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mommylori
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| Posted: Jan 10 2007 at 4:36pm | IP Logged
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My son writes alot of his letters and numbers backwards. He is 6 and we started later on teaching. My Grandmother who was a special ed teacher for years, told me as long as you can show him one written the right way and he can tell what he did wrong, that it is a normal mistake and not to worry about it. To many people freak over this little thing. And that as long as he is learnign to read and can see the mistakes it is not Dyxlexia. Well my mothers room mate pulled me to the side and told me my son has a learnign disability and I was a terrible mother for not getting it checked out, so I completely put her back in her place very quickly because my Grandmother is an expert on the matter. The woman taught LD for over 30 years and runs the library in the town she lives in and also tutors children on the side.
So anyways, my question, is Clay that diffrent? He can write words the rightway and then completely mirror it with no problem, which he does to write messages that you have to hold in the light to read. But if you give him a word he can write it backwards, forwards and even upside down, with out a single issue, or thought. He also taught himself how to write all his letters, so not sure if that has anything to do with it.
Also when we teach spelling, I am about to do the spelling test, and he can number the paper and write all the words in order before I even have to begin.
But he really doesn't like reading, he can do it, but he doesn't like sounding out words.lol But he loves writing, and even tries to make fancy letters. He is a very artistic child.
But since he is my first I was wondering if this is normal behavor when 1st learning or if it was something I should keep an eye on. Not like I am homeschooling and not keeping a very close eye on everything anyways.lol
Lori
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mellyrose
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| Posted: Jan 10 2007 at 4:44pm | IP Logged
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My 6 yr old commonly writes letters & numbers backwards. I point them out, he realizes the mistake, and we move on. I don't worry about it. I sometimes make him practice a line or so when it seems a common mistake (the number 6 this week has been an issue. BUT, when I had him write a line of 6's, they were all perfect. It was only when he was answering problems that he had a problem writing them.)
My sister wrote words backwards for a long time -- she's left-handed and her teachers said that was why. She was maybe 8 before she consistently wrote letters/number the right way. I don't know if right vs. left has anything to do with it, though - bc DS is right handed.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. I think it's fairly common.
Melanie
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Erin
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| Posted: Jan 10 2007 at 4:49pm | IP Logged
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totally normal and common. As for not wanting to read he is only 6! My boys aren't really interested till 7-9.
I think to many 'experts' today go looking for problems 
Yeah Grandma!!
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Erin
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cathhomeschool
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| Posted: Jan 10 2007 at 5:04pm | IP Logged
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My 5 1/2 yo writes letters and numbers correctly half the time and writes them backwards the other half. I don't even point it out. My 11yo did this for years and outgrew it on his own. I never pointed it out to him either.
Don't worry!
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Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
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Bridget
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| Posted: Jan 10 2007 at 5:29pm | IP Logged
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All of mine write some things backwards till they are 8 or 9. We work on it a little but they really do outgrow it. My lefties mirror write more frequently and longer but they eventually correct it too.
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Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
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aussieannie
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| Posted: Jan 10 2007 at 11:18pm | IP Logged
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My 7 year old daugter writes number backwards and some of her multiple phonograms, for eg: she write nk instead of kn or rw instead of wr - she excels in other areas of her schooling life so I too, tend to think she will grow out of it in time.
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marihalojen
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| Posted: Jan 11 2007 at 7:04am | IP Logged
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I taught Fourth Grade and that was the first year concern was shown for children who had not grown out of this problem yet.
As Erin said - Yeah Grandma!!
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ALmom
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| Posted: Jan 11 2007 at 10:02am | IP Logged
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I do have children with a vision related problem (no acuity problems just other things that most docs don't check for) that causes them to write things backwards, reverse things like 12 and 21. However, even our therapists and the doctor diagnosing the problem will say that at 6 many, many children do this as they are learning - but with repeated practice, you see improvement - that is the key. I'd be concerned at 8/9 but not at 6 unless I saw other signs of a problem.
Now, after 6 children and 5 having the same problem, I do tend to go ahead and get a diagnosis early (but the process is little more than an eye exam for them so it is like a school vision screening except I simply go to the special optometrist that tests for a few more things than typical. Since I have such a strong family history of this problem, it seems prudent, causes no undue stress on anyone and allows us to correct the problem earlier, when it is easier to correct. There is a brochure on the pavevision.org website that will tell you how to distinguish between simple lack of readiness and a real problem. I do find this site very helpful. It may also point out other symptoms. If all you are seeing are some reversals then I'd assume that was very normal and expect it to gradually disappear entirely over the next few years.
However, if your peace of mind has been disturbed and your insurance pays for eye exams, it certainly doesn't hurt to go to a developmental optometrist (fellow of the College of Optometry, vision development) and have a learning related eye exam. This should be a first step before a diagnosis of dyslexia anyways - which presumes that the child is not experiencing any vision deprivation. But if your insurance doesn't pay for eye exams or you simply are not ready to go that way, then I wouldn't worry yet.
From what you said about how much your son enjoys writing, I'd be surprised if there was any problem at all. My children with vision problems had trouble cutting even at 7 and 8, coordinating both sides of the body, and they certainly did not like to play around with writing - they disappeared as soon as any desk work appeared. They also struggled with reading. Your grandmother certainly knows what she is talking about and is a reliable source of information.
Janet
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: writing
