The Benefits of Orton-Gillingham for Students with Dyslexia

For students with dyslexia, the Orton-Gillingham method addresses their specific challenges by breaking down language into manageable parts. The technique helps students:

  • Overcome reading difficulties by developing a strong foundation in phonics and decoding.

  • Build confidence through personalised instruction and steady progress.

  • Increase academic success in reading, writing, and spelling.

  • Enhance memory retention through multisensory and repetitive techniques.

  • Develop a love for learning, as students feel more empowered and less frustrated with their abilities.

The Orton-Gillingham method is an effective, research-based approach used successfully with students of all ages. Combining its structured, multi-sensory techniques with a deep understanding of individual student needs provides an effective solution for helping students with dyslexia overcome their reading challenges and unlock their full potential.

Key Components of the Orton-Gillingham method:

1. Structured and Sequential:

The OG approach is highly structured and follows a logical instructional sequence. It begins with teaching the most basic concepts and progresses step-by-step to more complex ones. This ensures that each new skill or idea builds upon previous knowledge, which is critical for students who struggle with language's order and structure.

For example, early lessons might begin with individual sounds (phonemes) and letters (graphemes) and then gradually combine these sounds into syllables and words. As students progress, they learn more complex phonetic rules and exceptions and how to apply these in reading and writing.

2. Multi-Sensory

One of the most distinctive features of the Orton-Gillingham method is its multi-sensory approach, meaning that it engages multiple senses—sight, sound, touch, and movement—to help reinforce learning. This method appeals to different types of learners and ensures that the brain processes information through multiple channels, strengthening memory and recall.

For Instance: 

  • Students may trace letters or words in sand or on textured surfaces (tactile).

  • They might use colour-coded materials or visualise the shape of words (visual).

  • Verbal repetition of sounds, words, and rules helps reinforce phonemic awareness (auditory).

The multi-sensory techniques help students process the information more deeply and retain it longer.

3. Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

A core focus of the Orton-Gillingham approach is phonemic awareness—the ability to recognise and manipulate sounds in words. Students learn to break down words into their sounds (phonemes), a crucial reading and spelling skill.

OG instruction explicitly teaches phonics, focusing on connecting sounds (phonemes) and letters or letter combinations (graphemes). This helps students decode words and build their spelling and writing abilities. For example, a student would learn that the sound /k/ can be spelled as "c," "k," or "ck" depending on the word's context.

4. Explicit Instruction

In an Orton-Gillingham session, the teacher provides direct, explicit instruction. This means that every concept or rule is taught clearly and without the assumption that the student already knows it. Teachers use carefully designed lessons that present concepts in a logical sequence and reinforce those concepts through repetition, review, and application.

For example, when teaching the "silent e" rule (where an "e" at the end of a word changes the vowel sound in the word), the teacher would:

  • Explain the rule verbally

  • Write the word on the board and point out the "e" and its impact

  • Have the student read and spell words with that pattern

5. Individualised and Flexible

The Orton-Gillingham method is highly personalised to meet the needs of each student. Every lesson is tailored to the learner’s pace, abilities, and learning style. This is especially important for students with dyslexia, as they may need extra time or different strategies to grasp certain concepts. The pace is slow and steady, allowing students to understand each step before moving on.

The instructor can adapt the lesson to provide additional practice and support if a student struggles with a specific rule or concept. Likewise, if a student masters a concept quickly, the instruction can accelerate to keep the student challenged and engaged.

6. Reinforcement and Review

The Orton-Gillingham method emphasises frequent review and reinforcement to ensure students internalise their learning. This is done through:

  • Daily practice of previously learned material to keep it fresh.

  • Spaced repetition ensures long-term retention of skills.

  • Immediate feedback from the teacher allows students to correct mistakes in real time.

  • This review and repetition help students consolidate their knowledge and strengthen their reading, writing, and spelling skills.

7. Emphasis on Fluency and Comprehension

In addition to teaching decoding and spelling, the Orton-Gillingham approach strongly emphasises reading fluency and comprehension. As students become more confident in decoding, they are taught strategies to understand what they are reading, including:

  • Recognising high-frequency sight words

  • Using context clues to infer meaning

  • Developing reading comprehension strategies, such as summarising and making predictions