Definition: What is Orton-Gillingham? It is a multisensory approach to teaching reading to children with language-based learning difficulties such as dyslexia. It was developed in the 1930s by researchers at Columbia University. Anna Gillingham was an educator and psychologist who worked with Dr. Samuel Orton, a neuropsychiatrist at Columbia University. Gillingham wrote the manual which set out the results of their research, Remedial Training for Children with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling and Penmanship.
How does Orton-Gillingham work? Simplifying it greatly, O-G works by teaching a concept in a variety of ways simultaneously. For example, you would teach a student what the letter F looks like at the same time as you show him how to write it and sound it out. Instant feedback from the teacher combined with repetition by the student allows him to capture or memorize the information in several ways. Simply put, the information has more ways of getting through using the multisensory approach. The Orton-Gillingham method requires one on one work with students by qualified practitioners.
Resources
- The Orton-Gillingham Multisensory Approach
- Orton-Gillingham and Orton-Gillingham—Based Reading Instruction
- Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators
Find more terms in the Private School Glossary.
Examples:
"The Orton-Gillingham approach is language-based, multisensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, cognitive, and flexible." ...Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators website.
