School Programs for Dyslexia
Ideally, Orton-Gillingham should be taught in a one-on-one setting with a well-qualified teacher who has specialized training to work with your child. However, it is not always practical or affordable for families to obtain such tutoring. There are now many reading programs designed for classroom use with children with dyslexia that incorporate the basic O-G methodology and which also include many additional techniques to support reading development. Some of the best known are profiled here.
Spalding Method
Romalda Spalding, author of The Writing Road to Reading, was a teacher who studied with Samuel Orton and developed her own variation of the method, influenced in part by the ideas of Maria Montessori. The Spalding Method is a total language arts curriculum and is generally implemented in a classroom setting.
The method begins with phonics instruction based on 54 phonograms, which is integrated closely with handwriting practice. As the phonograms are learned, they are combined into words and written in a spelling notebook compiled by the student during dictation. Students also learn writing composition skills beginning with using oral sentences using words in their spelling notebooks and moving on to writing sentences and paragraphs.
The Spalding Method also emphasizes early exposure to high-quality children's literature, such as Caldecott and Newberry award-winning books, which are incorporated into the teaching curriculum through oral reading and discussion.
Slingerland Approach
The Slingerland Approach was developed for classroom use by Beth Slingerland, a teacher who studied with Samuel Orton. Reading is taught sequentially proceeding from single letters and symbols to one-syllable words and then to longer words. Multisensory approaches are emphasized throughout, with each step of instruction incorporating auditory, visual, and kinesthetic channels. Writing and letter formation are taught systematically, one letter at a time, and each lesson includes emphasis both on auditory (sound-correspondence) and visual aspects of letters and words.
Slingerland includes teaching visual strategies for recognition of phonetically irregular words, and also provides explicit, systematic instruction in the development of vocabulary and reading comprehension. In addition to use in primary grades or special education classrooms at many schools, Slingerland has also been widely implemented at private schools geared to teaching dyslexic students.
The Herman Method
The Herman Method for Reversing Reading Failure, named for teacher Renee Herman, is also based on Orton-Gillingham and follows a sequence of instruction that starts each student at his point of deficit and sequentially teaches mastery of up to 20 skill levels. Students are not given reading material until they have mastered all necessary underlying skills. The program has a strong emphasis on visual and tactile exercises to aid in learning the appearance and sound of letters.
In addition to decoding, the method also teaches reading strategies for sight words, contextual clues, and dictionary skills, with consistent emphasis on comprehension. Teachers trained in this method are encouraged to use creativity and develop individualized approaches for each student's needs.
ESSENTIAL
The full Wilson Reading System program takes one to three years to complete. Research has shown that students achieved the highest gain in word attack skills, which are measured by testing of reading lists of nonsense words. Gains in passage comprehension were more moderate.
Wilson Reading System
This is a 12-step program developed especially for older children and teenagers with dyslexia. It includes many aspects of O-G teaching, including mutisensory and systematic instruction. However, the emphasis is primarily on application of concepts rather than on coding. Wilson includes a unique sound tapping system to help the student learn to differentiate phonemes and uses a simplified method of syllable division. It uses extensive, controlled text reading material, including words suited to older students, to correspond with the skills taught.
All concepts are taught with manipulation of cards containing phonemes, syllables, and suffixes. Fluency is emphasized throughout the program. The program also focuses on oral expressive language development through vocabulary instruction, and building comprehension through visualization techniques.
