Letter reversals

[Kims]

I need some input. My 7yo reverses some letters. I am not too concerned about the b,d reversals but today it was n,u. I know this isn't a big concern until a certain age but since my 20yo son was dyslexic and I wish I had done more at an earlier age I was just wondering if there is anything I should be doing or anything I should be worried about. This is when reading I am not sure if he does when writing. I do know he reverses some numbers when writing.

[Nealewill]

When I did most of my research on dyslexia, I think 3rd grade and 8 years old were about the ages that this seemed to stop by. Even my 9 year old will still sometimes mess up her letters but she does have a lot of dyslexic tendencies. So I just have her fix it every time I see it. I think it is one of those things where you can work with them on it but unless they have a reason to not make that mistake, they will probably still make mistakes. I know my 7 yo still writes things backwards as well at times. My 6 yo is gifted and she does it all the time still LOL. I think it is an age thing and it is very common still for a 6 and 7 year to do this.

[StephanieU]

I am not expert, but i do know that the public schools won't test for dyslexia until 2nd grade at the earliest. Normally it is 3rd of 4th grade that they test at. This is because until that point, letter and number reversal is still somewhat common. When they test at 2nd grade , it is normally for severe cases. So, at 7, it could be just developmental, but it could also be a sign of dyslexia. I would look at things like writing and see if it is across the board and consistent. Occasional reversals I think is common through the 2nd grade.

[Kims]

Thank you all for easing my mind on this. I know it's common at this age. In fact I even remember in my 30s having to think about which way a b or d faced when I wrote it.

[Nealewill]

One other thing to think about - not sure if your 20 year old struggled with other dyslexic tendencies - but there is a lot more than just letter reversal with dyslexia as you know. When he reads, does he make up words that aren't there? Like my oldest would see the word "bat" and she might say "bike." She didn't actually read the word but saw a "b" and made up another word. That is very common in dyslexia. She also had no order to her paper when writing out a math problem. There was no left to right, top to bottom, special ordering. She could never keep track of where she on the page was when she was reading. She had (and still has) a very hard time staying on task without distraction. She still will flip flop letters in words when she spells them and reads them. She CAN NOT proof read anything LOL. And finally, she has a very hard time following written directions. Even today - in her grammar book, EVERY QUESTIONN (simple questions) she would consistently give the incorrect answer because she didn't read the question was asking. For example - the text asked where can you find out about action verbs and instead of giving me page numbers, she tells me the definition. And it was like this with every question. It drives me nuts!!!! Same for math - she has a hard time reading something and then answering it. I will say though - Singapore is really been great for her because she definitely understands. Sometimes we just have to talk it out together out loud before she answers the question. That really helps her.

Below is a link for 3rd - 8th graders for signs of dyslexia. She still exhibits a lot of these traits but she has overcome a lot too. All I can say is I feel blessed that I can homeschool her so that she has her own personal tutor/trainer to help her conquer this challenge in her life. It also has links for kids that are in grades K-2nd for signs of dyslexia. But we actually couldn't really tell much till she was getting close to 8. And she can read - but she is slower than other kids her age and she has had to work really hard to be where she is today. Even as I type this, I can't help but think how proud I am of her for all of her hard work!

http://ncld.org/types-learning-disabili ... grades-3-8

So anyway, I just wanted to share with you other signs of dyslexia. Letter reversal in itself isn't necessarily a sign.