Last week I received another email from a concerned parent questioning whether All About Reading, the reading program that we use in our homeschool with our dyslexic kids, is a complete Orton-Gillingham (O-G) Program. Â There seems to be some confusion in this area. Â As a trained O-G reading tutor, I thought I would share what I learned in my training with what I see as I successfully use this program at home with my dyslexic kids.
What is the Orton-Gillingham Approach?
I’ll give a brief overview of the O-G approach here.
Orton-Gillingham Instruction is:
Explicit: Â The rules and patterns of decoding and encoding are explicitly taught.
Systematic & Structured: Â Systematic instruction teaches new concepts in the exact same way every time.
Sequential & Cumulative: Â There should be specific steps and a clear plan to teach all the rules one at a time, building from the simple to the more complex. Â One step builds from the previous step. Â This is why it is extremely important to follow the program exactly as it is presented in the curriculum.
Multisensory: Â As many of the senses as possible should be used at the same time in order to help the information to be stored in long term memory.
Individualized:Â Although there are specific techniques and the program must be followed as it is presented, a student should move through the program at a pace that allows the student to develop fluency and automaticity for each step of the program. Students only move from one step to the next as they build fluency for each level of language skills.
Diagnostic & Prescriptive:Â The tutor/teacher monitors skill development with each step. The instructional practices are built upon what was observed in the previous lesson and what is judged to be necessary to move the student forward in the next lesson.
For a more complete look at the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching reading, including some pretty impressive research about the effectiveness of the O-G approach with dyslexic learners, read this post:
Is All About Reading a Complete Orton-Gillingham Reading Program?
According to the definition of the O-G approach above, All About Reading (AAR) certainly meets all of those standards. Â Here are some areas where AAR is different from other O-G reading programs available for homeschool parents today:
- Separating reading and spelling: An important difference in the All About Reading program is that reading and spelling are independent of each other so students can move as quickly or as slowly as they need to with each skill. Kids generally move ahead more quickly in reading, and  separating the two subjects avoids the potential of holding them back with spelling. They will still get all the reinforcement of learning the spelling rules, but they don’t have to wait for mastery in spelling before moving on in reading. For more information, check out this article on Why We Teach Reading and Spelling Separately. This allows your student to work at spelling more slowly, at his pace, and to gain confidence as he sees successes.
- No prior training needed: With AAR and AAS (All About Spelling), parents don’t have to go through a seminar or watch training videos to learn how to teach the programs. Everything you need is right there in the book as you go through the lesson, so it’s very open and go.
- The materials are child-friendly and age-appropriate: The short stories are fully illustrated and age-appropriate. There are no adult themes or “dark” topics included, and the stories are uplifting and positive. The rules in AAR and AAS are worded so they are as easy for children to remember as possible.The activity sheets in AAR hold the learner’s attention and provide additional motivation and reinforcement.
- Customizable review: AAR and AAS both include customizable review as well. This way, parents and teachers can easily track what students have mastered and what needs ongoing review.
- Mastery-Based: All About Reading is a mastery-based program that builds confidence because just one new concept is taught at a time. This benefits dyslexic students especially, who struggle with learning many things at once and then trying to organize and master that material in their minds. Read this report called,  Help Your Child’s Memory that you may find very helpful
- Includes reading comprehension activities: A unique feature of AAR is the strong focus on comprehension. This article details six ways their lessons actively develop reading comprehension.
Is All About Reading Intense Enough for Dyslexic Learners?
It is true that for reading instruction to be effective with dyslexic students, it needs to be intense. Â It needs to push kids to remember and apply the rules they are being taught using all of the components of the O-G approach. It is important to remember that dyslexia can be mild, moderate or profound. Â If your child is profoundly dyslexic, they are going to need more practice and review with any O-G program.
Read more about what to do if your child isn’t making enough progress with reading.
Why we Use All About Reading With Our Dyslexic Kids
I sometimes joke that since we began homeschooling our kids with dyslexia some 20 years ago, we’ve used just about every reading program on the market.  You could say that we’ve test-driven them for you!
