Letter reversals in child who previously did not?

[holdinon]

My just turned 8 yo has been reversing letters over the last couple of months. At first, I did not worry about it much, thinking she was just tired, had spring fever, or whatever. But.....it is continuing, and not only continuing, but getting worse. This dd has been writing has been normal for 3 years. What would cause this to begin this late in the game? (And it isn't just normal letters like b and d, but pretty much any letter---this morning was an a and a c. She is even reversing letters in her own name, when she's been writing her name (correctly) since age 3.

My oldest son is dyslexic, so I have experience with that. I do not believe that to be a concern with dd. Just strange late-onset letter reversals? Ideas?

[SCStxRN]

My first thought is, "Is she doing it on purpose - either to get attention or to possibly get out of something?"

After that, I'm thinking - is she in art class? I have, on occasion, had my 7 year old (who DOES still have some letter reversal problems) say, "It looks better that way."

Finally - has she had her eyes checked lately? Vision can change a lot at this age, and although I'm not sure how that could cause her to stop forming letters correctly... it seems like a prudent check.

If all of that is in balance, the next think I would want to check IS her balance - have her stand up straight, feet together, with her arms out to her side. Assuming that's steady, have her do the same thing with her eyes closed. If she wobbles (or falls over), I'd have her evaluated by a pedi asap. A positive romberg can indicate problems with the inner ear or with certain parts of the brain that control muscle coordination and balance - which can throw off handwriting.

If that comes back normal, I'd think about trying art projects with her name.

My DS, 7's, favorite is one where you fold a paper in half, have her write her name with the fold as the bottom line - then have her draw the mirror image, let her make an alien or some other form with it. He got such a kick out of that that he hasn't reversed a J in a week.... or try cursive. Maybe she's just ready to move on from printing.

[holdinon]

My first thought is, "Is she doing it on purpose - either to get attention or to possibly get out of something?"

I don't believe this is the case, as she actually appears quite embarrassed that she's done it--though I've tried not making a huge deal of it.

After that, I'm thinking - is she in art class? I have, on occasion, had my 7 year old (who DOES still have some letter reversal problems) say, "It looks better that way."

No art class, and not a very artsy kid

If all of that is in balance, the next think I would want to check IS her balance - have her stand up straight, feet together, with her arms out to her side. Assuming that's steady, have her do the same thing with her eyes closed. If she wobbles (or falls over), I'd have her evaluated by a pedi asap. A positive romberg can indicate problems with the inner ear or with certain parts of the brain that control muscle coordination and balance - which can throw off handwriting.

Actually just tried this (with all my kids, as I have never heard of this before and was interested to see if this had any effect on them). Oddly enough, the dd in question had no problem with this, but my 12yodd did, so I may need to look into this (Although, I haven't had any concerns with her though)

Finally - has she had her eyes checked lately? Vision can change a lot at this age, and although I'm not sure how that could cause her to stop forming letters correctly... it seems like a prudent check.

She has had a eye "screening" at her regular pediatrician checkups each year, so I've never considered this. However, it may be worth it to go to an actual eye doctor, and certainly nothing else seems to be a factor.


ETA---Ok, the kids just talked me into doing the Romberg thing, and I was quite wobbly also Interesting

[my3sons]

Letter reversals in a child who previously did not are less of a concern. My oldest ds would do this occasionally, and he didn't do it early on. I made an index card of the letters (and a few numbers) he was reversing, using it in a word, making the letter reversed dark black. For example,

boy
dog
6
9

I also explained that just like "b" comes before "d" in the alphabet, "b" is also 'tall' first, as it is 'tallest' on its left side, and 'd' is tallest on its right side. I left the card out on the table and asked him to check his work before handing it in to me. If he still missed some, I drew his attention to the line that had the reversal and had him look for the reversal there and fix it.

Seeing it right repeatedly on the index card cut down on the errors and editing it himself helped him remember to write carefully the first time. I suspect your dd's reversals would diminish over time using this method. HTH!

In Christ,
Julie