dyslexia

Excellent program! You don’t say what grade levels you are going to be working with. Are you going to use it as a “push-in” program as it’s designed to be used? I’ve never taught the program as written but, rather, adapted parts of it for whole-class instruction in first grade and had great results. Best wishes, Grace at

Dear Sharon:

As Grace said, this is an excellent program. It’s authors are well recognized members of the International Dyslexia Association. When I received my Orton-Gillingham training at Miami University (Ohio), my instructor and mentor recommended it; and I have been using it for 10 years now. I use the Phonological Guide and the 3 Lesson Plan manuals. I use the Phonological Guide to introduce the sound/symbol relationships, and the Lesson Plan manual materials as reinforcement and practice. I like the J&J Readers (Language! published by Sopris West) for supplimental reading materials in addition to the Bonnie Kline stories available through Project Read.

The important thing to remember in using these materials with dyslexics is to be sure to do the “sky writing” and “memory box” writing activities. Dyslexics need to see, say/hear, and write the sound/symbol relationships at the same time in order to involve all the learning pathways—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile. This is particularly important because dyslexics are often weak in one area (i.e. visual processing or auditory processing) and need the help the other two pathways to get the information to the brain. The “hand signals” described for use with the short vowels are very helpful too. I have had students use the signals on their own to recall a vowel sound when their memory has lapsed.

There is no prescribed timetable or schedule regarding when to move from one lesson to the next. But it is extremely important that you don’t skip around. Follow the sequence as presented in the manual. Dyslexics need a program that is structured, sequential, cummulative and repetative in order to master the concepts presented.

You may contact me viw e-mail if you have specific questions.

Hope I’ve been helpful.

L. Starr

Dear Sharon:

As Grace said, this is an excellent program. It’s authors are well recognized members of the International Dyslexia Association. When I received my Orton-Gillingham training at Miami University (Ohio), my instructor and mentor recommended it; and I have been using it for 10 years now. I use the Phonological Guide and the 3 Lesson Plan manuals. I use the Phonological Guide to introduce the sound/symbol relationships, and the Lesson Plan manual materials as reinforcement and practice. I like the J&J Readers (Language! published by Sopris West) for supplimental reading materials in addition to the Bonnie Kline stories available through Project Read.

The important thing to remember in using these materials with dyslexics is to be sure to do the “sky writing” and “memory box” writing activities. Dyslexics need to see, say/hear, and write the sound/symbol relationships at the same time in order to involve all the learning pathways—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile. This is particularly important because dyslexics are often weak in one area (i.e. visual processing or auditory processing) and need the help the other two pathways to get the information to the brain. The “hand signals” described for use with the short vowels are very helpful too. I have had students use the signals on their own to recall a vowel sound when their memory has lapsed.

There is no prescribed timetable or schedule regarding when to move from one lesson to the next. But it is extremely important that you don’t skip around. Follow the sequence as presented in the manual. Dyslexics need a program that is structured, sequential, cummulative and repetative in order to master the concepts presented.

You may contact me viw e-mail if you have specific questions.

Hope I’ve been helpful.

L. Starr