Is it normal for them to write this way?

coasterqueen wrote: Kylie has been writing letters here and there for awhile now but is now starting to put them together to form words/names, etc. What we've noticed is she's writing them backwards and the whole word backwords. Like she wrote "Matt" ttaM. Should I be worried about this? Her cousin is dyslexic (sp?) but he got that from his dad's side, no relation to us at all.

Anyone?

luvbug00 replied: Mya does it too. she writes words and letters backwords and upside down too. I think it's just a normal part of development.

redchief replied: Yep, it's absolutely normal. Best way to correct is by positive reinforcement. Tell her she did a great job writing (insert what she wrote here), then ask if anything looks different. Don't make a big issue out of it, though, just get her thinking about the differences in appearance of what she wrote vs. how she would normally see it. Three of my four did this, and they all outgrew it by 6.

luvmykids replied: Normal... Colt writes his name but usually spells it C-L-T-O, Kylie spells most of her words backwards the first time and now she's starting to catch it and say "Oh, oops, let me do it again"

C&K*s Mommie replied: does she see it as "ttaM" or "Matt"?

coasterqueen replied: W H E W!!!!!!!!!!!! I was starting to freak out about this. Normal for me. I have been encouraging and not pointing out that she did it wrong. I have to watch myself because she stresses about things like this and I fear it's the perfectionist side of me coming out in her.

Thanks everyone!

coasterqueen replied:
I don't know? She'll say "I wrote Matt's name". Not sure.

5littleladies replied: Karen-This can be a sign of dyslexia, but it can also be a very normal part of a child's development. I would just keep an eye on it for now and if it continues into, say, K or 1st grade, then have it checked out. Maddie and Megan both have had backward writing. Megan is outgrowing it, Maddie is not-She is dyslexic (Jason is as well). Meg is in 2nd grade and started outgrowing it last year. More likely than not Kylie is just fine.

coasterqueen replied:
Thanks Jennifer. I know either way she'll be fine. I just want to catch it early if I can. My SIL was in a state of denial for MANY years before she decided to do something for my nephew. I always thought dyslexia was genetic, though, and there is noone on either side of our family that I know of that has it. Although there are many of my dad's brothers and sisters that probably wouldn't tell you even if they were.

TANNER'S MOM replied: Tanner still does this he is in 3rd grade.. He only does it with his d's and b's.. The teacher says it's still normal. That he just gets in a hurry.

I think it could mean alot of things. but at 4 she is doign good so just pace her and watch her..

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Totally normal! I have a daycare girl who does it a lot too. Most schools actually wont even test for dislexia until they are in 3rd or 4th grade because it's so common, unless it is very severe. Even then, they will still goof up accidentally once in while. Especially at 4, it's totally normal. I just reinforce that we write from left to right just like we read, and it seems to help.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Normal. DH's niece though, she writes mirror image. NOT normal.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
How old is she? It is normal for younger ones, unless it can't be corrected by redirection. My daycare girl does this too, but she can do it accurately if she's redirected.

coasterqueen replied:
Ok, well Kylie does do some mirror image too. Like her L's are the other way.

redchief replied:
It sounds like she has a fairly common problem with reversals. As others have said, keep an eye on things. I found a really helpful web site that is straight forward. It's a page on Dyslexia, but has a section on helping children with reversals.

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/dyslexia.shtml

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I'm going to read that link and try to translate it for SIL... she hardly speaks english, just french. I have to add that his niece will be 7 in a few weeks, and she writes pretty much mirror image all the time, and mostly every letter.

I realized after I posted that MATT would be written the same way (the letters I mean) in mirror image...TTAM... lol oops!

mom21kid2dogs replied: Olivia did it until 5.5. She wrote her name as a perfect backward mirror image. It disappeared one day and never came back. Although I was assured repeatedly it was normal, I did lots of dyslexia research, because she was reversing other letters but not routinely. I always wondered (and even posted at one point) if it was linked to her left handedness.

paradisemommy replied: yep..taven does that too - but i notice he does it more when he starts writing too far to the right of the paper..it's like there's no room to write it the right way so he finishes backwards..

3_call_me_mama replied: I know others have said it but it's normal. It's apart of child development tha tmost every child goes through. They may KNOW how to write it the correct way but play around with it a bit and they know it still has teh same letters so therefore it is the same word. (in their minds anyway) So she should outgrow it and correct it on her own, but definately praise her writing ability and over tiem you will see her write only one or two letters backwards and then eerase them and then fix them. IF she still does this in a couple years then it's worth looking into IMO.

coasterqueen replied:
Cheryl,

Kylie is lefthanded. I wonder if I did the same thing.


This morning she wrote her name backwards mirror imaged and I told her she was doing a great job but that we need to write words from left to right. She wrote her name again and it was the correct way. So who knows.

Boo&BugsMom replied: If it helps, my daycare girl who does it is left handed too.

MommyToAshley replied: I don't think you have anything to worry about... Ashley did this when she first started writing letters and words. I think it is normal but something you want to keep an eye on.

A&A'smommy replied: I would have to agree that its normal she is very young and still learning!! She'll get it!!

lisar replied: I think its normal Lexi done it for a while and now she is getting better at it. I wouldnt worry to much about it.

maestra replied: Ok, I'm hardly around much and everyone else has weighed in, but I will still stick my in- completely developmentally appropriate, and it will be so until at least the end of first grade, middle of second, depending on the child. It is actually part of our curriculum that "reversals are acceptable" for both numbers and letters. It really has to do with the fact that they are memorizing shapes and lines, and that print doesn't really have a lot of meaning yet. The more she reads and writes, the better it will get. I always ask my students "How does yours look different than mine" to get them to compare. Those who are ready catch on really quick, but others still write reversals. Reversing a whole word is very common- they forget about left to right and try to go right to left- especially lt handed children. It is more comfortable for them. (Jaci is left handed too!- I have 4 left handed children in my class this year)

Hope that helped in some way....