Dubsyd,
Can I first say - I feel your pain. Every time I take a step in supporting DS7, I immediately start wondering if it was a step in the right direction. You are not alone. I would say that with your love and support in the background, I'm confident your girl has a wonderful life ahead.
Here is our data point. DS is PG and wildly verbal at a very early age. He is a late fall kid, and does not have great "sitting still" skills. So we actually had him enter K a year later than we would have based on what we saw as is ability. He was clearly reading-ready.
But throughout K, he refused to get on board with phonics instruction and remained stubbornly reading at very early/intro levels. Some of this may have had to do with an awful fit with his K teacher. But the assessment we did also showed he likely had stealth dyslexia.
We got that assessment in August, days before he started first grade. His first grade teacher is a much better fit. Again - maybe relevant, maybe not.
In late August and early September, we spent time trying to line up dyslexia therapy. Mid-September, he started reading. Maybe the motivation was a desire to read his beloved Magic the Gathering cards. Maybe not. I really don't know.
By the end of September he was reading at third grade level and sounding out words like a champ. By February he was reading at fifth grade level and the good folks at Lindamood Bell say they don't think they have any therapy that would fit him. They don't think he needs dyslexia therapy.
Do I have any idea what is going on with my kid? No I do not. Does my kid's experience extrapolate to your little one? I don't know.
So maybe this is a useless post. But to answer your question - "Did anyone have a child who struggled with learning to read, but once it clicked for them, it was okay?" Well it appears - yes. But I am still filled with anxiety that I should be doing something for him. I just don't know what.
Kindest regards to you. This is so hard.
Sue
