Reading disability - Child with difficulty learning to read - dyslexia home school

How do I Remediate for dyslexia or a reading disability?
My child is having difficulty learning to read.. how do I teach him?

Do you know what your child's primary learning channel is... Auditory, Visual, Kinesthetic, or Tactile? You may know already that these are the four ways people receive info.. And people who are able to learn do so through one or more of these channels.

Orton-Gillingham methods involve putting instruction into ALL four channels simultaneously(referred to sometimes as VAKT learning), so every channel has input. If the child is a visual learner and everything is presented auditorily, the child won't get much out of the instruction. Additionally, children tend to learn at some level through each of the channels unless they are blind or deaf (which eliminates the visual / auditory channels). So, by presenting learning on every channel, the child "maximizes" their learning.

Using Orton-Gillingham for remediation isn't a quick road, nor a specific program, but rather a way of teaching that maximizes a child's ability to absorb information being presented. The specific program that works will depend on which of the VAKT channels are being taught to and which one(s) the child learns through as well as the intensity level of instruction based upon a child's working and short-term memory issues. Short-term and working memory problems wreak havoc on retention - and intense, repetitive instruction is a key component to getting info into the long-term memory. (continued below..)

Remediation programs are ALL based on one or more of the learning channels. Some programs use a limited number of channels, use a single channel, or use limited repetitions. Limiting the number of channels will eliminate at least one learning avenue, which may happen to be the channel the child requires.. Then they won't learn anything from the program. Additionally, even if ALL of the channels are being taught to, sometimes a child has memory storage or retrieval problems that make it more difficult for the info to "stick" wherein intensity is a key component.. Sometimes a child can require 300+ repetitions to affect retention.

In my opinion, the best way to teach a child is to determine their primary learning channel(s), use ALL of the learning channels for teaching with the heaviest weight on the primary learning channel, and to present through *intense* repetition - daily for 40-60 minutes. Involving ALL of the learning channels can make the instruction varied and "fun" by changing activities every 10 minutes or so, presenting the info over and over in different ways.

When teaching reading, it is more often than not important to start with the most basic aspects - recognizing the phonemes in auditory and spoken forms - Once the hearing / speaking part is mastered, then it can be applied to printed text in sequential (starting at the single sound level), specific instruction. You should know as well, that reading is an AUDITORY activity.. Many people think reading is "visual learning" because it is printed on a page, but the understanding of reading is an activity processed in the auditory center of the brain. Fluent readers "say" words in their brains as they read and brain scans through fMRI show that the auditory center of the brain is activated during reading. This is why deaf children typically have a more difficult time learning to read than do blind people using braille. (continued below..)

It is by NO MEANS easy to teach through Orton-Gillingham methods.. and I have yet to find a "recipe" that I consider a full-fledged program. I have combined about 6 different programs and taken Orton-Gillingham certification classes to be sure to cover all I can.

Orton-Gillingham Methods have been shown in numerous studies (over decades) to be effective for all but a very few children (and by that I mean children who are affected by significant intellectual impairments placing their IQ at a very low level ).

Learning to read breaks down like this... 60% of kids learn to read with "standard" instruction (phonics or whole language - doesn't matter - these kids will likely learn to read given any reading instruction at all). 40% of kids require specific, detailed instruction in how to read. Of those 10-15% will have significant difficulty requiring intense, specific, sequential, multi-sensory instruction (Orton-Gillingham) to address their specific deficits.

This is where it is helpful to know if the problems are auditory or visual or both, or working memory, etc.. and to know the child's primary learning channel (or style). Then there are 3% will be unable to learn to read and whose IQs are actually well below average, not just pulled below average because of specific learning disabilities (if that makes any sense).

Dyslexia Reading Remediation