About Dyslexia | ohrhalimud2

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is the most common learning disorder. It is marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words. Dyslexia is a type of reading disability usually manifested as a difficulty with written language, particularly with reading and spelling. Evidence suggests that it is a result of a difference in how the brain processes written and/or verbal language.

Most people still think that dyslexia is seeing or reading backwards. That is simply not true. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, and the least understood. Dyslexic children have average or above average intelligence.

The Orton-Gillingham Approach

The “evidence-based intervention” for dyslexia is The Orton-Gillingham Approach. Mrs. David experienced this first-hand with her daughter and became determined to bring this Approach to all Orthodox Jewish children who needed it. It is her life’s work, and she has a 13-year track record of success for transitioning girls back to traditional programs.

The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a multi-sensory approach to the teaching of reading, writing, spelling, and handwriting. It includes decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension training for reading. It includes encoding (spelling), handwriting, and sentence structure for writing. The Orton-Gillingham Approach spirals upward in a continuum of skills based on the structure of the language. It is an ungraded system, appropriate for use with all ages and all grades.
The Orton-Gillingham Approach was developed over 70 years ago by a neurologist, Dr. Samuel T. Orton, specifically to teach the student with dyslexia. In collaboration with other professionals, namely social worker June Lyday Orton, psychologist and grammarian Anna Gillingham, and others, the Orton-Gillingham Approach draws on the strength of many disciplines.

These enlightened professionals created a scientific, diagnostic-prescriptive clinical approach to teaching the language (English, Hebrew, etc.) based on its linguistic structure, using multi-sensory strategies (seeing, hearing, touching, movement) simultaneously so as to create a consistent neural pathway to assist memory. As each skill is mastered, it is practiced to automaticity and integrated into previous learning for fluency.