Why Apps will NOT Help Your Child's Dyslexia

You've heard it said - "there's an app for that!" While there are certainly apps for phonics skills, and it seems like this would be a cheaper option that hiring a specialized tutor, apps will most definitely NOT help your child's dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects reading, writing, and spelling skills. While there is no cure for dyslexia, there are many interventions that can help individuals with dyslexia learn to read, write, and spell more effectively. Unfortunately, some parents may be led to believe that apps can solve their child's dyslexia without any other intervention. In this blog post, we will explore why apps alone will not fix your child's dyslexia and why it's important to work with a tutor that is specialized in an Orton-Gillingham based program.

First and foremost, it's important to understand that dyslexia is a complex disorder that requires personalized and structured interventions. While there are many educational apps on the market that claim to help children with dyslexia, research suggests that these apps are not a replacement for structured, multisensory interventions that address the root causes of dyslexia (Shaywitz et al., 2018). According to Shaywitz et al. (2018),

"A systematic, multisensory, phonics-based approach that includes explicit instruction, practice, and feedback is the most effective way to teach children with dyslexia to read."

Furthermore, research shows that children with dyslexia require one-on-one instruction from a trained tutor who is knowledgeable in Orton-Gillingham based programs. In fact, studies have shown that one-on-one tutoring can improve reading fluency and comprehension in children with dyslexia (Torgesen et al., 2001). Orton-Gillingham based programs are a type of one-on-one instruction that are specifically designed to help individuals with dyslexia learn to read and write more effectively. These programs are structured, multisensory, and phonics-based, and they are tailored to meet the individual needs of each student (Orton-Gillingham Academy, 2021).

In conclusion, while apps may be a helpful supplement to structured interventions for dyslexia, they cannot replace the personalized and structured interventions that are necessary to address the root causes of dyslexia.

Working with LD Expert tutors that are specialized in an Orton-Gillingham based program will provide children with dyslexia with the one-on-one instruction and multisensory approaches they need to improve their reading, writing, and spelling skills.

References

Before we jump into decodable readers, let's define what decodable means. When a word is "decodable," it means that the word follows phonetic rules that are able to be known. When a word can be decoded, the reader is able to break the word into its syllables and know how to pronounce it.

It is believed that anywhere from 84% to 96% of words follow these predictable, knowable rules.^ In simple terms, the reader can sound out this high percentage of words -- but this is only true if they know the rules.

Children need to be taught these rules. When they are not taught these rules - and when they are not introduced in a structured way - we begin to see a pattern of guessing and memorizing that does not serve them whatsoever in the long run.

When a child is learning to read, they begin with the most basic syllable type when all vowels only make their short sound. Decodable book series follow a logical order that start with these types of words, sometimes called CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant like in the word cat), and build from there.

Once students master the skills required to read these types of words, they are introduced to additional concepts and rules.

As new rules are introduced, words that follow those rules are added to their decodable readers. The words in these books follow the principals that are being taught to students, and purposefully do not include concepts which have not yet been taught. Thus, making the books/stories decodable (or readable for students that have learned the rules included in the books).

This implies that decodable books will come in a variety of levels, stages, or sets that are meant to address and practice the specific phonics concepts that students learn in small chunks. It's important to remember that what is decodable is going to vary from child to child depending upon what they've already been explicitly taught.

How do I know if a book is decodable?

Orton-Gillingham Academy. (2021). What is Orton-Gillingham? Retrieved from https://www.ortonacademy.org/resources/og-approach-principles-2/

Shaywitz, S. E., Morris, R., & Shaywitz, B. A. (2018). The education of dyslexic children from childhood to young adulthood. Annual Review of Psychology, 69, 459-480.

Torgesen, J. K., Alexander, A. W., Wagner, R. K., Rashotte, C. A., Voeller, K. K., & Conway, T. (2001). Intensive remedial instruction for children with severe reading disabilities: Immediate and long-term outcomes from two instructional approaches. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(1), 33-58.