Dyslexia Therapy vs.
Reading Tutoring
How Does Dyslexia Therapy Differ From Reading Tutoring?
By Margaret G. Tuttle, Founder & Director, The Dyslexia Center of Princeton, and Lisa P. Kestler, Ph.D.
Reading tutors and dyslexia therapists both help students do better in school. How does a parent choose the right approach? This article shares what reading tutoring is and compares it with what dyslexia therapy accomplishes.
What Is Reading Tutoring and Who Offers It?
Reading tutors usually take their lead from skills currently taught in class, or they will follow a learning program that takes a structured approach, such as Orton-Gillingham tutoring. General reading tutoring or coaching can help students improve their grades by teaching or re-teaching specific skills covered in English/Language Arts class. Some students need more time and greater reinforcement of skills, and a good tutor will patiently provide the time and the reinforcement.
Another type of reading tutoring follows a specific approach: Orton-Gillingham-based tutoring. Orton-Gillingham (O-G) methodology is a structured, explicit, multi-sensory method of learning to read that focuses on phonics, reading fluency, and comprehension. Work done by the tutor and student might not follow what is taught in class because O-G methodology follows a specific, defined sequence. This is a carefully developed sequence in which one skill builds directly upon previous skills.
Parents can often find a tutor through recommendations from their child’s school, or by searching the Internet through various listings and directories. In general, there are no specific training or licensing requirements to become a tutor. However, some reading tutors are certified in one or more specific programs, such as the Orton-Gillingham approach or the Wilson Reading System.
What Is Dyslexia Therapy
(or “Dyslexia Tutoring") and Who Offers It?
A therapeutic approach to dyslexia begins with a diagnostic assessment administered by a licensed clinical psychologist that pinpoints an individual’s type of dyslexia, its degree of severity, and the cognitive weaknesses that represent the underlying causes of that individual’s dyslexia. Next, a dyslexia therapist develops an educational therapy plan that follows individualized, well-defined protocols designed to strengthen reading skills as well as any weaknesses in related cognitive processing (brain) skills.
The Science Behind Dyslexia Treatment
Researchers have identified several areas of neuropsychological weakness related to the development of dyslexia:
Phonological Processing
Awareness of the discrete sounds of language and the ability to identify, blend, and manipulate sequences of sounds within words
Auditory and Visual Memory for Sequences
How well an individual can recall sequences of language sounds and sequences of letters
Visual-motor Integration and Ocular-motor Skills
Eye-hand coordination for spelling and writing; eye movement skills for smoothly scanning lines
of text
Visual Perceptual Skills
The “eye” for fine details of print—perceiving directionality and orientaion (left/right, up/down: b/d/p/q/g or m/w, n/u)—well as differences between similar words, such as "clean" and "clear"
The dyslexia therapist develops a weekly plan that directly targets each student’s individual levels of difficulty in the above areas. In addition to weekly therapeutic tasks and activities that target these areas, dyslexia therapy employs the Orton-Gillingham (O-G) approach to phonics–adhering to it with strict fidelity–to achieve reading fluency and comprehension.
Dyslexia therapists often work in private practice or in learning centers, such as The Dyslexia Center of Princeton. Initial testing is performed by a licensed clinical psychologist; therapy is offered by a general or special education teacher who has received specialized training.
What Kinds of Students Can Benefit From Reading Tutoring vs. Dyslexia Therapy?
A reading tutor can benefit a child who struggles with specific reading goals or with grade-level literacy homework. However, if a child is more than one (1) grade level behind in reading and shows signs of continuing to fall behind, a phone consultation with a dyslexia therapist will help parents determine whether a dyslexia evaluation in needed. Similarly, if a child has worked with a tutor for six (6) months to a year and shown little or no improvement, parents should contact a dyslexia therapist.
In conclusion, dyslexia therapy follows therapeutic protocols that probably won’t mirror exactly what a student is learning in school. By contrast, reading tutoring typically takes its cue from what a child is learning in school. Problems can arise when the individual does not have the underlying skills to grasp and retain what is being taught currently in the classroom. That is where targeted dyslexia therapy can be helpful for an child’s specific needs. By identifying the “roots” of the problem, reading difficulties are remediated from the bottom up. The process may take longer. However, with insight into the roots of dyslexia, the result will be more successful over the lifespan of the child diagnosed with dyslexia.
Margaret G. Tuttle is the Founder & Director of The Dyslexia Center of Princeton, Princeton, NJ. She is a New Jersey-certified educator and graduate of Princeton University.
Lisa P. Kestler, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist and consultant to The Dyslexia Center of Princeton. In addition to providing psycho-educational testing for individuals seeking evaluation for dyslexia, Dr. Kestler provides expertise in the clinical and neuropsychological aspects of learning issues. She received her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and her doctorate in psychology from Emory University.
Since 2009, The Dyslexia Center of Princeton has tested more than1000 individuals and has offered successful dyslexia remediation to several hundred, following the protocols described in this article.