Anonymous
Post 01/21/2025 13:34     Subject: Almost 6 yr old reading struggles - does this seem normal?
Anonymous wrote:Sounding out at 3 is a warning sign. She should be whole-word sight reading before sounding out larger words or unfamiliar words. Sounding out is a signal that she can't whole-word sight read


This isn't true at all. I see why OP is concerned given the lack of progress, but early sounding out vs memorization is totally normal in young kids & actually the sign of someone with good phonics fundamentals.
Anonymous
Post 01/21/2025 13:11     Subject: Almost 6 yr old reading struggles - does this seem normal?
Anonymous wrote:OP here, just wanted to check in and thank everyone for the replies. They were incredibly helpful.

I reached out to the Orton-Gillingham Academy (I had never heard of that so I especially appreciate the very specific recommendation) and got a list of DC-based tutors. I'm going to start with that and see if we can make some quick progress with her, and if she doesn't progress or seems to get worse, I'll look into private testing.

I'll also talk to her teacher and try to get the public school process going (she's in DCPS) but I don't want to be counting on that to happen quickly, or at all.

Again, thank you all so much for the really helpful feedback. It helped validate me that I'm not just being a helicopter parent who expects too much from my kid.


They have 60 days after you consent to have her evaluated to complete the evaluation.

"Under District of Columbia law, the LEA must make reasonable efforts to obtain parental consent for
initial evaluation within thirty (30) calendar days of referral, and complete an initial evaluation of a child
suspected of having a disability, including the determination of eligibility, within sixty (60) calendar days
of receiving parental consent."

https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/Part%20B%20Procedural%20Safeguards%20Update_%20August%202018-ENG.pdf

Anonymous
Post 01/21/2025 13:03     Subject: Almost 6 yr old reading struggles - does this seem normal?
Anonymous wrote:OP here, just wanted to check in and thank everyone for the replies. They were incredibly helpful.

I reached out to the Orton-Gillingham Academy (I had never heard of that so I especially appreciate the very specific recommendation) and got a list of DC-based tutors. I'm going to start with that and see if we can make some quick progress with her, and if she doesn't progress or seems to get worse, I'll look into private testing.

I'll also talk to her teacher and try to get the public school process going (she's in DCPS) but I don't want to be counting on that to happen quickly, or at all.

Again, thank you all so much for the really helpful feedback. It helped validate me that I'm not just being a helicopter parent who expects too much from my kid.

OP, this is great, but I would also schedule an evaluation anyway because the wait times can be so long.
Anonymous
Post 01/21/2025 08:19     Subject: Almost 6 yr old reading struggles - does this seem normal?
OP here, just wanted to check in and thank everyone for the replies. They were incredibly helpful.

I reached out to the Orton-Gillingham Academy (I had never heard of that so I especially appreciate the very specific recommendation) and got a list of DC-based tutors. I'm going to start with that and see if we can make some quick progress with her, and if she doesn't progress or seems to get worse, I'll look into private testing.

I'll also talk to her teacher and try to get the public school process going (she's in DCPS) but I don't want to be counting on that to happen quickly, or at all.

Again, thank you all so much for the really helpful feedback. It helped validate me that I'm not just being a helicopter parent who expects too much from my kid.
Anonymous
Post 01/21/2025 07:12     Subject: Almost 6 yr old reading struggles - does this seem normal?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:She spelled that using the right letters in the wrong order. Seems like she's trying to memorize words. If she's sounding words out but they're not "sticking" even after lots of repetition, she may well have weak phonological skills and weak orthographic mapping. You could get her tested for dyslexia or save that money and go straight to tutoring. Testing will get you a diagnosis and an IEP (eventually), but schools and Special Ed teachers don't actually teach kids to read and "graduate" them out of special ed. Even if they're fully trained, there aren't enough hours in the school day to teach dyslexic kids to read (especially with group rather than 1:1 instruction). A good tutor will teach her to read whether she would qualify for the dyslexia diagnosis or not.


Dyslexia is a life long thing that kids learn to manage so I don’t see them graduating out of getting assistance for it. Wouldn’t school help and tutoring be the best ?


There’s realistically very little help in public school for dyslexia. Most teachers do not have training in it nor do they have the ability to work 1:1 with a student to the degree needed for dyslexia. Truly only Orton Gillingham or Lindamood Bell tutoring will help a child who is dyslexic. But first step for OP is an evaluation to determine if that’s what’s going on.