8 year old daughter mixing words up

[MJ0524]

Hi

This is a bit of a strange one but just wanted to see if any of your little ones had experienced this and any advice appreciated.

My LG is 8 years old. She is very good at reading, writing, spelling etc. Never had any trouble with speech delay or anything like that. However she often gets her words back to front. She has done this from a young age and we just thought it was a toddler/pre school thing but it's never improved. A couple of recent examples from this weekend alone 'carriage dualway' = 'dual carriageway'

'Jean ripped' = 'ripped jeans'
'Poo sheep' = 'sheep poo'

Me and my partner have a good laugh with her about it and say she reminds us of our nans when she gets her words muddled up as I don't want her being bothered by it. But I also don't want to be missing anything. She goes into year 4 juniors this year and if it is something that needs to be addressed, I'd rather it be sooner than later. But also don't want to be stressing over something and nothing. Haha.

Any ideas/help anyone?

Thanks xxx

This sounds a but like your child is using spoonerisms (e.g. parcark instead of car park).

Also look up speech metathesis and syntactic speech errors to see if these sound familiar too.

If she was going to get this assessed by a speech and language therapist then I’m not sure there’s be a lot they could do other than suggest that you consistently model back the correct word order to you daughter when she makes mistakes. I guess it depends how often it’s happening and whether or not it’s having an impact on her ability to get her message across. If it’s not having any functional impact and only happening sporadically, then I would suggest that it’s something she’s likely to grow out of.

(I am a professional in this area btw!)
Hope that helps!

Thank you Missmiller! I didn't know there was a term for it. It does happen a lot, I'd say at least once or twice a day. Today she said I was a 'nurse baby' rather than a 'baby nurse' once I pointed it out she laughed and corrected herself. I will wait and see if it improves. Thank you again for your advice xxx

I’d suggest you talk to school about it once the new teacher has got to know her. See if it’s a problem in school, is it affecting her written work eg does she mix up word order when writing too? Is she delayed in any areas of literacy? Ask the teacher to keep an eye on it. Definitely sounds like a bit of a language disorder but if she doesn’t have any other issues with communication then it’s looks like it’s pretty mild.
Other things to consider…
does she ever find it hard to remember the word for things ? Does she make a grammatical sentence, using the correct tenses and pronouns etc
Just keep modelling back the correct word order for her but keep an eye on it and how it’s affecting her in school work x

Ps apologies for my typos, I’ve got young children asking me things whilst I’m trying to reply!

Oh don't worry about it :) I really appreciate any advice. I wasn't sure if it was even a 'thing' I did assume she would grow out if it but its become the 'norm' for us. Its nice that we joke about it but she doesn't realise she has done it until we point it out. I've noticed she often misses words out when reading or sometimes sentences but then put that down to her rushing.

I will speak to her teacher when the go back to school. She doesn't struggle remembering things. But sometimes struggles with plurals ie goose and geese, run and ran. I do correct her with this. I'll keep an eye on it from now on.

Thank you very much for pointing me in some direction hahaha x

Appreciate this is an old thread but I wondered how your DD was doing? My son (6) was quite poorly last year and his consultant thinks he may have post viral syndrome. One of the things we’ve noticed since his diagnosis has been him mixing up words when he’s speaking. He is also quite ambidextrous so part of me wonders if in his case it’s linked to him not choosing a dominant hand but I’m trying to find other people in similar situations to us

This is fascinating!! I do a lot of these .. it's always been a frustration so nice to put a name to it. I'm dyslexic and always thought this is what caused it for me.

Can I ask, is it relatively normal to have issues with word recall if you also struggle with the things you outlined? Should I be concerned if this is an issue?

@Lemonademoney my DD had this in the initial stages of long covid but it has really normalised I think a year on. I struggled a lot with word finding for a couple of months post-covid too. No idea what the mechanism is that causes this though.

We’ve been so worried but it was something our neurologist (I really have pushed it that far with him) is convinced will sort itself eventually. We are about a year on from his respiratory virus and for the most part it is beginning to right itself although it has frightened me with how much his development has been affected. Can I ask if your daughter had any other symptoms?

