Writing letters upside down? 13 warning signs of dyslexia parents should watch out for

Is your child writing letters upside down? Learn here if this is something to be worried about.

What can you read in this article?

• “My child is writing letters upside down. Is this normal?
• Some exercises to help your child with this dilemma
• Some warning signs that a child may have dyslexia

The process of learning and teaching at home does put a parent’s patience to the test. If your child has already started learning how to write, writing the letters upside down is one of the things that can drive a teacher-mom insane.

My child is writing letters upside down – is this normal?

According to occupational therapist Liyana Rana, the common letters that a child writes in reverse are b, d, p, q, u, n, m, w, s, z and the numbers 3, 5, 7, 6 and 9.

But is this something that all children go through as they start learning how to write, or should we be concerned if they do it so often?

Raya said that if the child is under the age of 6, it’s not really a problem if he still writes the letters backward. Rather, if the child does other things in reverse such as putting the wrong shoe on the wrong foot, or wearing her shirt backwards, those are things that can be a cause for concern (more on this later).

Meanwhile, according to the website Understood.org, a child writing letters upside down is fairly common up to the second grade. And a majority of children usually outgrow reversing letters and numbers as they get stronger at reading and writing.

As mentioned earlier, if the child is writing letters upside down at the age of 6, it’s probably normal. But if he does other things in reverse at this age, parents have to observe if their child is able to tell left and right from his body.

Moreover, if the child hits the 7th birthday mark, and still writes letters in reverse along with doing other things backwards and upside down, it is better to bring it up with the child’s pediatrician and have him checked for any developmental delays or learning disabilities.

What can I do to help my child distinguish right from left?

While practicing writing these letters the right way can help your child when it comes to reversal writing, there are other exercises that can help sharpen your child’s motor skills, hand-eye coordination and help him overcome the issues of  upside down and left and right. Here are some of them:

• crawling
• tap squat exercises
• brain boosting exercises
• Zumba
• crossing midline activities

These exercises can be done in the comfort of your own home. It is important to strengthen this skill of knowing the difference between left and right as it has a lot to do with so many things in our daily lives.

Warning signs of dyslexia on kids

One of the reasons why it’s important for parents to assess if their child has a problem telling right from left is because it may indicate that he has a learning disability such as dyslexia.

According to the Mayo Clinic, dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty in reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and how they read and write letters and words. It affects areas of the brain that process language. Because of this, children with dyslexia tend to lag behind their peers in learning.

It is estimated that about 4 to 8 percent of students have dyslexia and on average, occur more in boys than girls.

However, this condition can be avoided through early detection and consulting with a specialist as soon as a parent sees the early signs of dyslexia.

Aside from writing the letters upside down, here are some of the possible warning signs that a child has dyslexia:

• Having trouble tying shoelaces

Observe your child if he is having difficulty tying his shoelaces and buttoning his shirts

• Wearing shoes backwards

Does your child put on his left shoe in his right foot? And does this happen often? The frequency in which your child switches her shoes may be an early sign of dyslexia.

• Falls when walking

Does your six-year-old still have trouble finding his balance and always falls or trips while walking? It would be best to consult his pediatrician about this and have him assessed for developmental delays.

• Having trouble with skipping rope

Kids love to play jump rope. But if your child has difficulty jumping, you can also have your child screened for developmental delay.

• Having a hard time with kicking or catching

Preschoolers are often skilled for their capacity to perform gross motor skills like kicking or catching a ball.

• Difficulty identifying positions

Your child may have a problem with positions such as top and bottom or front and back

• Can’t take multiple instructions

Notice if your child is having trouble following 2-step or 3-step instructions at once.

READ MORE: 

Could your child have a learning disability? Here’s how to know

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• Slow to speak

Does your child not like to sing or unable to follow the rhythm or tempo of a song? Observe because she may have difficulty pronouncing a word.

• Spoonerism and saying some words or syllables in reverse.

According to the Oxford dictionary, spoonerism is defined as “a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sound or letters of two or more words.” For example, instead of saying “jelly beans,” your child might say “belly jeans.”

Sometimes, the child might say the word is reverse or switch letters in the middle of a word. “Hospital” becomes “hospital.”

• Having a hard time remembering the name of the object

Is your child having a hard time remembering the name of an object, especially if the word is too long? It might be harder on him than it normally is.

• Confused between left and right

Again, if your child is often confused between left and right, and writes words in reverse, or is unable to copy words perfectly, it may be an early warning sign of dyslexia.

• Easily gets tired and frustrated

Is your little one often disheartened when trying to read and write? It may be because focusing is difficult for him, with words and letters getting mixed up all the time and it’s difficult to read or spell.

• Slow to identify the dominant hand

Research has found an elevated prevalence of left-handedness in individuals with dyslexia. While being left-handed doesn’t always equate to having dyslexia, if your child is having trouble distinguishing which is her dominant hand, it may be a sign of a learning disability.

While the presence of these things does not automatically mean that your child has dyslexia, it may help you discern if she needs some intervention when it comes to learning in general. So if you notice something unusual with the way your child reads or writes, don’t hesitate to start a conversation with his pediatrician about it.

Translated with permission from theAsianparent Malaysia.

Additional information by Camille Eusebio