SMT

The Simultaneous Multisensory Teaching (SMT) program is a language re-education method for students of all ages. It is based on the Orton-Gillingham methodology, which is a structured and highly organized method for language training. It uses all of the senses to educate and has been acknowledged as the only appropriate intervention for people with dyslexia. Both English and French versions of the program are available at Heritage Academy. SMT can be administered to groups or individuals.

The SMT Program is made up of a series of sequential lessons which teach reading, writing and spelling with an emphasis on reading accuracy in the early stages, followed by a thorough comprehension of written language and its structures.

The program comprises a comprehensive manual for the teacher that includes step-by-step lessons plans and all teaching materials and a student workbook. There are 12 levels in the English program and 8 levels in the French (EMS) program. Student progress is reviewed at regular intervals to ensure mastery of concepts and content.

The SMT Program is based on the following principles:

Simultaneous, multisensory teaching – Students learn using visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile senses simultaneously.

Systematic and cumulative – Each lesson is based on concepts taught in previous lessons. Lessons begin with the most basic concepts of language and progress to the most complex in logical order.

Direct instruction – Each concept is explicitly stated. Students are not expected to infer or intuit concepts as part of the learning process.

Diagnostic teaching – The teacher must continuously adjust the pace and style of instruction to suit the student’s changing needs and abilities.

Synthetic and analytic instruction – Synthetic instruction introduces the component parts of a concept, then describes how the component parts fit together. Analytic instruction presents the concept, and then describes how it may be broken down into its component parts.

This program has proven time and time again to be sucessfull for dyslexics and has shown sucess for other students with  readng/writing challenges.