The Orton-Gillingham Dyslexia Center Story:
The Orton-Gillingham Dyslexia Center is dedicated to dyslexia tutoring using the time-tested and proven Orton-Gillingham Approach. Unlike many dyslexia tutors who use “Orton-Gillingham-based” tutoring programs or strategies, the OGDC intends to stay true to the diagnostic and prescriptive approach, as promoted by the Orton-Gillingham Academy.
Orton-Gillingham is not simply a collection of activities or a curriculum that can be packaged and sold. It is a structured, diagnostic, prescriptive, multisensory approach. Academy-trained tutors are highly skilled professionals who have undergone extensive training programs which include periods of a year or more of practicum, in which the newly-trained tutors practice their skills under the direct supervision of their teachers.
Training through the Orton-Gillingham Academy (OGA) represents a rigorous pathway for practitioners committed to maintaining the integrity of the Approach. OGA training involves substantial coursework and supervised practicum, with advanced levels requiring significant experience and observation.
There are many dyslexia programs available today—including Barton, Launch Literacy, Take Flight, and others—that incorporate principles derived from Orton-Gillingham. But having O-G–based activities is not necessarily the same thing as having a practitioner who has been thoroughly trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach.
This is who we are.
Why Fidelity Matters
Our center is about more than tutoring.
Children with dyslexia deserve intervention delivered by people who understand not only what to teach, but why, when, and how to adjust instruction based on the individual child.
They have already struggled enough.
The last thing we want is for a child to experience failure again because the intervention they received was not delivered with the knowledge, training, and fidelity necessary to meet their needs.
It is important not to traumatize a child twice.
Every great movement starts with a few people who are willing to stand up for what they believe.
This is our motivation.
Fidelity matters. Training matters. Experience matters.
Learn more about Samuel Orton, Anna Gillingham, and Bessie Stillman
Learn the story of Orton, Gillingham, and Stillman and their appoach by following this link.
A Legacy That Continues Today
Orton and Gillingham believed that students with dyslexia were capable learners who needed the right kind of instruction—not lower expectations.
That belief remains at the heart of Orton-Gillingham today.
The approach they pioneered is direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive, with instruction tailored to the individual learner. (Orton-Gillingham Academy)
At the Orton-Gillingham Dyslexia Center, we are proud to carry forward their legacy. We believe every child deserves to understand how language works, to experience success as a reader, and to discover the confidence and joy that come from learning to read.
Their work began with a simple but powerful belief: struggling readers can learn. Our work continues that mission.
The Dorothy Blosser Whitehead Legacy
Our center honors Dorothy Blosser Whitehead, an early advocate for Orton-Giliingham dyslexia tutoring in the state of Oregon. She was internationally known for her tireless work in ensuring students with dyslexia receive the best remedial instruction,
When Dorothy started her teaching journey in the 1960s, she realized she did not know how to teach reading. She sought help from an Orton-Gillingham trainer who changed the course of her career. From there she would go on to found Language Skills Therapy, The Blosser Center, and the Orton-Gillingham Academy.
