I have a question about my 6 year old, please advise?

Question

My son is six years old and in the first grade. He does very well in school, pays attention and does his work well. While doing his homework(and other various things) I have noticed he sometimes sees letters/numbers backwards. He also tends to write things backwards. Has anyone ever had their child diagnosed with dyslexia at this age? I have a touch of it myself, but wasn't diagnosed until my teens. I would like to get him tested if possible, so we can work with him better. What exactly do I need to ask? Who do I ask, his teacher?

Answer 1

Dyslexia is genetic.
It would not hurt to ask the school to evaluate him.
The earlier it is diagnosed the better, they can help him with all kinds of therapies.
When they do not get diagnosed until later - there is a lot of shame and self doubt.
Put the request in writing to your school, state that you also have it (they are more likely to act if there is a family history) and if you can, attach some samples of his work that concern you.
Once you put your request in writing they are required by law to respond withing so many school days (different time frame for different states).
If you just ask your school about it, there is no mandatory follow up.
The school actually prefers you to put it in writing so they have something concrete to work with.
You are being a great mom!

Answer 2

As you know, reversals in a six year old are not only common but expected.
Symptoms of Dyslexia:
scrambled thought processes ( mixes up order of events that have been stated or read)
difficulty remembering written or oral directions
difficulty writing complete words or sentences. Starts on wrong sidie of paper, writes entire words and sentences backwards.
Knows what is supposed to be said and done but cannot communicate it in the correct order.
Your child sounds very normal. And you are just worried.
If you need to be sure bring it up to the child study team of your school. They will tell you formal testing is not done until the end of second grade and it must be much more than reversals.
If you still want to get him tested, there are dyslexia clinics and centers in every big town.

Answer 3

I haven't had my child diagnsed with dyslexia.. but I was diagnosed as a child, and so was one of my sisters. It was really hard for me because I was.. like your son.. bright.. I was in advanced classes.. but I would mix up numbers.. I would see the number 54.. but I would say 45 ( and think I was totally right) Dyslexia is a hard illness to deal with.. it took me a long time to realize that I had to double and triple check everything. It still happens to me all the time.. I'll be told to look for house number (582) and when I go looking and can't find house number (285) I go crazy..

Take him to his pediatritian, tell him the problem, and he will advise you on the best course of action.. there really isn't anything that you can do to work with him better besides have him re-check what he does.

Answer 4

My daughter is in second grade and I've noticed that when I volunteered at her school last year that all of the kids would write there letters and numbers backwards sometimes. I think sometimes it just takes them a while to memorize which way everything goes. But if your concerned about it you should definitely point it out to his teacher, or even schedule him for a evaluation with an early intervention program.

Answer 5

My daughter is 7 she,s just been diagnosed dyslexic but they waited for that age to be sure because sometimes kids just have a habbit. The best thing to do is speak to the school teacher tell your conncerns and they will take notice and see if he needs to be checked further. Good luck anyway and if it is that they have lots of help in school these days and ifound it better to explain to my little girl so things were less frustrating for her she now knows shes got aproblem and shes getting help. But the way i done it i told her that her brain was that big and that clever sometimes it gets tired storing things properly and now she doesn,t think herself soft as some kids can very unkindly label these problems

Answer 6

My cousin has dyslexia and was diagnosed with it years ago. She is 12 now, and I have known for at least 5-6 years about her condition. Her father has it also. Talk to a school counselor about getting her tested. They will know what to do.

Answer 7

Hi,
My son (now 8 & in 3rd grade) used to do that all the time from age 4-7 teachers said a lot of kids do that and grow out of it.
This past year we went to an eye doctor and found out he needed glasses. Now his grades are SOOOOO much better and he asks for new books all the time. He doesn't even ask for toys when we go to wal-mart any more he just want's books and comic books.
I must admit I'm 1 happy mommy now.

Answer 8

My son had the same thing going on for a while although he soes not have dyslexia. What was going on with him was part lazy and part just being normal. However, I wanted you to know that his doctor told me to have the school test him because at least here in Texas, they have to test them in the schools if the parent asks for it. That way, you will not have to pay for the testing and it will be done by individuals who are trained in that field especially. Word of advice, request it now since it is early in the scholl year. I requested it later in the school year and it wound up taking until the following school year to get it done. If you talk to your doctor about it he will probably know whether or not the schools are required to test per parent's request.

Answer 9

Yeah, I'd talk to the teacher first and see what she thinks. Remember YOU are the parent. If she doesn't seem interested, go see the principal of the school. He is her boss! Keep going unitl you get the answers you need to help him. Now he is only 6 and does good in school. When he is 16 the work will be much harder and he will have more trouble if he doens't get help now. I have no idea what kind of help is avail, bu I do know there is help. If the principal won't listen to you, go to the school discrict. If they won't listen go to the Disablity Rights Center on the web. Then when they get involved - PEOPLE LISTEN!

Answer 10

Relax, it's quite normal that kids this age do reversals with odd numbers and letters, my son is 7 and he does it from time to time, and so do quite a few of his classmates according to the other Mums, it comes with time, I think it would prove to early to test him for dyslexia. If you're really concered approach the teacher I'm sure she'll put your mind to rest.