About the Orton-Gillingham Approach
Why Multi-Sensory?
Myriad studies and articles underscore the link between engaging the senses and our ability to grasp and retain information. Using the Orton-Gillingham approach to teach reading to children is especially successful because it often feels like play and, let's face it, we are all more willing participants when something is fun! Children will learn the rules and patterns of decoding and encoding by engaging their senses of touch, sight, sound, smell, and movement as they write in a sand tray, use gestures for letter sounds, write in the air, and arm and finger tap to name just a few active-learning examples..
Orton-Gillingham Is For All Students
The Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE) states the mission of this approach best when they say: "Orton-Gillingham is a highly structured approach that breaks reading and spelling down into smaller skills involving letters and sounds, and then building on these skills over time. It also was the first approach to use multi-sensory teaching strategies to teach reading, which is considered extremely effective for teaching students with dyslexia. Today, Orton-Gillingham is used in many reading programs as an effective way to teach literacy. For over 20 years, IMSE has been bringing Orton-Gillingham to the modern classroom. We believe that Orton-Gillingham helps all children learn to read; not just those who are struggling."
My Success With Orton-Gillingham
"My child is in the third grade. Sari has been a great support and is very loving, understanding and has patience. I am extremely happy with all my child has accomplished!" - Parent
“It's fun and exciting! I wish you were my teacher all the time. I'm better at my b's and d's now!" - Second grade student
"After working with Sari, our students have improved their annunciation, reading, writing, and speaking skills. The improvements have truly been life-changing for both the student and their families. She constantly shares their progress and celebrate[s] each student's accomplishments, big and small." - Askar Morisseau, Youth Coordinator/ Summer Camp Director at Hall Neighborhood House, Bridgeport, CT
"Sari takes her knowledge and skills in this [Orton-Gillingham] approach and looks for, and elicits, each individual student's strengths, rather than being blinded or discouraged by any areas of weakness." - Dr. Judy Primavera, Professor of Psychology, Fairfield University