First off I want to say I tend to fear the worst :( so I am seeking other mom's opinions. My five year old is in Kindergaton and is having some problems. She has a heart murmor, can't pass a hearing test out of her left ear, is wearing glasses for the first time, and appears to have ADHD w/o the Hyperactivity.
Currently she is reading her numbers backwards and writes them backwards at times. She can also write her name backwards and we are working on how to 'forget' that little trick she picked up somewhere. I am concerned that she might have dislexia. I know it is something that can be over come it handled properly, but I am really hoping that it is something all little kids do. I don't remember the older two reading numbers backwards. I ask her all kinds of numbers like the school bus number, the time, the temp and if it is a two digit number she generaly reverses the two numbers. Is she at an age where it is normal?? Is there something I should do about it besides wait and she if she reads backwards?? I really hate the idea of continuing as is to see if it stops or gets worse because it seems the longer I would wait the harder it would be to correct. I have a brother with Dislexia, so I know it can be overcome, but at what point is it Dislexia versus just a normal child? Thank you for your insight.
** Just a few more details after reading some responses. She is Right handed, attends Catholic School because the classrooms are half the size (I want to avoid leaving class and having all the kids make fun of her for going to special ed...I was in those shoes with 12 years of Special ed classes), all of her teachers (Pre-school, Sunday School, Wed Night Church, and K) have noticed ADHD in her (as well as me). I think I tend to think the worst with my degree in Social Work b.c I can name symptoms. Her MD said she is too young to diagnose with ADHD at this point, which is somewhat okay with me since I Detest Ritalin with a HUGE Passion. Also, I had no idea Dislexia ran in families since I am not very knowlegable with educational type problems.
**Also, who does testing on children for learning disabilities other than MDs and the school system? I live in Ohio and I am not positive on what agencies do those aside from Help Me Grow.
Thank you all for your insight and help. I have been looking into the different programs and web cites that you offered. I appreciate all of your help.
Some numbers and letters backwards is normal, but if it is a lot, then get her to an eye specialist.
On the possibility of ADHD, I just took my daughter for evaluation of vision (NOT the eyesight itself), and they said ADHD is often mistakenly diagnosed when there is a vision problem.
Try the vision first then if no better after 3-6 months, then see a developmental doctor.
I have a 5 year old in Kindergarten, as well. All of her teachers (preschool teachers, Sunday school teachers, & her K teacher) have said she's very smart -- but she'll write some of her letters & numbers backwards, too. She'll even say things sometimes like "mark book" instead of "book mark". She gets 2s and 5s confused a lot...but I don't think it's anything serious. I just think it's her age & the fact that she doesn't slow down long enough to really look at what direction the number/letter is going. :)
Try not to fear. Talk to your child's teacher and doctor to see what they have to say for sure. Sounds like this one keeps you on your toes without an additional worry! :)
Do not wait or trust the school system to address problems of this nature. They don't really care about your kids education and life development as much as parents do. The school system will not test for learning disorders until first grade or sometimes they wait until second grade. However, you can bring your concerns to your family doctor and ask for a referrel to a neuro-psychiatrist. They have tests for everything under the sun and they can treat with medication, suggestions for tuturoing, diagnose issues, etc.
Since there are like 100 types of dyslexia, I wouldn't leave it up to the school system to diagnose. One person is unlikely to know about all kids or symptoms of such things. Many people have gone undiagnosed int he past and have been forced to learn how to deal with the symptoms on their own. It really makes learning difficult. My brother was diagnosed in 2nd grade. I was never diagnosed, but I still struggle with it while going to college.
Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD are all things that can be overcome. A person may deal with the symptoms all one's life, but there are better coping mechanisms people can learn to make it easier.
Even if the doctor or school system doesn't believe there's a problem, just keep pushing to get an appointment and testing with a neuro-psychiatrist.
It is not unusual to write numbers backward at this age, but that is not dyslexia, it is a visual perceptual problem if it does not improve by mid first grade. Letters and numbers are the only objects that change when they are turned a different way, a flower is still a flower if you turn it upside down, but a b is a p and a q is a d, so it takes a certain developmental level to get this concept.
Visual motor, visual perceptual, grapha motor and difficulties with phoenemic decoding (dyslexia) are all commonly comorbid with ADHD of both types. If your daughter has not been seen by a developmental pediatrican for a full evaluation, you should make an appointment now. These professionals will be able to tell you what things that you are seeing are a result of her ADHD, or her hearing loss, which is suspect here for so many reasons, and only someone with this kind of detailed education and training is going to be able to tease out for you. A developmental pediatrican will also give you a plan to follow so you know that you have not missed anything important, especially time for early and effective intervention.
