MotherLoad: The MomAdvice.com Blog

"Amy, Mason has a sensory disorder to do with textures and touch. We are working with early childhood intervention. It's a free state program. The earlier you get help the easier to treat. The twins also both are starting speech therapy. It seems as they kind of lost their words. I have started teaching them to sign as well. Not to replace their words but just to communicate their wants and needs. I'll be praying for you guys."

"Amy -
My son is 6 years old and in 1st grade. We have always kept a close watch on his reading and writing skills - his father has dyslexia. Our son has transferred letters/numbers and written letters/words backwards since he was in preschool - it has progressively gotten better. I have talked to all of my son's teachers and they assure me this is normal and part of their eye development and can happen until the second grade. After that time they will start to test or you can hook up with the school system your son will attend and the can give you guidance or evaluate him. I hope this helps."

"When my daughter was 5 and in kindergarten she knew all her letters and letter sounds, but was having difficulty reading. My three year old had recently gotten glasses so we decided to have my daughter visit the optomotrist also. (The school vision screening had been normal)She did need glasses for about a year until she outgrew the need for them. More importantly, her eyes were not tracking together and a couple of other vision issues. We did a few months of vision therapy and by Christmas she was reading on her own. At one visit to the Dr. she wrote her phone # completely backwards as you described. I would recommend you find a Pediactric Opthamologist and have your childs vision checked. Even children who see well can have vision problems."

"It's possible there's nothing at all wrong with him. Is he left-handed? I was, and I wrote in mirror writing in kindergarten too. It's really common for this age, especially if you're left-handed. The other way is just backward. ;)"

"Amy- I worked with an early intervention program with my second son. I am pretty sure that programs stops at age 3, and then the child is eligible to receive services from the school district that you live in free of charge. You might want to talk with the school corporation, maybe they could provide some guidance.

Good luck,
Beth"

"Yes, he actually is left-handed. I would have never thought of that being a contributor towards his backwards writing, but that makes perfect sense.

These are all great ideas about what is going on- thank you all!!"

"Kindergarten teacher here.

It's normal for some kids (especially boys) to switch letters and write letters backwards all the way up to 4th grade. What teachers look for is the child gradually dropping the backwards ones.

My oldest son was ambidextrous until 3rd grade and would write whole worksheets perfectly backwards.

It sounds to me like your son is just trying out his newfound competency as a writer. He's most familiar with his name, so he experiments with it.

I'd say its a sign he's a very bright kid."

"Amy,
My son was having problems with this also when he was younger. He used to get his numbers backwards, too. This made it difficult when he was trying to tell time using the microwave. Does he have problems with numbers also, or with just writing? I am an elementary teacher and I wouldn't worry too much about it at this point. And if it does turn out to be dyslexia with some training he can become successful. Just look at Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell.. just to name a few very successful adults who have learned to overcome this. Good Luck to you.
Blessings,
Jodi"

"It is natural and part of development for children to reverse letters often into 1st or 2nd grade. My daughter who is 6 does this. However, my son (who has a visual perceptual learning disability) reversed them for much longer. It was hard to see and as he got older we needed to point it out to him. As late as 5th grade he would still occasionally writer his name (which is 8 letters long) completely reversed and be unaware of it. However he is in High School now and doing fine educationally. He is classified in Special Ed, but he takes college prep classes.

I would suggest talking to his teachers.

BTW, I was a Special Ed teacher so I know a little about this.

Good luck!

Barb"

"Amy, RELAX!!!! This is so normal for him, age appropriate and all! My mother in law is a teacher and this is a normal part of their learning. I know it is hard NOT to worry but I am sure he is fine. I have a worksheet on this which explains the different ways of children learning to write, like scribbles first, then a picture saying this is my letter, then letters backwards with a picture and then they try to spell. Hope that helps, and I am sure if you ask any teacher they will tell you the same, a normal developmental stage."

"This is extremely common for left handed people, my own 5 year old DD is and does the same thing. I started using Handwriting Without Tears for her handwriting and it has helped tremendously! I recommend at least getting their little chalkboard and sponges. It's bigger and easier for their hand - eye coordination."

"My friend's children did the same. Their teacher said it was normal at that age. She has three older children, and all write fine now.

My son did this a bit too, he aged out of it around age seven."

"My first question is... Is he in school yet? If so - I would give it at least to 1st grade without a worry. If he's in Kindergarten I'd be willing to bet that you'll see an improvement by the end of the year. My kindergartener was doing the same thing, and he's already starting to do better, having gone from whole words to just a couple letters mirror-written. It's normal, I promise. However, the main thing is to not worry - so talk to his teacher at one of his regularly scheduled conferences."

"Amy, I would have him evaluated now. Your pediatrician should be able to help you with a referral.If he is dyslexic, catching it now will help him in school.
Mimi"

"It is normal for children to write backwards...however, you are his Mom and know him best, so if you are concerned, you should look into it.

We took my oldest son to a developmental opthamologist when he had trouble reading and writing. They work with children and did specific tests to see if he was flipping images, tracking things together, etc. They had specific tests for children who couldn't read, using images, etc. They even tested his spatial vision using 3D glasses and tested him for color blindness!

Does he write other things backwards, or just his name? If you draw half of a heart or circle, can he complete the shape appropriately?

You could also try having him copy his name - if he has the letters in front of him to copy, does he still write them backwards?

Most schools will test children between the ages of 3-5 at no cost to you, just call them to schedule."

"I also had a "mirror writer." (He's left handed, as well.) I freaked out about it a bit, while everyone assured me it was normal. . . It did indeed correct itself."

"Hey, Amy - Call me and we can talk about this if you'd like. As you know this is my field! The short answer is: it's too soon to call it dyslexia and many non-dyslexic kids reverse, so it's considered normalat this age. Let's talk in real time about other things you can be looking for, etc. -dr. beth"

"My son does the same thing! It really freaked me out. When I asked him about it, he just told me that he thought it looked cool. My niece, who is also 5, does it because she is left handed and can't see what she is writing."

"Ghotit (www.Ghotit.com) offers unique writing and reading online services for people who suffer from dyslexia, dysgraphia or people who are not native-English speakers. Ghotit’s first service is an online context sensitive spell checker.

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Friday, October 19, 2007

MomAdvice Friday: Dyslexia?

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