Dyslexia experts - ???

[momw/2princesses]

My daughter is in 3rd grade this year. We have just finished the second week of school. She reads above grade level and is at or above grade level in her other subjects. As I've been going over her homework with her this past week, I noticed on several occasions that she has misspelled words - reversing the order - cron for corn, Firday for Friday, etc. I would point it out and she would say oh, you're right and fix it. She also reversed numbers when answering a question. She has very rarely done this in the past. I know these are signs of dyslexia, but think that I would have seen this way before now if it were really a problem. She had no trouble learning to read. I spoke with her teacher about it briefly just to make her aware. I'm wondering if she's just stressed because it's a new year, there's lots more homework (although getting her to do it has been a breeze compared to previous years!). I just don't know. Don't want to over react, but also don't want to miss anything. If you've read this far, you deserve a cookie!! What do you think?

Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[PixieDust32]

My DD had the same problem when she was in second grade, same thing, she always asked how to spell her daddy's name, David, she didn't know if it was with d or b, she used to write the letter backwards, the d and de b, the y, the s, p etc.
We went to see a doctor that school recomended and he said that she had early stages of dyslexia. The school had her on smaller groups and we used to do flash cards to help her with the spelling. She is now in the 7th grade and seems that her dyslexia is no longer an issue.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I am not an expert in dyslexia--but I would expect that problem in a younger student.

I homeschool my kids and from what I have learned--in handwriting, letter reversals in K and even 1st grade aren't something to worry about. They should fade over time.

My 4th grader did this and by 3rd grade she had figured it out and no longer does it in handwriting.

My 1st grader still does this,so this year we will focus on correcting those. We are learning to read and she may have some issues so we are getting her eyesight examined. She gets some letters confusing--like: "l" and "i" (lower case L and lower case I) and she gets her "b" and "d" mixed up when she reads. Little bit different than her sister and I am not sure if we have an issue or not.

The fact that it has come up with your daughter in 3rd grade, I might consider just having her checked out just to be save.

I do letter reverslas* in typing (like that--how funny and I did NOT plan that)--but it is b/c my fingers get ahead of each other. In fact, it is so ingrained in me to backspace and fix it--that I get hung up on typing tests to test speed b/c they do not let you do that. So I get slowed down as I figure out that I can't fix it and move on. I've never heard of that in handwriting.

*typo left on purpose b/c it was just so darn funny.

 

[PixieDust32]

Im not expert.

 

[MosMom]

My daughter is dyslexic and there is so much more to dyslexia than reversed letters here and there. It is normal for children of that age to flip letters or write letters backwards sometimes. Mo had issues with tying her shoes, directional concepts, memorization, skipping, math concepts, reading and spelling skills, and on and on. Sounds like your dd is doing fine so I wouldn't sweat it. There are glaring issues with true dyslexia.

 

[eduk8r26]

Have you had a good eye exam? Dyslexic children typically will not be able to read because of constantly misreading words. If your daughter can read well, I seriously doubt she is dyslexic.

 

[englishteacha]

I'm not an expert, but my brother is dyslexic/dysgraphic. He reversed numbers (81 for 18) and got letters backwards and confused. He was kept back one year until they realized the problem, and then once he got some extra support they moved him back into his original grade (which was great because he is a twin and hated being a grade behind). My brother still prints in all capitals because he can't get the letters backwards that way. He's 46.

I've had students with dyslexia, though by the time they reach me they usually have a lot of strategies to get themselves through. If you're concerned, talk to her teacher. I'm sure the teacher has some advice.

 

[dicar123]

I'm not an expert, but I am a mom who has a kid with learning problems.

If she is on grade level, regardless of what they might find with testing, she likely wouldn't receive any help. My son was found to have several issues (memorization, visual processing, etc) but because he was on grade level they did nothing. Even after I explained that he is on grade level because I spent 2 hours re-teaching him everything he was taught during the day so that he could do his homework.

There is no single test for dyslexia. It is my understanding that a battery of tests are used and then they stand back and look at the whole picture in order to make a diagnosis of dyslexia.

You have the right to ask for testing, but in the end, I'm not sure that you'd get anything out of it.

 

[dicar123]

Mo had issues with tying her shoes, directional concepts, memorization, skipping, math concepts, reading and spelling skills, and on and on.

Boy oh boy, does this sound familiar. My son just started middle school without having any learning issues addressed except by me at home.

I've given up and am waiting for him to fail so that someone will help him.

 

[ElizK]

What you describe sounds a lot like my mildly dysgraphic daughter. One thing that is fairly key with dysgraphia is that the writing process is SLOW because rather than writing automatically like most people do, she has to think about each letter as she writes it. Her writing is slow, messy, and very poorly spelled. Do any of those sound like your DD?

