Follow-Up Study of 216 Dyslexic Children

This study is comprised of detailed evaluations of 750 children referred by family doctors because of possible severe learning disabilities. Complete psychoeducational test findings are presented. Analysis of age & sex distribution of the Ss is given, as is an analysis of Peabody & WISC scor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of the Orton Society 1975-01, Vol.25 (1), p.127-144
Main Authors: Kline, Carl L., Kline, Carolyn Lacey
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age groups
Child psychiatry
Children
Dyslexia
Expository writing
Follow up studies
Left handedness
Reading difficulties
Tutoring
Wechsler scales
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Summary:This study is comprised of detailed evaluations of 750 children referred by family doctors because of possible severe learning disabilities. Complete psychoeducational test findings are presented. Analysis of age & sex distribution of the Ss is given, as is an analysis of Peabody & WISC scores. The treatment program is described, including the function & training of therapeutic tutors. The criteria for the follow-up study are described & results presented; 121 treated cases received complete re-examination, including the battery of 19 psychoeducational tests, psychiatric evaluation, parent interviews, & tutor's reports. The results were as follows: (1) Of those treated by the Orton-Gillingham method (a highly structured, synthetic phonics, multi-sensory approach), 4.3% made no improvement, 31.5% some improvement, 46.7% marked improvement, & 17.5% dramatic improvement; (2) Of the untreated or school treated cases, 55.2% showed no improvement, whereas 27.5% showed some improvement, 13.8% marked improvement, & just 3.4% dramatic improvement; & (3) A telephone follow-up using a standardized interview outline (for parents) was done on 95 cases, & the results indicated that 95.3% of those receiving Orton-Gillingham were successful, whereas only 4.7% were unsuccessful--of the untreated or school treated, 54.8% were reported as improved & 45.2% unimproved. In combining the 2 follow-up studies it was found that the Orton-Gillingham treated group (140 cases) showed an improvement rate of 95.7%, whereas the untreated or school treated had an improvement rate of only 51.0%. Other details are also reported in the paper. This is the largest reported follow-up study on dyslexic children thoroughly tested before & after treatment. The study demonstrated that the Orton-Gillingham method was effective in remediating severe language disability in 95.9% of the cases. AA
ISSN:0474-7534
1934-7243
DOI:10.1007/BF02654230