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I’ve had parents and teachers ask me whether a child reversing letters is a sign that they may have a learning disability. The truth it is not unusual for children to reverse letters and numbers at some point while they are learning to read and write. Not all of these children have a learning disability. Most often children are simply learning about spatial orientation. Or in other words they are learning about how objects work in space. For example a cup only works if it sits on it’s bottom and we drink from the top. Children can be observed exploring this concept as they learn to drink from a cup. Usually we give them some kind of vessel that has a lid until they become more physically coordinated and they learn that if we tip the cup too far it falls or we miss our mouths and pour liquid all over. With letters and numbers it’s just not this obvious. In the English language we read from left to right and our letters are presented from left to right in sequence to make words. It can take a considerable amount of teaching, modelling and practice for a child to master this concept. Eventually they learn the difference between letters that look the same but depending on their orientation on the page relate to different sounds. The ones that commonly cause difficulty are b, d, p, and q. I’ve put together a list of ideas that you can use to help teach your child how to identify letters correctly.
Children who are struggling with this concept may need a lot more practice or repetition than other children so rotate your activities and try different strategies until you find the ones that work. Keep it fun and the practice sessions short and light hearted.
- Hold both hands out making a fist with the thumbs pointing up. Show your child that you can write the word bed with the left fist forming the b and the right fist forming the d. They can do this themselves as a reminder
- Ask your child to say the sound /b/ while they are looking in a mirror. Point out the straight line that your lips make as you press them together to say /b/. Then show them the letter "b" and tell them that as they’re reading along a line of print, when they comes to a "b" they run into the line first, so they should make the line with their lips, and say /b/. Ask your child to say the sound /d/ and pay attention to the tongue. Ask them if they feel it curled up inside their mouth, the tip pressing against the roof of the mouth. Explain that they’re making a big circle in there, with the tongue making the bottom of the circle and the roof of the mouth the top. To give them a visual, tell them a marble or circular lolly would fit in there perfectly. Now show them the letter "d" and tell them that when they’re reading along a line of print and come to the letter with the circle first they should make the circle in their mouth and the /d/ sound will come out. Adapted from a post found on: https://www.ontrackreading.com/phonics-program/telling-b-from-d
- Create d and b or p and q out of sandpaper, textured fabric or carpet. Have your child trace over the letters while saying the letter sound out loud.
- Ask your child to write the letter in the air while saying the letter out loud
- Use water and a paint-brush and practice writing b, d, q or p while saying the letters out loud.
- Write the letters d, b, q or p on a wall or floor with their finger while saying the letters out loud.
- Create cards with the letters d. b, p or q on card, scatter them over a table or on the floor and ask your child to pick out the letters and name them. If you scatter these cards on the floor and separate them you can ask your child to jump or hop on the selected letter while naming it.
Children who are struggling with this concept may need a lot more practice or repetition than other children so rotate your activities and try different strategies until you find the ones that work. Keep it fun and the practice sessions short and light hearted.