Frequently Asked Questions

Getting help for learning difficulties is never easy, that’s why we’ve compiled the most frequently asked questions below:

FAQs

1 / How can I tell if my preschooler or kindergartner will struggle with reading?

The strongest indicator is weakness with phonemic awareness, the ability to recognize and order individual sounds within words. Many schools and districts now administer tests that can measure phonemic awareness and accurately predict reading struggles.

In spoken language, listen for omissions (cap for camp), insertions (drive/dive) and transpositions (aminal/animal). In beginning spelling, check to see if the sounds are consistently in the correct order. Spelling cat as kat is better than spelling it as cut or tak.

2 / When should I get help if my child is struggling?

As soon as possible! Research, and my own experience, shows the longer you wait the steeper the challenge to bring a struggling student up to “grade level” performance. This is partially because past habits have to be changed and partially because of decreasing confidence as school reading and writing demands ramp up.

4 / Should I depend on my child’s school to help?

Yes…but not solely. Despite educators’ best intentions -- and an IEP – the school might not provide the most effective type of instruction for your child. If you’re reading this, you’ve already begun getting informed. Keep it up!

5 / Where else can I get help?

You can have your child evaluated by a neuropsychologist or other professional trained to assess learning development. He or she will administer a series of tests to pinpoint specific strengths and weaknesses and recommend specific steps to take. These recommendations often include private tutoring.

6 / How much does private tutoring cost?

It ranges from $50 to $100+ per hour, depending on a tutor's background, experience, and quality. Linguistics Edge gives discounts for multiple sessions a week and sibling tutoring.

7 / What should I look for in a tutor or reading teacher?

Ensure they have been trained in an Orton-Gillingham based program. Ask about their experience, and style. Are parents encouraged to sit on tutoring sessions? Will they get support to help their kids at home?

"There is abundant research documenting that teachers, not programs, are the most powerful influence on student success," according to the International Literacy Association.

8 / What is Orton-Gillingham?

O-G is an approach to teaching reading based on principles developed by researchers Samuel Orton and Anna Gillingham. It advocates an explicit, systematic, cumulative, multisensory approach to teaching dyslexic learners.

These principles were incorporated into a report by the National Reading Panel that is often referenced as the "science of reading."

9/Do you need a certified instructor to teach the Orton-Gillingham method?

No. O-G is an approach, a set of principles. In 1995, a nonprofit O-G Academy opened and began training and certifying O-G practitioners.

O-G has its own methodology and materials, like other effective reading programs. But it is the approach -- explicit, systematic, cumulative, and multisensory -- that defines the O-G method, rather than any specific curricula.