What Does Science Say About Orton-Gillingham Interventions? An Explanation and Commentary on the Stevens et al. (2021) Meta-Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Solari ◽  
Yaacov Petscher ◽  
Colby Hall

A recent meta-analysis published in Exceptional Children (Stevens et al., 2021) looked at the effects of Orton-Gillingham (OG) reading interventions on reading outcomes for students who have word reading difficulties. The results of the study have led to questions and lively conversation among practitioners and reading researchers. One of the things that is important about science is that it is constantly evolving: this is true in education science as much as it is in the health sciences. Because this journal is committed to translating empirical findings from reading research in order to make education science accessible to practitioners, the intent of this commentary is to provide a clear description of the findings reported in this recent meta-analysis, addressing the degree to which they align with those reported in similar reviews of OG interventions. We discuss the degree to which the findings represent an evolution of reading science and their implications for instructional practice, policy, and future research.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Gullick ◽  
James R. Booth

Crossmodal integration is a critical component of successful reading, and yet it has been less studied than reading’s unimodal subskills. Proficiency with the sounds of a language (i.e., the phonemes) and with the visual representations of these sounds (graphemes) are both important and necessary precursors for reading, but the formation of a stable integrated representation that combines and links these aspects, and subsequent fluent and automatic access to this crossmodal representation, is unique to reading and is required for its success. Indeed, individuals with specific difficulties in reading, as in dyslexia, demonstrate impairments not only in phonology and orthography but also in integration. Impairments in only crossmodal integration could result in disordered reading via disrupted formation of or access to phoneme–grapheme associations. Alternately, the phonological deficits noted in many individuals with dyslexia may lead to reading difficulties via issues with integration: children who cannot consistently identify and manipulate the sounds of their language will also have trouble matching these sounds to their visual representations, resulting in the manifested deficiencies. We here discuss the importance of crossmodal integration in reading, both generally and as a potential specific causal deficit in the case of dyslexia. We examine the behavioral, functional, and structural neural evidence for a crossmodal, as compared to unimodal, processing issue in individuals with dyslexia in comparison to typically developing controls. We then present an initial review of work using crossmodal- versus unimodal-based reading interventions and training programs aimed at the amelioration of reading difficulties. Finally, we present some remaining questions reflecting potential areas for future research into this topic.


2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 229-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kemal Afacan ◽  
Kimber L. Wilkerson ◽  
Andrea L. Ruppar

Reading instruction for students with intellectual disability (ID) has traditionally focused on single skill instruction such as sight word reading. Given that multicomponent reading interventions have been linked to improved reading skills across multiple reading components for students in general education, it is logical to examine the impact of multicomponent reading interventions for students with ID. The purpose of this literature review was to examine characteristics, outcomes, and quality of multicomponent reading interventions for students with ID. In this review, seven empirical articles fit the inclusionary criteria. Findings indicate that students with ID who were exposed to multicomponent reading programs significantly improved their reading skills compared to their peers with ID who received traditional sight word instruction or to their previous reading performance. This literature review highlights effective strategies used to provide multicomponent reading instruction to students with ID. Implications for reading instruction for students with ID are provided, along with implications for future research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-24
Author(s):  
John C. Begeny

Scholarship in school psychology has continued to document the need and importance of contextually relevant intervention and prevention research, but this type of research remains relatively scarce. Also problematic, this type of research is even more limited in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) compared to high-income countries. This situation within school psychology scholarship not only has negative implications for research and practice, it also limits internationalization within the discipline. The geographical context for the present study was in Costa Rica, currently a Latin American LMIC. Given the global importance of literacy, this article describes an experimental evaluation comparing two time- and resource-efficient reading interventions that differed only by instructional grouping: A one-on-one intervention, and an even more resource-efficient small-group intervention. Participants included third-graders experiencing significant reading difficulties. Analyses showed that all students benefitted from intervention, but some students responded somewhat more favorably to one intervention versus the other. Limitations, implications, and future research directions are discussed, particularly within the context of international school psychology and how professionals in the discipline can benefit from more intervention research in otherwise underrepresented global regions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 220-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caralyn Ludwig ◽  
Kan Guo ◽  
George K. Georgiou

