Riverside School shares the philosophical tenets of Dr. Samuel T. Orton, a neuropsychiatrist who was a pioneer in research on language processing difficulties and principles of remediation. As early as 1925 he had identified the syndrome of dyslexia as an educational problem.

Dr. Orton worked on this research with Anna Gillingham, an educator and psychologist, at Massachusetts General Hospital. She published instructional materials for educators using their unique approach. The Orton-Gillingham philosophy is based on a technique of studying and teaching language and on an understanding of the nature of human language, of the mechanisms involved in learning, and of the language processes in individuals.

At Riverside School, in addition to standard teaching degrees, our classroom teachers and tutors are trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach. This entails many hours of study and preparation to qualify to teach this approach.

The Orton-Gillingham Approach is language-based, multisensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, cognitive, flexible and emotionally sound. Infinitely adaptable, it is a philosophy rather than a system.