We have been using All About Reading and All About Spelling for the past four years. Â As I become more familiar with the program and as our kids move up into the higher levels I am continually impressed by how well this program is thought out and how it is truly tailored for the unique needs of students with dyslexia.
From the variety of hands on games, to the beautifully illustrated and highly-engaging readers to the fluency sheets and warm up pages, I feel that I have a plethora of resources at my fingertips to teach my kids the way they learn best.
The open and go format of the program makes it easy to use which has been a lifesaver for this busy homeschool mom of many!
I have finally found peace as I teach reading in my homeschool using AAR.   Teaching kids with dyslexia to read isn’t easy but having the right tools means that even when its ‘one of those days’ I still have confidence in what I’m doing.
Thank you for your kind words! We are glad our program has been helpful.
Ive been using AAR and AAS since September with my 10 year old struggling reader. I’m also a special Ed teacher by trade, so I’ve used a few curricula, and I LOVE AAR and AAS! They have both been exactly what we needed!
What a great article! I’ve been an AAS and AAR homeschooling mom for 8 years, and am very happy with the program. I am delighted to know that All About Learning Press has taken all the best parts of the O-G approach, and left out the dark adult themes — it is such an emotionally safe curriculum! I appreciate that especially because my dyslexic daughter is VERY sensitive to scary or sad themes in literature, and cannot handle many books and most movies for this reason. Thank goodness we have AAS & AAR that are always full of happy, fun, silly stories that she loves!
My kids love the silly stories as well. Reading text is so difficult for them but they are super motivated by the content of the stories in AAR!
Hello,
I have a team of college-aged tutors as well as tenured professional educators in the Southern Orange County area of So.California. A number of my team are being trained in guiding students challenged with dyslexia, while two have already completed a dyslexia program.
We are hoping to help all parents supporting their children through home schooling with all subject matters. Any information is reaching out to these parents would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Eric Skaggs
626-658-8114
eskaggs@keys2learning.net
Can you just use All About Spelling and not the reading program? My three with dyslexia are finally reading but spelling still needs help.
Rebecca – yes! AAS actually came out before AAR and many families used it on its own. If you need to know what level to start at, contact their customer service. They are super helpful!
Hello,
I have a team of college-aged tutors as well as tenured professional educators in the Southern Orange County area of So.California. A number of my team are being trained in guiding students challenged with dyslexia, while two have already completed a dyslexia program.
We are hoping to help all parents supporting their children through home schooling with all subject matters. Any information is reaching out to these parents would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
Eric Skaggs
626-658-8114
eskaggs@keys2learning.net
But what about high schoolers? I am looking for an English curriculum for my rising 10th grader who mildly dyslexic.
Hi Lisa. What elements of English are you talking about? Reading and spelling? Or literature and writing?
Thank you for this excellent article and all the resources you provide!
I’m looking for a new reading/writing/spelling (aka language arts) curriculum to use as a tutor. Many of my students have mild to moderate dyslexia and the reading programs I’ve used previously are not OG enough.
I’m contemplating starting my students on AAR or another OG approach such as Barton Reading, Wilson, Spire or Logic of English.
You certainly make a strong and compelling case for AAR/AAS, but as a tutor and not a homeschooling parent (my students are in public school and test to high to receive in school services) do you feel AAR/AAS would be appropriate?
I see AAR recommends teaching every day for 20 mins, which is ideal for homeschooling. For tutoring however, I can tutor kids 1-2x a week. Are there activities and readers I can send my families home with to reinforce subjects? Would this be effective or is it really more designed as a homeschool program?
Thank you so much for your help!
As a trained Orton-Gillingham dyslexia tutor, I use AAR and AAS and supplement with handwriting, reading out loud and some grammar instruction. I would use AAR and AAS and use additional games or resources for review in the individualized areas that any particular student needed.
It was a night and day difference for our son when we switched to AAR and AAS! Love their program!
Have you tried a curriculum like Barton Reading? What’s the mention of “adult or dark themes.” My daughter is very sensitive to such things. Thanks.
I have used Barton Reading. It is a good program. It didn’t work well for my profoundly dyslexic son. I haven’t heard anything about dark or adult themes though.
