gillingham (1878–1963), he created techniques to teach reading, which integrate kinesthetic (movement-based) and tactile (sensory-based) learning strategies with teaching of visual and auditory concepts. [1]

In 1935, Gillingham, with her long-time collaborator Bessie Stillman, published the Gillingham–Stillman manual, Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling and Penmanship. This is now known as the Orton–Gillingham (O-G) method, "a multisensory phonics technique for remedial reading instruction." [2]

Implementation

The Institute of Education Sciences (the independent, non-partisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education), describes the approach as follows: "Orton-Gillingham is a broad, multisensory approach to teaching reading and spelling that can be modified for individual or group instruction at all reading levels. Teaching sessions are action oriented with auditory, visual, and kinesthetic elements reinforcing one another. The approach targets persons with the kinds of language processing problems (reading, spelling, and writing) associated with dyslexia." [3]

According to Rose and Zirkel, O-G programs typically "use a multisensory approach to teach basic concepts of spelling, writing, and reading and continually build upon mastered skills." Variants of O-G "have taken the form of more than 15 commercial programs and several private schools for students with disabilities." [1]

Research on its efficacy

In 2000, the National Reading Panel included the Orton-Gillingham method in their study, "Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction." [4] The Panel supported the significance of offering classroom instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. [5]

The Florida Center for Reading Research reported in 2006 that it was unable to identify any empirical studies examining the efficacy of the approach specifically as described in Orton-Gillingham training materials. Thus there was no direct research evidence to determine its effectiveness, although there are a variety of studies of derivative methods that incorporate aspects of Orton-Gillingham in combination with other techniques. [6]

An overview of all reported studies of Orton-Gillingham derivative methods, such as Alphabetic Phonics or Project Read, revealed only a dozen studies with inconsistent results and a variety of methodological flaws. Despite these conclusions, the article does provide a detailed overview of the available research, which viewed most favorably would show some evidence of benefit from classroom use of OG methods with first graders, and use in special education or resource room settings with older children with learning disabilities. [7]

According to a review of the literature in 2008, its efficacy is yet to be established. [8]

In July 2010, a US Department of Education agency reported that it could not find any studies meeting its evidence standards to support the efficacy of Orton-Gillingham based strategies. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dyslexia</span> Specific learning disability characterized by troubles with reading

Dyslexia, previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words, "sounding out" words in the head, pronouncing words when reading aloud and understanding what one reads. Often these difficulties are first noticed at school. The difficulties are involuntary, and people with this disorder have a normal desire to learn. People with dyslexia have higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), developmental language disorders, and difficulties with numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phonics</span> Method of teaching reading and writing

Phonics is a method for teaching reading and writing to beginners. To use phonics is to teach the relationship between the sounds of the spoken language (phonemes), and the letters (graphemes) or groups of letters or syllables of the written language. Phonics is also known as the alphabetic principle or the alphabetic code. It can be used with any writing system that is alphabetic, such as that of English, Russian, and most other languages. Phonics is also sometimes used as part of the process of teaching Chinese people to read and write Chinese characters, which are not alphabetic, using pinyin, which is alphabetic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synthetic phonics</span> Teaching reading by blending and segmenting the sounds of the letters

Synthetic phonics, also known as blended phonics or inductive phonics, is a method of teaching English reading which first teaches the letter sounds and then builds up to blending these sounds together to achieve full pronunciation of whole words.

A reading disability is a condition in which a person displays difficulty reading. Examples of reading disabilities include: developmental dyslexia, And alexia,

Inventive spelling is the use of unconventional spellings of words.

Samuel Torrey Orton was an American physician who pioneered the study of learning disabilities. He examined the causes and treatment of dyslexia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fraser Academy</span> Private school in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Fraser Academy, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is a private, non-profit, co-educational, non-faith, non-residential school that serves children from grades 1 to 12 with language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Its teaching methods are based on those found at the Kildonan School in New York, using the Orton-Gillingham approach. Besides daily individual tutoring for language, students take the same courses as other students in the province, in which courses a multisensory approach is also used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Management of dyslexia</span>

Management of dyslexia depends on a multitude of variables; there is no one specific strategy or set of strategies that will work for all who have dyslexia.

Grace Maxwell Fernald was an educational psychologist and influential figure in early twentieth century literacy education. Fernald established "the first clinic for remedial instruction in 1921 at the University of California, Los Angeles". Tracing tactile learning tendencies back to Quintilian, Séguin, and Montessori, Fernald's kinesthetic spelling and reading method prompted struggling students to trace words. Years of research culminated in 1943 with her classic work, Remedial Techniques in Basic School Subjects. The popular kinesthetic method anchors modern instruction in the areas of special education and remedial reading. Kinesthetic learning is also included as one of Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences. Fernald's notion of incorporating the physical with the auditory, verbal, and visual elements of reading instruction, now known as "VAKT", multimodal learning, or multisensory imagery, continues to guide educators today.

