05/4/2010:
"I am not sure if our experience with twins applies to other children that
write backwards, but I have always found it interesting that one of our twin
daughters wrote her letters backwards at an early age, while her identical
twin sister did not. They are 'mirror' twins. One is right handed the other
left handed. The left handed twin was the one that wrote her letter
backwards. They were 2 or 3 when they started writing. Their school skills
pretty much progressed at the same rate, although I always felt that the
left handed twin in the early grades had to work a bit harder at reading. I
have always suspected that there is an extra step in her thought process
that requires her to reverse the letters when she is reading. When she was
very young and writing all of her letters backwards, I once accidentally
glanced in a mirror and saw something she had written that had previously
made no sense. I was amazed at how well the letters were formed and that I
could read it perfectly!
. When they tested their IQ's at age 5, they both tested well and were
within a few points of each other. Throughout elementary school the left
hander would read math books for fun, whereas the right hander was more
inclined to read novels. The right hander was probably the faster reader
during that time, but now I think they read at the same speed. On
standardized tests, we could never predict which child would score higher on
math or reading, but they consistently were within a few points of each
other on these tests. They have both made good grades throughout, typically
all A’s with an occasional B. They are now 12 years old finishing 7th
grade. They took the SAT's in January this year, and both scored pretty
well. The lefthander, who used to write backwards, scored an 1800, 610 in
math, 590 in critical reading and 600. Her sister scored the same in math,
and slightly lower in each of the other two areas. In conclusion, it looks
as though writing her letters backward!
s at an early age has not hurt her performance in school or he!
r ability to test well, although it may have contributed to how she learned
to focus and apply herself at an early age."
11/30/2007:
"My son is in the first grade, He just turned seven last week, they have a 10 to 12 word spelling list every week, he hardly ever gets the spelling wrong, but reverses the letters b and d mostly, his teachers said it was very common. Then starting the second nine weeks, they started marking all of the words spelled correctly, but with reversed letters WRONG, he went from making A's to F's and D's how am i supposed to not make a big deal out of it when his teachers are! "
12/26/2006:
"My son is in the first grade and has difficulty with the letters 'b' and 'd'. I teach him that 'b' is a line then a circle and 'd' is a circle then a line. This method seems to help him remember which letter he is trying to write."
12/21/2006:
"I like that Dr. Ginesin advises that one practice communication with the teacher and praise with our children. It's a good reminder.
Thanks!"
12/20/2006:
"I'm glad that I read this email. My son is in 1st grade and continues to write a few of his letters and numbers backwards. The teacher stated in conference that he recognizes his mistake when asked to review his work. Thanks for the great insight."
12/19/2006:
"Also---talk about bat and ball for b. First draw the bat then put a ball next to it. D--draw the dog's head, then his tail that sticks up in the air."
12/19/2006:
"Yes, I have a daughter in the first grade, and she's prone to reversing letters (G, b, d, s) but I'm being patient with her. I point them out to her, and she uses the 'bed method' to help her with b and d. The world 'bed' looks like a bed, forming the letters with the headboard and foot. It worked.
Above all, be patient with them. They respond to a reward and encouragement far better than 'Why do you do that!'
Peace! "