What about “nonsense words”? Barton has them, AAR doesn’t. Some day this is a key element. Thoughts?
I’m not sure how key it is. We did learn to use nonsense words in my OG training. I think it is a matter of over learning and focusing on multi-sensory practice to gain mastery.
Thank you for the helpful article on AAR. What level in AAR would be similar to Barton level 5? Thank you so much!
Hi Julia – Here is a link to the placement tests on the All About Reading website. That should answer your question or you can contact their customer service. Also, if your child isn’t thriving with Barton, they may need more intensive educational therapy. Our profoundly dyslexic son made such slow progress with Barton (even though it is a great program). We switched him to an NILD tutor and his reading took off!
I’m just researching programs to use at home with my triplet girls who are almost 7. I am trying to decide between AAR and Nessy? Any thoughts?
Hi Leslie. I would think of Nessy as a supplement rather than a stand alone program. So, AAR would be their daily program and Nessy as a fun way to practice.
Thank you
Hi, Melissa! I’m new to your site and am about to begin homeschooling my 11-year-old 5th grader who was diagnosed with dyslexia last month in public school (I am hoping that he’ll be able to stay in the school until the end of the school year, but that will be based on whether or not they decide to “force” him to re-take the STAAR tests– in which case, I will withdraw him in a couple of weeks). I recently learned about _All About Spelling_ and had decided to use that for him (even before the dx). I used _The Writing Road to Reading_ with Jay Patterson’s go-along, _Reading Works_, for my older children aeons ago. I am glad to read your assessment of _All About Reading_– I may have to add that to my toolbox for next year for him!
I noticed you mention handwriting in a response to a previous comment. I’d like to know which handwriting curricula/um you would recommend, please. My little guy has handwriting that resembles that of a Kindergartener (remember, he’s in 5th grade– they really DON’T teach handwriting in school anymore!). In fact, it was his handwriting that prompted me to request that he be evaluated. He is also a lefty– the only lefty in my entire brood of 9 children!
We love the handwriting curriculum from Logic of English. We use the cursive program.
I have been using AAR and AAS with my 8 year old who does not show signs of dyslexia, but is autistic. We were struggling with the first reading/language arts program we used (Sonlight) for a number of reasons, all boiling down to him becoming overwhelmed and severely anxious and finally shut down about anything that resembled reading. It was not explicit, structured or systematic, and there were many words on the page which overwhelmed him even though he was capable of reading individual words. AAR addressed his need for a reliable structure and very specific/explicit instruction which is very common for kids on the spectrum, and having only a handful of words on each page of the reader calmed his anxiety so that he could gain confidence. Just in case anyone is on the fence, it doesn’t have to be just for dyslexic kids!
Where can I find out how the AAR program and the AAS program work ….just seeing a sample of a lesson. I know it uses the Orton Gillingham phonics based approach but don’t understand how the lessons are structured. I have bought Orton Gillingham books but don’t see how they fit into your program.? I am new to this and do not understand. where can I buy a sample instructor’s manual or a book about it …or is there something on the Internet? I am an experienced general teacher with a dyslexic son. Please help as I am expecting an IEP in the near future.
Hi Denise. Here is a link to Level 1 of AAR and you can see a video of the program.
https://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-reading-level-1/
Marianne, Thank you for your helpful review here and explanation of why AAR works well as an OG approach to helping dyslexics learn to read. I’ve been using it with my daughter for a couple years now and am just starting to wonder if she wouldn’t benefit from something more? Her progress seems so slow and I’m just curious whether you’ve ever found some of your kids to need anything additional to help move them along? We’re both fairly tired and discouraged I’d say.
Hi Heather. You didn’t mention how old your daughter was. But yes, we have had a few kids who were more profoundly dyslexic that we enrolled in educational therapy. That was a little more intense and worked more on the underlying weaknesses in processing, etc that they had. That organization is http://www.nild.org Also, my Processing, Memory, and Attention Bundle of courses has a lot of strategies to help with these underlying weaknesses.
