Dyslexia Resources - Inside Gow

The Gow School is internationally renowned as the preeminent educator of dyslexic boys. Small classes, a structured schedule and individualized attention are important keys to the school’s success; however Gow’s unique Reconstructive Language program provides the fundamental foundation.

Created by school founder Peter Gow, Jr. in 1926, with guidance from famed neurologist Dr. Samuel T. Orton, Reconstructive Language or RL is a remedial language skills program taught with a multisensory, structured approach. The RL curriculum breaks down the sound, spelling rules and grammar of the English language. The program centers on structured instruction, memorization and recitation. All students work to master the 116-card phonetic deck as well as roots and affixes. These skills are perfected as students learn word identification and spelling, while fluency and comprehension strategies are taught and practiced through regular oral reading and related activities.

Over the years, Gow has amassed significant testing data from students dating back to 1926. Using this wealth of information, a formalized scientific study was conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University in 1985. Dr. Mari Jo Renick, The Gow School's Director of Research & Assessment, has begun analyzing this historical data to design and document new studies to further validate the success of The Gow School program.