What is OG?
Where Does the Name of the ‘Orton-Gillingham’ Approach Come From?
In the early 1920s, Dr. Samuel T. Orton was a physician who studied dyslexia, or reading difficulties, in children. He hypothesized that these children, who had average to above-average IQ, had challenges with neural connections in the brain that associated the sounds of the spoken word with the written word. He named the condition ‘strephosymbolia,' or ‘twisted symbol.’
In the early 1930s, Ms. Anna Gillingham, a psychologist who possessed a thorough knowledge of the English language, began working with Dr. Orton. Guided by his principles and precepts, she created a systematic and orderly approach to teaching the set of 70 phonograms that represented the 44 discrete sounds of the English language. She and Bessie Stillman wrote a manual for teachers: Remedial Training for Children With Specific Disabilities in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship.
Dr. Orton and Ms. Gillingham centered their approach on the concept of ‘multisensory’ teaching – or using movement, tactile, visual and auditory learning strategies simultaneously. Current research using fMRI brain scans have now validated the successful results of this type of therapy. When pre- and post-therapy-influenced brain scans of individuals with dyslexia were compared, the areas in the brains where efficient neural connections associating sounds of the spoken word to the written word had become more active, more like non-dyslexic individuals.
What is Dyslexia?
What Are ‘dyslexia’ or ‘learning Disabilities’?
Dyslexia is a term used for language processing difficulties: ‘dys’ meaning ‘not efficient’ and ‘lexia’ meaning ‘language’.
Perhaps each of our brains’ reading ‘neuronal circuits’ could be compared to 'snowflakes’; none of them are exactly the same, so none of us ‘reads’ exactly the same way.
“The history of different explanations and names for dyslexia has its origins in the complexity of the reading circuit.… adding to the complexity of dyslexia is the fact that the brain can and does make different reading circuits.” Maryann Wolf, Ed. D
This is quoted from Maryann Wolf’s article “Marcus Aurelius and the Continuing Dyslexia Debate” 1. Maryann Wolf often refers to the term ‘dyslexia’ because there is a spectrum of disabilities experienced by students in the reading, writing, listening and speaking skills of our English language.
Some of our children’s brains have reading circuits that are inefficient and laborious. In the academic setting, where our children spend a good deal of their time, reading is of primary concern. When a child realizes that he/she is not reading as well as his/her peers, the child can begin to lose confidence in academic reading and, and often writing, activities. The student’s grades can take a slide downward, comments from teachers can indicate a lack of engagement, and the student’s behavior can depict a desire to avoid any or all types of reading or writing.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is based on 'multisensory’ teaching – in other words, using movement, tactile, visual and auditory learning strategies simultaneously to attempt to engage and activate as much of the brain’s neuronal circuitry as possible. Current research using fMRI brain scans has now validated the successful results of this type of therapy. When pre- and post-therapy-influenced brain scans of individuals with dyslexia were compared, the areas in the brain where efficient neural connections associating sounds of the spoken word to the written word had become more active, more like non-dyslexic individuals. A very important point to keep in mind is that the earlier a student with a dyslexia is given therapy, the quicker and easier the student will remediate his or her academic skills.
Excellent Reading List
Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading at Any Level
by Sally Shaywitz
The Dyslexia Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain
by Brock Eide M.D. and Fernette Eide M.D.
The Alphabet War: A Story About Dyslexia
by Diane Robb and G. Piazza
Reading In the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention
by Stanislas Dehaene
Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain
By Maryann Wolfe
The Gift of Dyslexia, Revised and Expanded: Why Some of the Smartest People Can’t Read…and How They Can Learn
by Ronald Davis and Eldon Braun
The Parent’s Guide to Children With Dyslexia: All You Need to Ensure Your Child’s Success
by Abigail Marshall
The Secret Life of the Dyslexic Child: How She Thinks, How He Feels, How They Can Succeed
by Robert Frank PhD and Kathryn Livingston
The Dyslexia Checklist: A Practical Reference for Parents and Teachers
by Sandra Rief M.A. and Judith Stern M.A.