Frequently Asked Questions

The strongest indicator is weakness with phonemic awareness — the ability to recognize and order individual sounds within words. Many schools now administer tests that can measure this 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 whether sounds are consistently in the correct order. Spelling "cat" as "kat" is better than spelling it as "cut" or "tak."

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 confidence drops as school demands ramp up.

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. Private 1:1 tutoring with a specialist often provides targeted instruction the school setting can't replicate.

You can have your child evaluated by a neuropsychologist or other professional trained to assess learning development. They will administer tests to pinpoint specific strengths and weaknesses and recommend specific steps — often including private tutoring.

It ranges from $50 to $100+ per hour, depending on a tutor's background, experience, and quality. Linguistics Edge gives discounts for multiple sessions per week and sibling tutoring. Contact us for current rates — we aim to be accessible for Portland-area families.

Ensure they have been trained in an Orton-Gillingham based program. Ask about their experience and style. Are parents encouraged to sit in on 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.

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, often referenced as the "science of reading."

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. But it is the approach — explicit, systematic, cumulative, and multisensory — that defines the O-G method, rather than any specific curricula. What matters most is experience and proven results.