We switched to AAR when my son was struggling with the Happy Phonics program that I used to teach his sister to read. We already had AAS, but I stopped doing it because he was struggling with his reading so much. He was in 3rd grade and we started with level 1. I thought we would just fly through it, but we didn’t. It was still very slow! It was working, but it was talking so much longer than I anticipated. I spoke with our family doctor and he started reading/language therapy through our local clinic. The SLP couldn’t say for sure if he was dyslexic. We finally got a diagnosis at the end of May. We have been encouraged to switch to the Barton Reading Program, but we are both enjoying AAR and I am not sure if we need to switch. I am not sure how profound/severe his dyslexia is. AAR is working, it is just taking a long time. He will be in 5th grade in the fall and we would be on AAR level 3. Thoughts on switching or continuing with AAR?
It sounds like his dyslexia may be more on the severe side just because progress is so slow. In my experience kids with more severe dyslexia make the most progress with a program that addresses the underlying weaknesses with processing and memory such as NILD.org. Switching to Barton likely will not make that much of a difference. If you’re okay with his progress you can stay with AAR, otherwise consider a more intensive intervention like NILD.
Are you familiar with Logic of English? How does AAR and AAS compare with Logic of English? I have an older student that mainly needs to work on spelling. I can’t decide which one to purchase–Logic of English or AAS.
Hi! Thanks for your helpful review. My son has significant “working memory deficit” but not dyslexia per se. We are making very slow progress on reading and I was thinking of trying AAR versus Maloney method. I am encouraged that AAR is compatible for teaching students with dyslexia, as I understand that involves working memory as well. In your estimation, would using AAR and/or other dyslexia approaches benefit my son with working memory deficit but not exactly dyslexia?
Hi Jennifer. YES! Working memory weakness has a big affect on reading. In fact I don’t know who tested your son but working memory weaknesses are usually associated with dyslexia. Were his processing speeds checked?
I’ve heard that AAR/AAS isn’t a complete language arts program because it lacks grammar and handwriting. I see in the comments that you use LOE’s writing program. When did you begin it and did you use it tandem with AAR or AAS? Also, what did you use for grammar and when/how? Thanks.
Great question. Did you ever find an answer to your query? I’m wondering the same thing for my rising 3rd grader.
In your experience, would you say it is possible to implement AAR/AAS as a supplemental curriculum (ie: doing extra lessons at home as if I am “tutoring” my child)? We are currently trying to decide whether to pull out from a private STEM school my kids attend/love so that we can homeschool… my 2nd grader is falling behind as she has struggled with reading and language arts since the very beginning of her pre-k days in learning the alphabet. As a former 2nd grade teacher myself, I am so impressed with what I am learning about AAR/AAS and believe it would be so helpful in giving my child(ren) the best opportunity to learn. I would love to hear your opinion on if you think it’s too rigorous to just be used as an extra supplementation. Thank you!
Yes, I would definitely say you could use AAS/AAR as a supplemental curriculum while your child is in school. If your daughter loves her school and yet you are concerned about her language arts skills, I think it would be really helpful. It’s only 20 minutes a day, so for a second grader it seems like it wouldn’t be too much to do AAR/AAS every evening after dinner or something. I would suggest starting with AAR, personally, and adding AAS once she’s experienced some good success with her improved reading skills and is feeling excited to learn even more.
Hi Maryanne, So happy I stumbled onto your blog, podcast etc… Out of my 11 children my 12 year old struggles with reading and has since he was in kindergarten. He has gone to public school and has had an IEP for 2 years but not improving. They just keep on passing him through to the next grade. I finally said enough. He can’t read and struggles with everything else because of it. I immediately pulled him out of school along with sibling. I decided to home school. There were other reasons as well, but this was the string that finally broke the camels back. I started using the Seton homeschool curriculum. All of my children are doing great with the program. All except for my son. I decided to help him read on my own. I started researching and that’s when I stumbled upon a podcast that you were the guest speaker on. I know now that my son is dyslexic. The schools do not even test for it. Now that I’ve given you my background here is my question. I want to use the AAR program but it is so expensive. With 11 children I want to spend my money wisely on their curriculum. Is there any part of the AAR program I could go without? Like the teachers manual? Are there any used programs I could buy for a bit cheaper or borrow? Thanks for any info you may have for me.