Despite concerted efforts to improve the reading skills of English language learners (ELLs), it remains unclear if the interventions they have been receiving produce any positive results. Thus, the purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine how effective reading interventions are in improving ELLs’ reading skills and what factors may influence their effectiveness. Twenty-six studies with reported outcomes for pretest and posttest were selected, and four moderators (group size, intensity of intervention, students’ risk status, and type of intervention) were coded. The results of random-effects analyses showed that the reading interventions had a large effect on ELLs’ reading accuracy ( d = 1.221) and reading fluency ( d = 0.802) and a moderate effect on reading comprehension ( d = 0.499). In addition, for real-word reading accuracy, intervention groups composed of more than five students were less effective than groups composed of two to five students, and longer intervention sessions were less effective than shorter ones. Overall, our findings suggest that reading interventions have positive effects on ELLs’ reading skills, and they should not be delayed until these students have reached a certain level of oral English proficiency.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402110591
Author(s):  
Dennis Murphy Odo

Despite considerable efforts made to understand the impact that instructional interventions have upon L2 reading development, we still lack a clear picture of the influence that PA and phonics instruction has upon reading in English as an L2. A search of the research literature published from 1990 to 2019 yielded 45 articles with 46 studies containing 3,841 participants in total. Effect sizes were recorded for the effect of various PA and/or phonics instructional interventions on word and pseudo word reading. Results demonstrated that L2 PA and phonics instruction has a moderate effect on L2 word reading ( g = 0.53) and a large effect on pseudo word reading ( g = 1.51). Moderator analyses revealed effects of a number of moderators including testing method, type of PA/phonics intervention, and context where the intervention occurred. Based upon these conclusions, policymakers and educators can provide beginning learners of English as an L2 with PA and phonics instruction that will enable them to read, understand and enjoy English better. Future research should also strive to adhere to more stringent standards of excellence in educational research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105345122110475
Author(s):  
Christy R. Austin ◽  
Alexis N. Boucher

Despite strong theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting that word meaning knowledge plays a critical role in word reading, interventions for students with word reading difficulties and disabilities frequently target word reading instruction in isolation. This article bridges reading theory to practice by describing one approach to integrate word-meaning instruction within word-reading instruction to support students who have mastered foundational phonics skills but require additional support to read multisyllabic words with accuracy and fluency. Included are the steps a teacher could use to implement integrated word reading and word meaning instruction utilizing the multisyllabic, academic vocabulary words students must be able to read and understand to comprehend complex science or social studies texts.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 174-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marissa J. Filderman ◽  
Jessica R. Toste ◽  
Lisa Anne Didion ◽  
Peng Peng ◽  
Nathan H. Clemens

For students with persistent reading difficulties, research suggests one of the most effective ways to intensify interventions is to individualize instruction through use of performance data—a process known as data-based decision making (DBDM). This article reports a synthesis and meta-analysis of studies of reading interventions containing DBDM for struggling readers, as well as the characteristics and procedures that support the efficacy of these interventions. A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature published between 1975 and 2017 was conducted, resulting in 15 studies of reading interventions that incorporated DBDM for struggling readers in Grades K–12. A comparison of students who received reading interventions with DBDM with those in business-as-usual (BAU) comparison groups yielded a weighted mean effect of g = .24, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [.01 to .46]. A subset of six studies that compared students receiving similar reading interventions with and without DBDM yielded a weighted mean effect of g = .27, 95% CI = [.07, .47]. Implications for DBDM in reading interventions for struggling readers and areas for future research are described. In particular, experimental investigation is necessary to establish DBDM as an evidence-based practice for struggling readers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 638
Author(s):  
Randi Karine Bakken ◽  
Kari-Anne B. Næss ◽  
Christopher J. Lemons ◽  
Hanne Næss Hjetland

Students with disorders of intellectual development (ID) experience challenges in reading and writing, indicating the need for research-based interventions. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effects of reading and writing interventions for students aged 4–19 with disorders of ID using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental designs (QEDs). We conducted electronic searches of relevant databases, backward and forward searches, and contacted experts in the field. Based on predefined criteria, nine studies were included in the systematic review, and seven were included in the meta-analysis. The reading interventions included decoding strategies, often combined with sight-word and supplemental instructions appropriate to the participants’ adaptive and cognitive skills. None of the studies aimed to increase writing skills. The overall mean effect size from the reading interventions for trained reading was large (g = 0.95, 95% CI = [0.51, 1.38]), for transfer reading small-to-moderate (g = 0.49, 95% CI = [0.20, 0.78]) and for transfer writing small (g = 0.04, 95% CI = [−0.36, 0.44]). Students with disorders of ID can benefit from reading interventions combining decoding strategies and sight word reading. There is a need for RCT and QED studies investigating writing interventions for students with disorders of ID only.


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