Orton-Gillingham Information

Dr. Samuel T. Orton (1879-1948), a professor of neuropsychiatry and neuropathology at Columbia University identified the syndrome of developmental reading disabilities, separated it from mental defect and brain damage and offered a physiological explanation. Anna Gillingham (1878-1964), a psychologist and teacher in New York City, worked with Dr. Orton to organize his findings and develop a structured program which has been successfully used for more than sixty years.

The Orton-Gillingham approach is a structured, multisensory phonics approach. It is systematic, proceeding from the simple to the more complex and it is cumulative in that new information builds on that which has been previously learned. Multi-sensory reinforcement and practice cement new learning into long-term memory.

Letters that represent the single sounds of speech are presented to students through the three major learning pathways, the ears, eyes and muscles. This linking process integrates the muscles of the mouth, tongue and throat that form the sound, the ears that hear it, the eyes that see it and the muscles that write it. Students learn to read, write and spell simultaneously.

Immediately new phonograms are blended into words that carry meaning and these words are used in sentences and stories for comprehension. The student is never asked to read or spell anything that hasn't been learned through the linkage procedure.

To learn more on Orton-Gillingham, visit the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Web site.