Even though she was not failing, DD14's 3rd grade teacher had her tested. She passed all of the LD tests that the school performs. We took the results of the schools testing to a child behavior specialist who did some further testing, and that's where we got the dysgraphia diagnosis.

One other thing about dyslexia/dysgraphia... they tend to be inherited. While never diagnosed, DH has ALL of the same symptoms/characteristics that DD14 has.

 

[momw/2princesses]

Thanks for all of the replies!! I understand that dyslexia is a complex thing. Some of these things sound like her, but some don't. I know it's common for younger kids to do these things, my younger one (1st grade) does all the time. But for her not to have had any issues and now suddenly letters and numbers are mixed up just doesn't make sense to me. If there is a problem, I just want to know how to help her with it. Guess time will tell. I really appreciate all of your insight!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Before I was a SAHM, I was an elementary school teacher. I was trained in Orton Gillingham. This is a reading method that is very effective with dyslexics.

It would seem very strange to me that she learned to read in a regular environment with no additional help if she were dyslexic. I also can't imagine her reading above grade level now. That said, if you have worked with her and worked with her, then there could be a possibility.

My first thought is to get her eyes checked. My second thought is she is hurrying. It is still easy and review so she is not really thinking as she writes.

Good luck! Don't hesitate to ask for testing, but they would probably call it a learning disability in school. Now I can't remember why (it's been 10 years!), but dyslexia is not a term used in schools.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

As a veteran special educator with 20 years experience with dyslexic children, I can say with a lot of confidence that what you are seeing is not dyslexia. Although children with dyslexia do reverse letters and sounds more frequently than their typical peers, dyslexia is at it's base a difficulty hearing and manipulating the sounds in words. Students with dyslexia generally do not read at or close to grade level without intensive intervention.

If I had to make a guess, your daughter is moving into a phase where she doesn't stop and think as much about the formation of the letters or the order of the sounds in a word, she's beginning to do things with more automaticity and fluency. This is wonderful, and very necessary because third grade is when things start to really ramp up as far as the quantity of reading and writing that's expected. However, it's not uncommon for kids to start making more errors when they start reading and writing at higher speeds and volumes.

If she can recognize her mistakes, then it's time to work on 2 skills. One is knowing when perfection is important (e.g. on a spelling test) and encouraging her to slow down in those circumstances. The second is editing her work and catching her own mistakes. Expect that second skill to take a long time. For most kids learning how to edit your own work is a goal throughout the upper elementary school years.

Another poster above mentioned dysgraphia, which is a disability that specifically effects the ability to write. If you're noticing that her writing is very slow and labored, then I'd consider that as a possibility. Kids with dysgraphia are often picked up in 3rd and 4th grade because they can keep up when the writing demands are low, but when they're expected to write longer pieces they sort of fall apart. On the other hand, if she's writing at the same speed as the other children, and the content of her writing is grade-appropriate, I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. I'd look at it as a temporary thing that associated with a developmental jump (kind of like toddlers who temporarily stutter when they start speaking in sentences, or falling off your bike when your training wheels are off -- she's attempting something harder now, writing with fluency, and can't yet do it perfectly).

 

[janette]

This site has a great list of things to look for http://www.dys-add.com/symptoms.html

My 15yo DD is dyslexic and she had pretty glaring issues very early but was not diagnosed as Dyslexic until after 3rd grade. She was considered learning disabled before that; most schools don't test for Dyslexia they test for a learning disability.

I wouldn't worry too much about reversing letters unless there are other factors; my DD interchanged b & d's all the time (still does) and often even when I had her look at it or tell me what letters were written she say what she meant to put instead of what she actually did. The fact that she can see the mistake is a good sign.

 

[crazelion]

I am 34 and I have dysgraphia. To this day I can't write worth anything. When I was in school they consider be learning disabled. But I test out of a lot class. The one class I did not test was English that was because dysgraphia.

Don't let the dysgraphia discouraged her. I am very very gift. I am almost a genius.

I am one those people that show time how do something and I got it. I one those people that people hate I make everything look easily. LOL

 

[Lassie Lynne]

WOW!!! I have never heard of dysgraphia before....and reading up on it brought back the painful memories of my learning how to write as a young child, I had to be tutored by my teacher afterschool in order to write somewhat correctly. I thank god for computers, which I find so much easier to collect my thoughts and to write on.

DIS really can be a place to learn new things..thanks for those who shared....it makes me think perhaps I wasn't as "stupid" as I thought that I had been for the issues I have had with writing in my younger years.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Boy oh boy, does this sound familiar. My son just started middle school without having any learning issues addressed except by me at home.

I've given up and am waiting for him to fail so that someone will help him.

Please, please, please don't wait for your child to fail. YOU are his only advocate. As a parent, you have the right to request that your child be tested. The school is required by law to test him. Call the school guidance counselor and get him on the list to be tested. That could take 6-9 months.