Does anyone know if this is normal

Hannah and Sarah have been learning how to write their names... they've seen them a million times, can identify them on sight with ease, etc. but today I let them try to write them completely on their own (up to this time I've been having them trace them on manuscript paper with dots to guide them): my problem (if it's even a problem) is that Hannah wrote hers completely backward like looking into a mirror- not a joke, I know it's spelled the same both ways, but all the letters were turned backward. Is this a normal developemental error? She's always had a terrible time learning her letters and numerals and recognizing them on sight, so I've always been a little concerned about her, since it took her easily 4 times as long to learn each letter in comparison to Sarah. Any insight?

 

Jazzy writes backwards so far. As in if you ask her to write 1234 she will write the 4 the 3 then the 2 then the 1.

 

My 5 year old still does this, only occasionally now, but much more often when he was 3 and 4.

According to my mom (a Kindergarten teacher of 38 years) and all of the K and 1st gr. teachers I know - it is totally normal.

 

totally normal at that age.

As PP said, it is common until late 1st grade or so.

 

Yes Jessica used to do it totally normal, she could start on the right hand side of the page and write each letter backwards so would be right way in a mirror kinda cool

 

My brother (who is in his 30 now) did this and he was dyslexic. Not to panic you but writing in mirror image is a trait of dyslexia and is different from writing numbers in the wrong order. Hope things go well for you!

 

http://life.familyeducation.com/cognitive-development/early-learning/42297.html


"Question: My five-year-old granddaughter, when trying her skills at writing, usually starts on the right side of the paper rather that the left. About half of the time she mixes her Bs and Ds and makes her S backwards. She has been in a structured day care and is getting ready for kindergarten this fall. Any need for concern, especially about dyslexia?

Answer: There is no need for concern if your granddaughter is otherwise well. It is completely normal for children to write "backwards" at this age. In addition to letter and number reversals, some children will truly write in mirror image: going from right to left with all the letters reversed. There is nothing wrong with this. The brain does not completely form the concept of left and right until somewhere between ages five and eight. This means that almost all children will have persistent reversals when they first start writing.

You should definitely not stop your granddaughter from writing in this way, or even make her correct it. If she asks if it is correct, you should point out the errors, but don't make a big deal of it. The more that children write, the easier it becomes for them. You don't want to limit your granddaughter's creativity by constantly pointing out what is wrong. When she learned to walk, you wouldn't have dreamed of telling her to stop because she couldn't do it properly, or of trying to correct her and give her lessons. Similarly, with writing, children should be free to practice and make multiple mistakes without corrections or limitations. By first grade, teachers will start asking children to correct their reversals, and by the end of second grade almost all children have stopped doing it completely."


http://www.todaysparent.com/schoolage/article.jsp?content=20041007_110724_7092

Backwards Writing
Is it a sign of a problem, or just a phase?
Teresa Pitman


"One afternoon, my six-year-old son Matthew — who was home-schooled at the time — sat down to write me a story. I smiled as I saw him diligently filling the page with letters. But when he proudly brought me the finished piece, I was surprised to see that it was all written backwards — perfect mirror writing.
When I pointed this out, Matthew seemed unperturbed. “Oh,” he said. “You wanted it written the other way.”
Matthew’s casualness about which way his letters faced is not unusual in young children, explains Catherine Penney, professor of psychology at Memorial University in St. John’s. “When very young children, say at four years old, start to write their names, they’ll write the first letter in one place, and the second letter might be on the bottom of the page, and the third letter might be over to the left. They know the letters, but they don’t necessarily put them in sequence,” she says.
As they get a bit older, they catch on to the concept of keeping the letters together in a line to form a word. That doesn’t mean they get all the letters going the right way. “It’s very common for letters like S and E and the lower case B and D to be written backwards,” Penney points out, adding that while the kind of complete mirror writing Matthew did is less common, she’s certainly seen it with other children.
Printing letters feels like a type of drawing to young children. When they draw a picture of a dog, it doesn’t matter if he’s facing left or right. He’s still a dog. With letters, however, it matters a lot — but it can take some time for this concept to sink in.
Backwards writing or reversing letters worries some parents because they’ve heard it can be a sign of dyslexia and future reading and writing difficulties. Backwards writing is probably not a concern, says Penney, without other warning signs, including:
• Your child is still writing letters backwards after grade one.
• He also has difficulty memorizing sequences, such as her home phone number, her postal code or the alphabet.
• Your child writes letters or numbers in an unusual way: for example, writing an eight as two circles on top of each other rather than in a continuous line. This might be normal for a younger child, but if it continues after age seven or so, you might want to investigate further.
• He often calls objects by the wrong name — for example, when shown a picture of a volcano, he calls it a tornado.
Penney says while some experts estimate that fewer than 10 percent of children have dyslexia, she feels the true number may be as high as 33 percent, although many of these children will have a mild version. “It’s the upper end of the continuum,” she says. “The children will be able to read and have very good comprehension, but have trouble sounding out big technical words. Their reading problems start to show up by grade four or so.”
Can parents help a child who sometimes writes backwards learn to print more conventionally? “It’s a developmental sequence,” Penney explains, “so some will go through it faster and some will take longer.” She suggests that parents can use fun activities to help this learning process — and these will help with reading and writing in general. Some suggestions:
• For children who do mirror writing, as Matthew did, a sticker at the top left corner of the page can help remind them where to start.
• If it is just a particular letter or two that are troublesome, help them with a reminder (like “b” has a big belly).
• Encourage your child to trace words you’ve printed for him, or use inexpensive stencils to give practice in printing the letters correctly. Make it fun by turning it into a craft such as making birthday cards or party invitations.
• Build a pattern with tiles or blocks and have your child duplicate it. Make asymmetrical designs that help her focus on matching the different sides.
In most cases, your child will eventually figure out that words in English are printed from left to right, and it does matter which way the letter E faces. If your child is still finding this a struggle as he gets older, and you see some of the other concerns Penney mentions, it might be time to consider additional help. TP

"


At the age of your girls, it is completely developmentally typical. Don't even begin to think about dyslexia! :hug: I've found just 2 articles about this, among many more out there.

 

Yes, my 5 year old has done it on occasion as well. Very normal from what I have read.

 

Thanks so much for all the great feedback... I'll stop trying to correct and let her figure it out, since that seems best.

 

Amy does this all the time (though all her letters are symmetrical, so I can't tell if they're mirror-image or not!). She thinks "AMY" and "YMA" are equally good. Her preschool teachers says it's normal... :unknw:

The last paragraph of that article is great -- I'm going to send it to DH (who is always trying to correct the girls' writing).

 

We get variations by DD2 (Maddy) in these ways:


Maddy

yddaM

ybbaM

and

Mabby


all are 'normal' and not worrisome. She also sometimes does the backwards 'yddaM' differently---sometimes she does it right to left and sometimes she starts at the left and goes right. She is actually my more 'visual' kid (puzzles, noticing details, etc)

Oddly enough, DD1 has never to my knowledge written her name backwards or reversed any letters. She 'does' tend to be perfectionistic though...it would drive her crazy if she thought it did not 'say' her name correctly!!


No worries, just encourage writing and have fun with it!

 

One of mine does this, the other doesn't. The Pre-K teacher brought it to my attention so that I was aware and could help her at home. This is not always a sign of a learning disability and having spent a few years teaching 1st grade I am not concerned about my child at this point.