My son has dysgraphia, and at 8 years old, he was barely ready. He is now 11 years old and reading on a high school level. I attribute it to a perceptive speech therapist who introduced him to the Wilson Reading Program when he was in first grade. We continued with the program through third grade. It made all the difference for him.
His spelling is still atrocious, but his ability to read things that actually interest him is no longer a problem.
We used Living Books at home - I don't know if they're still available or not. They were software programs with books, so you could have it read to you, touch on words and have them spoken, and listen in different languages. My kid memorized a few and then sat and listened to them in Spanish and Japanese. Drove me nuts hearing the same story for hours, but it was effective.
Good luck!