I urge you to rething special education if this is what your daughter needs. Things have changed a great deal since you were a child. Become educated on today's educational practices, and choose the most approriate educational setting for your daughter, even if this is a public school program with resources like dyslexia intervention programs, speech and hearing services (fm devices for children with hearing loss) low vision services for children who need specialized books or other devices for reading, and so on. Catholic schools will not have as many resources, though they may be perfectly capable of educating a child without significant needs, or one that requires significan therapies or expensive interventions.
Most of all, dispell your bias now, it may not serve your child well in the future. You will be an advocate for your child if that is what you need to do, and the current federal law, IDEA, provides you a place at the table in making all the educational decisions.
M.
Hi S.:
Having read most of the responses let me start by saying that dyslexia runs in families as is mentioned, but the signs at early an age very much can be an early symptom. Testing is done in children from age 4.5 all the way through adults.
The symptoms of dyslexia, as research shows, can be alleviated with remediation therapy in young children, and the earlier the better.
Jacksonville, FL screens every kid in Pre-K/K for dyslexia so they know what to look for as the kid grows older. Texas now has a dyslexia law aimed at early detection and remediation.
I opened a clinic earlier this year, Dyslexia Institutes of America that performs these dyslexia and cognitive processing evaluations as well as providing multi-sensory remediation therapy.
You can learn more at our website, www.diaohio.org or call me at the clinic at ###-###-####.
J.
wow, your daugher & my son have ALOT in common. he's in first grade now but when he started school last year, his doc wouldn't let him play sports because of his heart murmur, his doc said his hearing was better(thanks to the ear tubes)but it still wasn't perfect, & i didn't think he'd ever get it right when it came to spelling words or writing out numbers(or speaking them for that matter). when they did his testing at school for the IEP, the instructor said he would benefit from speech therapy and individual learning programs. they took him out of his class 2 days a week for an hour, that way he wouldn't feel like he wasn't smart enough to stay in his class all the time. i worked with him alot after school also. this year his teacher said the only area he's alittle slow in is "comprehension" & he gets it after 2 or 3 times of reading it, where other kids in his class get it after the 1st go. i've been helping him with that afterschool also & his teacher said it shows. my mom said my sister, brother, and i all started out with spelling & writing things backwards and his instructor said all kids do to some point, it was just how they got a feel for everything they were learning. my son can now write sentences & write his numbers from 0-100, so don't beat yourself up too much, i think it's just something that takes patience & practice. good luck & God be with you, if you ever want to talk more, just shoot me an email. take care.
Lots or good advice here. I have Dislexia. Things that helped me was typing on the computer. You'll be giving her one on one time and practicing words and typing. Her brain is just flipping everything. Call up the word program put a large font up and start with her name and family members names then simply words. The older kids can help.
Jump Start has a computer game for basic reading phonics.
Definitely look into professional help but there are earlier education books at the library that can help.
and finally the thing I enjoy the most is audio books. When she gets older and needs to read literature it will take her longer then the others because she will have to focus on the word being correct and then the meaning. For me it takes rough four minutes for a normal person takes one. Listtening to audio books while reading helped a lot especially in college.
I am an Extended Day Kindergarten teacher and I agree with Amy F. It's possible that she is just still at the age where she reverses things. I had a student last year who came in writing her name backwards with every letter reversed - that really takes skill I believe! However, once we worked with her and made her aware that she was writing it backwards she was able to change things around and write the correct way. It took a lot of practice and repitition, but it worked. I would try working with her and making her aware of it before really seeking the outside support. However, like Amy F said with having it run in your family and with being ADHD she could also receive additional support that could really help as well. Good luck!
In kindergarten it is normal for kids to sometimes write their numbers and letters backwards. I would not worry about it too much at this point, but continue to work with her in her reading and writing. I have a feeling my son may have dyslexia too. He is in second grade and still sometimes writes some letters and numbers backwards. He also still at times, reads words backwards. I am going to have him checked soon for it. At this time kids don't usually write, or read letters, numbers, or words backwards. Just keep an eye on her for now and see how she does later on.
D.
I am 31 and have been married for almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7, and 4.
Hi S.,
I have taught music off and on in parochial schools and remember a card one kindergartener made me, with "Congratulations" written in reverse order, with a few letters reversed as well. I asked the teacher about it, and she said many kids do one or the other or both, and eventually grow out of it. Keep working with her on it, and make sure the school does too.
Re the ADHD stuff--is it possible that she is now seeing better with her glasses, so there are so many "new" things to look at, she doesn't stick with one thing very long, and this might make her seem ADHD? Same thing might occur if her hearing improves significantly through use of a hearing aid. That's just my own guess, it has no basis from consulting a doctor or anything.
I think you may be jumping the gun a little bit, but you are wise to be concerned, especially since your brother had dyslexia. Ask the teacher what his/her thoughts are. In our district, if you ask for testing, they are supposed to complete it within a certain time frame--we didn't know this and it took forever for our now 13 yo son to get tested and help. (He has a high IQ, excellent oral vocabulary and math skills, but reading just wasn't happening--he's doing MUCH better now.)
