Dyslexia and Montessori: Teaching Diagnostically and Prescriptively

Deepen your understanding of dyslexia and its impact on children in the Montessori environment, including the screening, evaluation, and diagnosis process. In this presentation, we will focus on the Orton-Gillingham approach as a proven treatment for dyslexia and explore how to integrate its principles with your existing Montessori practices. One key principle of the Orton-Gillingham approach is individualized, diagnostic, and prescriptive teaching, where teachers identify patterns of errors in children’s work and tailor future lessons to meet each child’s needs. Through hands-on activities, attendees will analyze writing samples from dyslexic students in both Lower El and Upper El, learning how to apply a diagnostic approach to identify common errors and plan the next lessons based on those errors.

Gina Polly Applegate

Gina Polly Applegate is a 6-12 AMI-trained guide with nearly 20 years of experience working in AMI schools. She is a Certified Structured Literacy Dyslexia Specialist (C-SLDS) through the Center for Effective Reading, an affiliate of the International Dyslexia Association as well as a Fellow-in-Training with The Orton-Gillingham Academy (FIT/OGA). She currently works at Austin Montessori School as the Inclusion and Support Specialist and is an elementary consultant for AMI/USA. She became passionate about supporting children with dyslexia in Montessori after her youngest son was diagnosed with dyslexia.