KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - - 2 August 2018 - The lack of expert instruction and proper intervention to rectify the reading problems of dyslexic children before they fall behind in traditional schooling can lead to irreparable harm, low self-esteem and a widening gap that becomes increasingly difficult to close.

 

This has negative societal implications and it is a crucial responsibility of parents to ensure that their dyslexic children are able to read proficiently to ensure their quality of life.

 

The Orton-Gillingham Approach -- the highly structured evidence-based approach to teaching reading and recognized by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), is now available in Malaysia with the opening of Altuz Academy, a premier education centre for dyslexia intervention.

 

All Academic Language Therapists at the academy receive the vigorous training and supervised practicum accredited by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE) and IDA.

 

"It is critically important that remedial specialists, educators and teachers working with dyslexic students be vetted, highly trained in an evidence-based approach with oversight and accountability. Literacy training should be comprehensive, accredited by an international organization and include a supervised practicum period. There should also be ongoing professional development for the sake of the children whom they work with," said founder of Altuz Academy, Dr Choy Su-Ling.

 

Dr Choy, together with centre manager Yap Jo Ling, created history in the international dyslexia community by being the first two AOGPE-trained academic language therapists from Malaysia.  They will continue to be observed and audited by the AOGPE to meet and maintain the high standards of teaching.

 

The Orton-Gillingham approach was developed in the 1920s by Dr Samuel Orton, a doctor who first discovered dyslexia, together with Anna Gillingham, a gifted teacher and psychologist. This approach has been further supported by over 100,000 scientific studies over 70 years that conclusively showed that a reading approach should include five important pillars: phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

 

In the hands of a skilled instructor, this is a powerful instructional approach that benefits students of all ages and abilities so that learning becomes a rewarding experience. The key features of this approach are multisensory, sequential, incremental, cumulative, individualized, based on phonograms, and explicit. (MO).