Anna Gillingham (1878–1963) was an educator and psychologist, known for her contributions to the Orton-Gillingham method for teaching children with dyslexia how to read.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trident Academy</span> Private, learning disabilities school in the United States

Trident Academy is a school for children with diagnosed learning differences in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

The Greenwood School is a specialized boarding and day school for students in grades 6 through 12. Greenwood is situated on a 100-acre campus outside the village of Putney, Vermont in the southeastern part of the state. The Greenwood School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), approved by the state of Vermont, and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

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The history of dyslexia research spans from the late 1800s to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Childs</span>

Sally Burwell Childs was a language training specialist, with an emphasis on furthering the research on dyslexia and educating dyslexic students. Childs, along with several colleagues, opened an organization to help create dyslexia awareness called The Orton Society, in 1949, and she held the position as vice-president from 1959 to 1965. She published several educational books for dyslexia and was recognized for her accomplishments in 1973 with the Samuel T. Orton Award.

The Kildonan School was a private coeducational boarding and day school in Amenia, New York for students with dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities. It offered daily one-to-one Orton-Gillingham language remediation and a college preparatory curriculum for students in grades 2-12 and PG (post-graduate).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Windward School</span> School for students with learning disabilities in New York

The Windward School is a coeducational, independent day school focused on teaching students in grades 1-9 with language-based learning disabilities with campuses in Westchester and Manhattan. Windward is recognized across the country and around the world as a leader in providing instruction to children with dyslexia and is listed among the best schools in the New York City area.

Multisensory learning is the assumption that individuals learn better if they are taught using more than one sense (modality). The senses usually employed in multisensory learning are visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile – VAKT. Other senses might include smell, taste and balance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Gaynor School</span> Independent private, special education school in Manhattan, New York, United States

Stephen Gaynor School is an independent private, special education school in Manhattan, New York, United States, associated with New York Interschool. The school was started with five students in 1962. Today, approximately 380 students ages three to fourteen with a range of language-based learning differences attend the school. Stephen Gaynor School is a member of the New York State Association of Independent Schools NYSAIS.

Bessie Whitmore Stillman (1871-1947) was an educator and contributor to the Orton-Gillingham teaching method for students with disabilities in reading.

References

  1. 1 2 Rose, Tessie E.; Zirkel, Perry (November 2007). "Orton-Gillingham Methodology for Students With Reading Disabilities: 30 Years of Case Law". The Journal of Special Education. 41 (3): 171–185. doi:10.1177/00224669070410030301. S2CID   1204397. ERIC   EJ785952 ProQuest   194716470. As several reviewers have pointed out, the research studies to date have not sufficiently validated the multisensory component that is the core of O-G programs (Moats & Farrell, 1999; Sanders, 2001), nor have they provided scientific support for its effectiveness (Ritchey & Goeke, 2006). The purpose here is not to demonstrate the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of O-G programs, but to reveal the gap that persists between professional advocacy for O-G and the need for scientifically based and peer-reviewed research.
  2. ↑ "How a Class of 1900 alumna influenced dyslexia research". Swarthmore Bulletin. 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2020. In 1929, Gillingham met neurologist Samuel T. Orton, a pioneer in the field of learning disabilities, and soon after joined him on a research fellowship. Gillingham collaborated with Bessie W. Stillman to turn some of Orton's ideas into practical form with the Gillingham–Stillman manual, also known as the Orton–Gillingham method, a multisensory phonics technique for remedial reading instruction.
  3. ↑ "Unbranded Orton-Gillingham-based Interventions, What works clearinghouse, July 2010".
  4. ↑ Langengerg, Ph.D, Daniel. "Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction" (PDF). National Reading Panel. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  5. ↑ Hughes, S. (10 February 2014). The Orton-Gillingham Language Approach - A Research Review (PDF). p. 7. Retrieved 26 May 2016.[ dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Orton-Gillingham Approach" (PDF). Florida Center for Reading Research. Retrieved 2007-05-23.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Ritchey, Kristen D.; Goeke, Jennifer L. (November 2006). "Orton-Gillingham and Orton-Gillingham—Based Reading Instruction: A Review of the Literature". The Journal of Special Education. 40 (3): 171–183. doi:10.1177/00224669060400030501. S2CID   16132344.
  8. ↑ Turner, III, Herbert M. (June 2008). "This systematic review empirically documents that the effectiveness of Orton-Gillingham and Orton-Gillingham-based reading instruction remains to be determined1". Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention. 2 (2): 67–69. doi:10.1080/17489530802037564. S2CID   217535920.
  9. ↑ Orton-Gillingham-based Strategies. US Dept of Education. July 2010. Orton-Gillingham is a broad, multisensory approach to teaching reading and spelling that can be modified for individual or group instruction at all reading levels. Teaching sessions are action oriented with auditory, visual, and kinesthetic elements reinforcing one another. The approach targets persons with the kinds of language processing problems (reading, spelling, and writing) associated with dyslexia.{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
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