When I was a kid, dyslexia was explained to me as a disorder where letters appear to be backward. I still reverse letters from time to time. What’s more my dyslexic kids reverse letters. So imagine my surprise in finding that letter reversals are not a factor in defining dyslexia!
Letter reversals are actually considered normal until about 8 years old and it makes sense that all kids would struggle at first with letter reversal. A spoon is a spoon even if it’s upside down, facing backward or has food on it. The same cannot be said for a “b”! All children must learn to orient their letters and it takes time. Actually, brain scans have found that kids up to 12 years old don’t notice reversals.
But there must be a dyslexia connection, right!? Yes and no. Research tells us that reversals are not caused by dyslexia, but are more common among dyslexic kids. While this may just seem like semantics, it matters because we can’t assume reversals are a sign of dyslexia and we can’t rule dyslexia out in kids who don’t reverse letters.
Over the last few weeks, I have been poring over research papers trying to understand why my girls reverse letters (and numbers) and what I can do about it. After what felt like way too much reading for this dyslexic mama, I found three likely contributors to dyslexic reversals.
1. Week Alphabet Skills
Research has found that all kids struggle more with reversals before they become alphabet experts. Big sigh…. I often find myself wondering how the alphabet can be so hard but it is for many kids with dyslexia. Our kids need to know their letters and even though it is so hard for some kids, it is a necessity and we must keep plodding along.
2. Working Memory
Working memory is our ability to hold information for a short period of time while we are using it. For example, if I asked you (without showing you the numbers) to multiply 138 by 2 you would need to hold those numbers in your working memory. You would also have need to remember to carry the 1 from 8 X 2 = 16. Not all kids with dyslexia struggle with working memory but many do. And those with poor working memory have been found to have more reversals.
3. Phonological Deficits
Finally, we come back to the one thing that defines dyslexia, which is phonological deficits. In order to decode a word, our dyslexic kids must know which sound goes with letter(s). Combine a kiddo who can’t keep the sound-letter connection straight with letters that look sooooo much alike and it really isn’t much of a surprise that things get flipped!
Progress
It is always my goal here to consider the research and the reality of making progress. Letter reversals are just so frustrating and like everything else, they can take years. The good news is that for many kids including those with dyslexia, letter reversals go away with only gentle correction along the way and a consistent “trick” to check against.
But for some kids, a “trick” just isn’t going to cut it! For them, getting rid of reversals is just a simple as improve alphabet skills, working memory, and phonemic awareness…which is to say that it is not simple at all! It is daunting!
On the other hand, we really haven’t discovered anything new here. We already knew that our dyslexic kids needed extra help in each of these three areas. So let’s take good news where we can find it. When it comes to letter reversals, the path may be long but at least it is the same path we were already on!