What does Orton-Gillingham certification mean?

I first learned about Orton-Gillingham when my son was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2009. At the time, I was living in Singapore and thought resources for helping him would be limited. I couldn't have been more wrong! Due in part to the fact that the founding father of Singapore, the late and great Prime Minister Lee Kwan Yew, had dyslexia, dyslexia research and education has been well-funded in Singapore for many years. The Dyslexia Association of Singapore is a world-renowned center for dyslexia studies, and they host a graduate program in specific learning differences that I enrolled in during my two years in the country. Through the master's degree (which at the time was taught by professors from London Metropolitan University and Sewanee University in the UK), I learned about Orton-Gillingham and did a training on using this approach with students. I also mentored with OG teachers at some of Singapore's reading centers to see this approach in action. I started using OG as a 1:1 tutor (on a volunteer basis) and then was hired as an educational therapist at a special needs school and assessment center, where I got lots of on the job training.

When I returned to the United States in 2011, I learned about Key Learning Center, which is one of the most reputable Orton Gillingham training centers in the world. It just happened to be located a few minutes from my house in Asheville, North Carolina, USA. The Orton Gillingham program at KLC is accredited by IMSLEC, IDA, OGA, and ALTA. At Key Learning Center, I completed a summer intensive training in OG and spent the following year being mentored in the practicum. Afterwards, I was officially OG Certified and have been honing my skills ever since in the classroom as a special education and learning support teacher, as well as in private tutoring. I've also enrolled in dozens of multisensory learning workshops at Key Learning Center and elsewhere. Like Singapore Dyslexia Association, Key Learning Center is an amazing hub for learning about dyslexia and similar learning differences, including ADHD, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, autism, and many other learning "disabilities."

There are loads of OG resources online, and I encourage anyone interested to carefully week out the true certification courses from OG-based resources. I have seen a surprising amount of useless garbage online, and lots of online games that claim to be OG but are actually far from it.

A quality OG course should take place in person and include at least a year of structured practicum and being mentored by a seasoned Orton Gillingham certified instructor.