Why the Difference Matters

Dyslexia is not simply a matter of needing more reading practice. The core deficit of dyslexia is a weakness in phonological processing—the ability to recognize, access, and manipulate the sounds within spoken language. This weakness can make it difficult for the brain to efficiently connect speech sounds (phonemes) with the letters and letter patterns (graphemes) that represent them.

The good news is that the brain can change with instruction. Through neuroplasticity, intensive, explicit reading instruction can strengthen the neural networks involved in reading. Orton-Gillingham instruction systematically teaches students to connect sounds, letters, syllables, and meaningful word parts while providing the cumulative practice needed for those connections to become increasingly accurate and automatic.

This distinction between targeted intervention and general tutoring matters. At Stafford Reading Center, our goal is not simply to help a student complete an assignment or practice reading more. Our goal is to address the underlying weaknesses contributing to the student's difficulty and build more efficient pathways for accurate, fluent, and independent reading and spelling.

Trained vs. Certified: What's the Difference

Completing Orton-Gillingham training is not the same as becoming certified. Certification includes a supervised practicum in which a practitioner applies Orton-Gillingham principles with students while receiving observation, feedback, and guidance from an experienced practitioner. This process helps ensure that the practitioner can use the Approach as it was intended: diagnostically and prescriptively, adapting instruction to the individual learner rather than simply following a program or sequence.