About the Reading Program

Why Dyslexic Children Need an Intensive Reading Program:

Most children today are taught a combination of phonics along with whole language, which is fine for most of our population.  These children learn to read by initially learning the sounds of the letters, learning word families and memorizing high frequency words.  As they read, they use these tools to decode the words.  When they are faced with a word that they don’t know, they are able to identify the components and to translate them into something recognizable.  To the parent, it seems like they just “pick it up” as they read more and more.  Not so for the dyslexic student; they need much more. 

Studies have shown that dyslexic students must be taught phoneme and morphological awareness, as prescribed by the Orton-Gillingham method.  That means they must learn all of the sounds, along with the spelling rules  for the English language, along with how words can morph into other words (such as piano to pianist).  This means that the student must learn phonics, as well as memorizing all the nuances (rules and exceptions) of our language.  Since the dyslexic child is known to have a poor memory where language is concerned, this should be done with much repetition for reinforcement.

Orton-Gillingham:

Orton-Gillingham comes from Samual Orton (a neuropsychiatrist and pathologist)  and Anna Gillingham (an educator and psychologist).  Th two worked together in the early 1900's to create an effective way to teach dyslexic children how to read.   The Orton-Gillingham method is intensive, sequential and phonics based, heavily emphasizing the smallest units of speech (phonemes) and their combinations to form words (morphemes).  By the 1930's their approach was used in many small special education classes and one on one tutoring.  Their method is widely used today in various forms, and is still just as effective.

Our Reading Program:

This reading program offers a systematic approach based on the Orton-Gillingham method. It goes over phonics, rules, exceptions, includes the 500 most frequently used words in our language and this is all done with repetition.  When a lesson introduces a topic, the exercises for that lesson will be a combination of what was just taught and what was taught in earlier lessons.  In addition, there are many word lists that the student must read out loud, to reinforce new material as well as old.

How it's Done:

Spend 20 to 40 minutes a day with your child or student.  Read the lesson together, go over the words in the word lists and then do the exercises.  Note that the dictation parts of the exercises can be done through this website (click here). The lessons are scripted and easy to follow, so anyone can do it, no special training is needed. 

For Teachers & Tutors:  This program is perfect for small groups of dyslexic students or students who are reading below grade level who need to improve their reading and writing skills.  This includes lessons, worksheets and word lists in one organized package; all you'll need is a composition notebook, for each student, and index cards.

Auditory Processing Disorder:

Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is a problem with the way the brain uses information which is heard (auditory information), although actual hearing is normal.  People with APD have trouble discerning subtle differences in tones and sounds.  For example, a child may confuse the 's' and 'th' sounds, or the 'm' and 'n' sounds. This lends itself to problems with phonemes (the smallest unit of sounds in words) which can create language and reading problems.

Children with APD may have trouble in:

      • reading and writing

      • remembering information that was given orally

      • following a conversation when background noise is present

      • organizing

      • speech problems

      • following multi-oral instructions

If your child or student was diagnosed with APD, and does have a problem reading, then he or she will need to learn the phonemes and become phonologically aware; that means they must learn the process in which words are identified by identifying individual sounds (phonemes) that make up the words. 

Children with APD are often diagnosed as having dyslexia, and many dyslexic children are diagnosed as having APD.  Either way, the student must learn to read in the same manner; that is using a systematic approach that covers all of the sounds, rules and exceptions of our language.  This reading program offers this approach, which your student can benefit from

Sample Lessons 1-5

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The Lessons:

* For distribution reasons, the title of this reading program has been changed from A Workbook for Dyslexics to A Reading Program for Overcoming Dyslexia.

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