@10in10 Specialist Dyslexia Teacher here. Spoonerisms can be a sign (not a cause) of dyslexia, as is word retrieval or word finding. They are usually tested for as part of a diagnostic assessment. If you look at your diagnostic report, you may find that Spoonerisms have been mentioned under the heading of Phonological Awareness. Word finding, or something like Verbal Analogies will certainly have been assessed. If your scores for these are low in comparison to some your other test results, then this would be consistent with what you have mentioned above. It is the spikiness of your profile that determines a specific learning difficulty.

I would say that both spoonerisms and word finding are indicative of processing difficulties. Spoonerisms are associated with phonological processing difficulties. For someone of school age, recommendations would be given to the school’s SENCO or class teacher but there is no cure for it as such, just adjustments to teaching to be made. As you’re an adult I’m not sure what recommendations could be made apart from, in a general sense, to slow yourself down and make others aware so that they can give you more time. Perhaps ask for a Workplace Needs Assessment if you feel you need support at work. I may be wrong here, but I think if you have a diagnostic assessment then you are entitled to ask for a WNA. The British Dyslexia Association is a good place to check first.

Hi,

She is great! We have been really lucky and never had covid (touch wood) and she very rarely is unwell.

She still gets things back to front. I have mentioned it to school who don't seem too concerned by it. She is excelling in her reading, writing, language and is one of the top in the class. (Which is comforting) However, I have noticed a reply that it could also be a sign of dyslexia so I will look further into it.

It's just something that she has always done and we have accepted it as one of her quirks haha. But I would hate to think she was struggling in any way to keep herself 'at the top'.

I hope your DS is feeling better :)

Xxx

@MJ0524 Apologies, I was replying to @10in10 and didn’t mean to hijack your thread. From what you have said, you sound entirely happy with your daughter’s academic progress at present, so I wouldn’t have linked spoonerisms or word reversals in relation to dyslexia with your daughter. As she is doing so well academically then it’s probable that no intervention would be that helpful.

Spoonerisms are but one sign of underlying cognitive difficulty. As a stand alone issue I wouldn’t have thought that they are anything to worry about. But I can see that they could be symptomatic of post-covid brain fog. Or of ageing. Ha ha - I should know!

Thank you for getting back to me. I’m glad it hasn’t affected her. Im hoping my bright little boy will soon be back to full health x

Fingers crossed he will! It's crazy how things can affect our little ones. Hope you are OK too as it can be scary and frustrating when looking for answers! Keep your chin up and keep going!

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

Xxxx

Oh right, thank you for clarifying that for me haha! I feel a better now. She has no difficulties in reading/literacy/language and she is a bookworm like me!

We have just accepted it as one of her little quirks to be honest. My only little worry is if it continues as she gets older and it is pointed out by her peers. Suppose we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Thank you again for your input. I really appreciate it.

Hope you have a Merry Christmas xxx

Yes, she had other symptoms - postural tachycardia, migraine, fatigue, problems with eye sight, heat regulation and breathlessness. The brain fog, heat regulation and breathlessness are pretty much resolved. The postural tachycardia flares up and the migraines are ongoing. I would say though that it's hard sometimes with growing children to tell what is a post-viral thing and what might be happening anyway at this age. If it's just the word mixing up and if it's ongoing then it might be worth looking at whether it is an aspect of something else like dyslexia rather than post-viral.

Oh my goodness this sounds like my son! He had anaemia, fatigue and brain fog, breathlessness, issues with heat regulation, he was often drenched with sweat when he slept. At one point he was sleepwalking most nights. It’s been so worrying but he is slowly improving, I could do with his school ‘getting’ it more though

@Lemonademoney I forgot about the anaemia!! I'm really sorry your child is experiencing this. My daughter has a diagnosis of long covid and POTS but she has improved massively over time. Do you have a referral to physio for pacing? This can help schools understand what is needed.

I dont but he is now under a consultant paediatrician so I can perhaps ask for it

Thank you. I’ve been quite consumed by it I think… I really hope he is on the mend now. Latest blood tests show his iron levels are back within normal range but his haemoglobin levels are still quite low. This would make sense to me as he still looks quite washed out.