Multisensory Structured Language (MSL) breaks language into small, logical parts to support students with dyslexia or language-learning difficulties. It is a brain-based approach to therapy that builds the foundations of language learning, rather than focusing only on surface-level abilities. MSL lessons focus on sounds, reading, spelling, handwriting, writing, vocabulary, and understanding how words and sentences work. Reading and writing skills are taught together through a clear, hands-on approach to help students become confident and capable readers and writers. 

MSL is recognised by the Australian Dyslexia Association and is considered to be the gold standard of literacy instruction.

Core Principles

• Simultaneous senses: Engages visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile senses simultaneously to help students learn reading, spelling, and writing.

• Systematic and cumulative: Lessons move in a logical order from simple concepts to complex rules, building directly on prior knowledge.

• Direct instruction: Teachers explicitly explain language rules providing students with an understanding of how words work.

• Diagnostic teaching: Instruction adapts continuously based on individual student progress and mastery.

• Considers Working Memory Demands: Language is broken down into tiny, bite-sized pieces. Students master one predictable rule before moving to the next, ensuring they are never overwhelmed. 

• Eliminates Guesswork with Explicit Rules: Students learn exactly why words are spelled the way they are. They learn the rules rather than being expected to naturally memorize the patterns.

• Supports Long-Term Learning: Students develop a deep understanding of concepts, resulting in mastery and transferrable skills.

• Develops Confidence: Sessions that are tailored to the student means they experience success and build their confidence.

• Delivery of Best Practice in Literacy Instruction: MSL is grounded in the principles of the Science of Reading and is recognised as an evidence-informed approach to supporting students with dyslexia and other literacy difficulties. 

Multisensory maths uses principles based on the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) framework. Students learn concepts through interactive activites using hands-on materials, visual drawings and conventional math symbols, to help them to build deep conceptual understanding. This approach considers the individual's needs and incorporates sight, touch, hearing and movement. Diagnostic assessment and session analysis are used to identify areas of need and learning directions.