What Is an Orton-Gillingham Tutor — and Does My Child Need One?

If you have been researching dyslexia support for more than five minutes, you have probably seen the term Orton-Gillingham. It appears in school evaluations, on tutoring websites, and in parent forums. But what it actually means — and whether your child needs it — is not always clear.

Orton-Gillingham, often shortened to O-G, is an approach to reading instruction developed in the 1930s by a neurologist named Samuel Orton and an educator named Anna Gillingham. It is structured, sequential, and multisensory — meaning it teaches reading through sight, sound, and touch simultaneously. Students learn to connect letters to sounds in an explicit, systematic way that does not assume the brain will pick it up on its own.

It is not a specific curriculum or a single program. It is a method. Many reading programs — including RAVE-O, Wilson Reading System, and Barton Reading and Spelling — are described as Orton-Gillingham based, which means they are built on its principles even if they are not called O-G.

A trained O-G tutor typically works one-on-one with a child, usually for forty-five minutes to an hour per session. Sessions are structured, cumulative, and paced to the individual child. Progress is measured and lessons adapt to where the child is, not where they are supposed to be.

Whether your child needs private tutoring depends on whether the school is already providing structured literacy support — and whether it is working. If your child has a reading support plan through school and is making progress, additional tutoring may not be necessary. If school support is limited, inconsistent, or not producing results, a private tutor can fill that gap.

When looking for a tutor, ask specifically about their training, not just whether they use O-G. Look for someone who has completed a structured training program and has supervised practice hours. Credentials from the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) or IMSLEC — the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council — are meaningful signals of quality.

Stridable's finding support section can help you identify qualified practitioners in your area and prepare the right questions for your first conversation.