Get used to the idea that you will have to be her advocate, tutor, cheerleader, crying towel, etc. much more so than with a so-called "normal" kid. Many teachers DO care about the kids but are over-extended, and it will be your job to make sure she gets the help she needs, through the school and/or on your own.
The Schwab Learning site was recommended to me awhile back, I'm embarrassed to say I have not visited it....
Believe me, this will be a learning experience for you!! You and your daughter will be fine, I am sure you will make good choices! ;-)
K. Z.
There is a school in town that helps children with dsylexia and add/adhd. Both of my children have it. Some kids have it worse than others. I would suggest contacting Marburn Acadamy, they can screen your daughter for this. It does not mean you have to send her there, but this is the first step to understand what she really has. There are many reasources on the internet also,which you can look into. It tells you things to look for. The sooner she gets diagnosed, the easier it is to help her. If you have any other questions you can e-mail me priviatly.
Kim
It is not that unusual for them to flip numbers and letters at that age. Keep an eye on it and talk to her teachers too, because dixlexia does run in families. Also you can always do changes in the diet and see if that helps with the ADD. I have heard that keeping red dye out of the diet really helps. Medicine isn't the cure for all.
I have a letter to Santa that my son wrote when he was in kindergarten. He started in the top left corner, and wrote across to the right. When he hit the right edge of the paper, he just turned around and went right to left on the next line, reversed again at the next edge, etc. Perfectly legible, once you figured out his system.
Backwards writing is pretty normal as they are learning, I think. But you are smart to keep an eye on it. Ask her teacher if she has any concerns. I'm sure there are resources at the school to help you find out for sure.
My two older kids do have dyslexia. So when my third, my son, was writing letters & words backwards I thought he had it too. But he outgrew that stage & does not have any dyslexia.
For the older two kids the signs were leaving letters out all together. My older son was in 2nd grade and spelling most words without vowels. My daughter left "W" out of the alphabet song & did not ever recognize "W" in any word until she received help. Both of them had an extremely hard time learning to read at first.
If you get great teachers for any disability your child can overcome & get around them. Both my older kids are advanced honor students! Even with dyslexia. My son is in 10th grade & one of his teachers told him "your paper is like one written by a freshman in college!" Both kids read in their free time & love books. They learned to read in a way that is unique to only each of them. Every person can learn in their own way with the right teachers!
You really need to be talking to your dr and he will probably need to recommend someone to assess her. School districts usually have school psychologists that will test for this. My son had langauge delay and we began at age 3 with a hearing test and then had testing done through the school district. We then made an appointment with a neurologist. We have seen many specialists over the years. You should not wait too long because it could impact her attitude about school. He is now 10 and we have had to be more involved with his education than our other kids.He goes to camps in the summer and gets help during the school year from school and outside sources. Start with your pediatrician and your school district. It is not too late.
There are also psychologists at the hospitals or medical systems that have doctors that specialize in testing developmental delays.Dr Christine Barry at the Cleveland CLinic is well known for this.
S.~
You don't say if your daughter is right handed or left. That can make a difference in how they do things. My daughter is a lefty and I was freaking out over all the things she did backward. My uncle who is a lefty said that it takes a while for lefty kids to figure out how to write left to right. Do continue to work with her and ask your school for an occupational therapy review. She may need some outside help in getting it all figured out.
Hi S.,
I am an Occupational Therapy Assistant in the schools and it is normal for children to have reversals up until the age of eight. The fact that you have dyslexia in the family and she is currently wearing glasses I would bring it to the attention of your opthomologist as well as your pediatrician. Keep working with her and reading from left to right. My son is 4 and he reads things from right to left and reverses alot of letters as well. Talk the letters when you write them, The D'Nealian letters (the letters that have the tails on the a,d,l etc- it is the precursor to cursive...so they say) have a letter talk that talks the letters while you write them. You can make up things too like, "tall line down, bunny hop to the top, around the tree, around the tree that's the way we make a B!!" Another thing that you could consider is a program called Handwriting without Tears. Considering that she has a ADD diagnosis does she qualify for any special education services?? If she does-take advantage of it and see if you can get an evaluation from Occupational Therapy. I have A LOT of ADD/ADHD kids on my caseload and a lot of kids with dyslexia as well. Good Luck!!
I have a son who had similar issues. He worked so hard in elementary school and would cry when his papers came back with poor grades. We later found that he had ADHD with some sensory issues. In middle and high schools he did better because his teachers knew about his disability. An IEP, that's an individual educational plan, is probably the best thing for your daughter. PS My son is in the top 15% of his field now and has recently been promoted to management in his company, at age 22. These kids can and do succeed!
