Often dyslexia can go unnoticed for a time: Dyslexic students are often quite creative and eager to blend in with the rest of the class, so they memorize several words by sight in order to appear that they are reading on grade level. But while the dyslexic student is obviously bright and seems to be keeping up with the class, possibly even “reading” books attentively during an independent reading time, that student is actually lagging further and further behind in reading skills.
And when the dyslexia is finally discovered, the child’s parents often wonder: Is it possible for a dyslexic child to catch up quickly to the rest of the class from one or more grade levels behind?
For decades, the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching reading has been the answer for many dyslexic kids who have fallen behind in reading — whether they’re lagging just one grade level behind or multiple grade levels. This method of teaching dyslexic children to read works well because it ties reading into the many ways that people with dyslexia process information:
It breaks words into smaller parts like phonemes and morphemes in order to teach phonics
It incorporates multiple senses in the learning process: seeing the words, hearing the sounds of the words and sentences, touch (tactile learning), and kinesthetic learning (using motion), such as tracing letters in the air.
It is a systematic and structured way to learn how words and sentences are constructed, so the child develops better mastery of phonics, reading, and writing.
Once a dyslexic child begins to use an Orton-Gillingham reading program, results often follow quickly. The Language Tune-Up Kit (LTK) is based on the Orton-Gillingham approach and has often resulted in dyslexic students advancing two or more grade levels in just a few weeks or months.
Orton-Gillingham-based teaching aids like the LTK work quickly because they finally teach reading in a way that’s accessible to the dyslexic mind. The LTK software helps students learn to decode words using phonemic awareness and other Orton-Gillingham methods, only relying on sight word memorization for those words which don’t follow the normal phonetic spelling rules. And true to the Orton-Gillingham approach, the LTK incorporates tactile-kinesthetic learning as well as audio reading, oral reading of words and stories, and dictation (the student types the word or sentence provided by the program).
Dyslexic students as young as 6 can begin using the Language Tune-Up Kit, and the complete program takes the student up to a grade 8.5 reading level. Students who use the LTK software 3-4 times per week for sessions of 30-45 minutes each often experience improved reading skills within two weeks — and that rapid progress provides confidence and the motivation to go further. Our testimonials show how other parents, tutors, and teachers have successfully used the LTK to help dyslexic kids quickly build solid reading skills and attain the right reading level.