Definition
Multisensory teaching is structured UK dyslexia instruction in which a child sees, says, hears and writes the same letter-sound link in one activity, in the Orton-Gillingham tradition begun in 1930s America.
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- Multisensory teaching links sight, speech, hearing and movement to the same content at the same time.
- The approach entered dyslexia teaching through Orton-Gillingham in the 1930s and UK programmes including Alpha to Omega (1974) and the Hickey course (1977).
- Pashler and colleagues' 2008 review found no evidence for matching teaching to a child's supposed visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learning style.
- The EEF evidence, as of 2026, gives systematic phonics an average impact of five additional months, but direct evidence for the added multisensory ingredient remains thin.
- The British Dyslexia Association describes effective specific learning difficulty teaching as multisensory, structured and cumulative.
In a literacy session, multisensory teaching may mean a pupil looking at “sh”, saying /sh/, hearing it and writing or tracing it as one linked action. I also use letter tiles, finger-tapping for phonemes and oral spelling while writing. The important detail is that every action carries the same piece of learning.
That is not the same as calling a child a “kinaesthetic learner”. Learning styles theory sorts children into a preferred channel and then tries to match teaching to it. Pashler and colleagues reviewed the literature in 2008 and found no empirical support for that matching approach. Multisensory teaching gives every learner several linked channels instead.
Parents sometimes show me a tray of sand or a colourful worksheet and have been told it is multisensory. Sensory materials alone are not the method. If the child traces a letter without saying and hearing its sound, the crucial linkage is missing.
Structured literacy programmes in the Orton-Gillingham tradition combine systematic phonics, explicit instruction and cumulative review with multisensory activity. The package is a reasonable, British Dyslexia Association-endorsed approach, while research isolating the multisensory component has not shown what extra benefit it contributes. Multisensory teaching is also a method, not a level of provision; it can be used during ordinary SEN Support.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Multisensory teaching.
Dyslexia
A specific learning difficulty affecting accurate and fluent word reading and spelling. It is independent of intelligence and typically responds well to structured, multisensory phonics teaching.
Dyscalculia
A specific learning difficulty affecting the understanding of numbers and mathematical reasoning. Children may struggle with number sense, time, and mental arithmetic despite typical ability elsewhere.
Specialist Teacher
A qualified teacher with additional accredited training in a specific area of SEND, for example dyslexia, visual impairment, hearing impairment, or autism.
Working Memory
The ability to hold and manipulate information in mind over short periods, for example following multi-step instructions or doing mental arithmetic. Often a key area of need in SEND.
Cognitive Load
The amount of working memory being used at a given moment. Reducing extraneous cognitive load (through clear instructions, visual supports, and pre-teaching) particularly helps SEND learners.
Orton-Gillingham(OG)
Orton-Gillingham is a structured, multisensory reading and spelling approach developed in 1930s America; in UK dyslexia teaching, its principles are widely used, although a 2021 meta-analysis found no statistically significant effect.
Precision Teaching
Precision teaching is a 1960s assessment method that charts correct responses per minute from short daily probes, used by UK educational psychology services to build fluency in reading and number facts.
Where parents ask about this
A sand tray on the table can look convincingly “multisensory”, but the material itself says nothing about the instruction. A dyslexia report or the phrase “kinaesthetic learner” often sends families searching “multisensory teaching dyslexia”, “what is multisensory phonics”, “is learning styles real” and “multisensory spelling methods home”. The deciding question is whether the child sees, says, hears and forms the same target within a structured, cumulative sequence, with earlier learning reviewed. Sand, movement and colourful resources added to an unchanged lesson do not create that linkage. Show the proposed programme or school report to a Beaakon specialist, and they can distinguish linked instruction from sensory activity, remove unsupported learning-styles language, and shape questions around the child's current literacy needs.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.