What Is Orton-Gillingham? A Guide for Parents Looking for Reading Support

Celebrating National Literacy Month at Marigold Speech & Co. in Janesville, Wisconsin

September is National Literacy Month, making it a great time to talk about something we care deeply about at Marigold Speech & Co.: helping children develop the skills and confidence they need to become successful readers. In 2025, the U.S. Senate formally designated September as National Literacy Month and highlighted the importance of evidence-based instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

For some children, learning to read seems to click naturally. For others, it can feel like an uphill battle.

Maybe your child guesses at words instead of sounding them out. Perhaps spelling is a constant struggle, reading aloud causes frustration, or they seem to forget a reading skill shortly after learning it. You may notice homework takes much longer than expected or that your child has simply started saying, “I hate reading.”

When families begin searching for reading help, one term they often encounter is Orton-Gillingham, or OG.

So, what exactly is Orton-Gillingham—and how can it help a struggling reader?

What Is Orton-Gillingham?

The Orton-Gillingham Approach is an individualized, explicit, structured, sequential, cumulative, and multisensory approach to teaching literacy. Many of the foundational principles used in Orton-Gillingham align with evidence-based reading instruction and the growing body of research commonly referred to as the Science of Reading. It was developed from the work of neuropsychiatrist Samuel Torrey Orton and educator and psychologist Anna Gillingham and has a long history of supporting individuals with dyslexia and other language-based reading difficulties.

One important distinction is that Orton-Gillingham is an approach—not a boxed reading program or a stack of worksheets. A rigid program typically follows a predetermined sequence regardless of the individual learner. OG allows a knowledgeable instructor to adapt instruction according to the student’s specific strengths, needs, progress, and response to teaching.

At its core, OG helps students understand how spoken and written English work together.

Instead of asking a student to memorize lists of words, the instructor explicitly teaches the patterns and structures behind reading and spelling. Depending on the learner’s needs, instruction may address phonological and phonemic awareness, sound-symbol relationships, decoding, encoding and spelling, syllable patterns, morphology, vocabulary, fluency, handwriting, and comprehension. Skills are introduced systematically, practiced, and continually reviewed as more complex concepts are added.

What Does “Multisensory” Mean?

You may hear Orton-Gillingham described as a multisensory approach to reading.

That doesn’t simply mean making lessons more entertaining or adding hands-on activities.

Multisensory instruction intentionally connects different learning pathways. A student may see a letter or spelling pattern, hear its corresponding sound, say it aloud, and write or manipulate it.

The Orton-Gillingham Academy describes this as integrating visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile pathways during instruction.

These connections help learners develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between the sounds we say and hear and the letters and patterns we see in print.

OG Is Structured—but It Is Also Individualized

This is one of the things that makes Orton-Gillingham unique.

There is structure and intentional progression, but the learner drives the instruction.

An instructor continually observes how a student responds to a lesson. What has become automatic? What still requires prompting? Is the student ready to move forward? Does a concept need to be taught differently? Is there an earlier foundational skill interfering with a more advanced one?

This is sometimes described as diagnostic and prescriptive teaching. Instruction is continually informed by the learner’s performance rather than simply moving on because the next lesson is scheduled.

Previously learned concepts are also intentionally revisited. This cumulative component helps students connect new information to skills they have already learned and work toward greater independence.

Ultimately, the goal isn’t simply for a child to successfully complete today’s reading assignment. The goal is to give that learner tools for becoming a more competent and independent reader and writer.

Is Orton-Gillingham Only for Dyslexia?

No.

Orton-Gillingham is particularly well known for supporting individuals with dyslexia, and its roots are closely connected to understanding and remediating language-based reading difficulties. However, its principles can also be used with other struggling readers, and the approach can be used across ages.

A child also doesn’t necessarily need to have a formal dyslexia diagnosis before a parent begins asking questions about persistent reading difficulties.

Signs that a child may benefit from additional literacy support can include difficulty learning letter-sound relationships, sounding out unfamiliar words, blending sounds together, spelling, remembering previously taught patterns, reading accurately or fluently, or understanding what they’ve read.

Sometimes the first sign isn’t academic at all.

It’s avoidance.

“I don’t want to read.”

“I’m bad at reading.”

“This is too hard.”

When reading repeatedly feels difficult, it can begin affecting a child’s confidence as a learner. That’s why effective literacy intervention isn’t simply about getting through more books—it’s about identifying why reading is difficult and providing instruction that addresses the underlying skills.

Reading Tutoring vs. Reading Intervention

Parents often search for a reading tutor in Janesville, WI, when what their child may actually need is targeted reading intervention.

While both can be valuable, they’re not necessarily the same.

Traditional tutoring may focus on helping a student understand current classroom material, finish homework, prepare for a test, or practice grade-level assignments.

Reading intervention goes deeper.

If a child’s foundational literacy skills are weak, repeatedly practicing grade-level reading assignments may not address the reason those assignments are difficult.

A student may need help with homework.

Another student may need help learning how to read more effectively.

Determining the difference matters.

Who Might Benefit From Literacy Intervention?

Parents may want to explore additional reading support if their child consistently struggles with reading or spelling, avoids reading whenever possible, guesses at unfamiliar words, has difficulty sounding out words, reads very slowly or with significant effort, forgets skills they’ve previously learned, or isn’t progressing as expected despite instruction.

Some students need intensive support. Others may simply have a few gaps in their foundational skills that need to be addressed.

The important thing is to understand where the learner is now and build from there.

And while early intervention is valuable, it is also important for families to know:

It is never too late to strengthen literacy skills.

🌼 Literacy & Reading Intervention at Marigold Speech & Co.

At Marigold Speech & Co., our services extend beyond speech and occupational therapy. We also offer individualized academic and literacy support in Janesville, Wisconsin, for families looking for additional help with reading and learning.

Our reading interventionist, Jennifer “Jenni” Choate, is a licensed Wisconsin K–8 educator with more than 30 years of experience helping elementary students grow academically and build confidence as learners. Jenni specializes in literacy instruction and works with children who need additional reading support. She is trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach and has additional training in dyslexia support.

Her approach is structured, supportive, and individualized to the learner.

At Marigold, we believe struggling readers don’t simply need to be told to try harder.

Sometimes they need someone to determine where the breakdown is, teach the skill in a different way, provide enough meaningful practice for it to stick, and give them opportunities to experience success.

Celebrate National Literacy Month With Us

This September, National Literacy Month is a great opportunity to pay attention to your child’s relationship with reading.

Are they enjoying it—or avoiding it?

Are they making progress, or does reading seem significantly harder than it should?

Are they sounding out unfamiliar words or relying heavily on guessing?

Is spelling a daily struggle?

Have you been wondering whether they need more support but aren’t sure where to begin?

You don’t need to know whether your child “needs Orton-Gillingham” before contacting us.

That’s what we’re here to help you figure out. 💛

If you’re looking for reading intervention, Orton-Gillingham support, dyslexia support, or individualized literacy instruction in Janesville, Rock County, or the surrounding Southern Wisconsin area, reach out to Marigold Speech & Co.

Call Marigold and ask to speak with Jenni directly. Tell us what you’re noticing, ask your questions, and learn more about whether our literacy program may be a good fit for your child.

Explore Marigold Speech & Co.⁠

This National Literacy Month, we’re celebrating every reader—including the ones who haven’t discovered just how capable they are yet. 🌼📚