What is auditory processing disorder?
Auditory processing is a language processing disorder in which a child has significant problems processing sounds, particularly sounds associated with speech. It is a very common learning disability, affecting approximately 5% of school-age children.
What is Orton-Gillingham?
Dr. Samuel T. Orton and Dr. Anna Gillingham developed the Orton-Gillingham approach in the 1930s. At Orton-Gillingham, reading is taught sequentially from individual letters and symbols to single-syllable words and then longer words. . Multisensory approaches are emphasized throughout, and each step of instruction incorporates auditory, visual, and kinesthetic channels. Writing and letter formation are taught systematically, one letter at a time, with each lesson including emphasis on the auditory and visual aspects of letters and words. Orton-Gillingham includes teaching visual strategies for phonetically irregular word recognition as well as providing explicit and systematic instruction in vocabulary development and reading comprehension.
How does using an Orton-Gillingham reading/spelling program help a child with auditory processing disorder?
Simultaneous multisensory instruction: Children with auditory processing impairments who use all of their senses when learning (visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic) are better able to store and retrieve information. The child with APD can see the letter B, say its name and sound, and write it in the air, all at the same time.
Intensive Instruction: Reading instruction for children with auditory processing needs to be much more intense and offer much more practice than for regular readers.
Direct and Explicit Instruction: Children with APD need to be directly and explicitly taught each and every phoneme (sound) of the English language. They should be taught one spelling rule at a time and practiced until they are stable in both reading and spelling before introducing a new rule.
Systematic and Cumulative: Orton-Gillingham starts at the beginning and creates a solid foundation with no holes. It is taught by presenting one rule at a time and practicing it until the child can apply that rule automatically and fluently in both reading and spelling. Previously learned material is constantly repeated in each new lesson and students progress in their reading and spelling without interruption.
Children with Auditory Processing Disorder need more structure, repetition, and differentiation in their reading instruction. They need to learn the basic sounds of the language and the letters that form them, starting at the beginning and progressing in a gradual step-by-step process. This must be delivered in a systematic, sequential and cumulative approach. For all of this to “stick,” children will need to do it using their eyes, ears, voices, and hands.