learning to write/ words backwards?

[skewiff]

DS is in Reception. He is learning phonics and doing a bit of writing.

DS has mild cerebral palsy, so I'm on the watch for reading/writing difficulties.

I just wondered whether it was a normal thing for a child, when beginning writing, to write the letters backwards ie xof for fox

DS writes in the bath on the tiles and confidently will write this word the wrong way round. He seems quite surprised when I explain that the word has to start from the left and move to the right (even though we've done loads of sounding out of words together).

DS will also use foam letters to write words and has written them backwards - very proudly then reading them to me.

Also when we are sounding out he does all the sounds of the phonics correctly, but then will attempt to say the word and its often with the last sound first ie for sail - he'll say lais.

He doesn't always do this though. Probably 50 % left to right, and 50% right to left.

I just wondered whether I should mention it to the teacher ...?

I think its normal, to a child a bus is a bus upside down so why wouldnt 'fox' be the same the other way around?

DD does it alot, we do gently remind her as it seems unfair to not point out what she is doing wrong but I am not worried about it.

Oh good. I am just really on the look out for dyslexia as DS's brain does not send messages very well from left to right and vice versa. He has brain damage on the right side of his brain.

But that's why I was checking on here, before talking to the teacher.

Does he reverse letters like b and d?

I'm not sure that reversing words as badly as you say is common.

Well my (ok, admittedly in my opinion!) bright 4 year old dies EXACTLY the same - today he wrote sve sih dn atas - Santa and his elves - he is only just starting to learn how to write, and tbh I think it just depends where he starts on the page. If he starts on the right then there is more room to write that way round. I also have not the slightest concern - I am just thrilled he wants to try, and I too just gently point out the "correct" way together with loads of praise about how clever he is.

DD also in reception, reverses quite a few letters, especially when she is tired. Sometimes starts sounding out from the wrong end of the word.

AFAIK it is pretty normal, I am just pleased she is interested and trying to practice, it is very early days yet.

My brother is left handed and he wrote everything back to front for a while when he was first learning.

My DD who has just turned 5 does this about 50% of the time. Is your DS left handed? My DD is, and talking to other parents this seems to be quite common among left handed children.

All my children have gone through an initial stage of reading numbers in reverse. ie 12 they would say was twenty one.

My dd is a leftie too and, at 6.5 still reverses letters or whole words.

The difference now is that she can spot it if you ask her what is the mistake she has made whereas a year ago she really couldn't.

I too have often wondered about dyslexia because it does run in the family but I'm also fairly certain that is something left hander may have a particular issue with too.

Actually it isn't that common but most children will overcome it.
If he has a known problem I would ask for an paediatric OT referral because they can put together a programme to help.

Lots of children with CP have a visual spatial issue so worth investigating early if only to rule it out.

My son who is now 23 always wrote his name backwards when he started writing as he was left handed. He wrote the letters in the right order, just from left to right, not right to left. So he started with a j as his name was james, but finished with semaj and we used to ask him whose work he was bringing home. His friend (who was a rightie) used to bring home work from school belonging to some boy called mot. It made us laugh, but they soon outgrew it.
I can see why semaj did it (often gets called that now by siblings in jest) as he was a lefie, but not why mot did it. Makes sense to a leftie to do it that way, but soon got out of.
Can't remember if he did numbers like that though.

Thankyou everyone!

DS is not left handed - I won't worry about this but will mention it to the teacher/OT if its not all that common, as its visual spatial things I am watching out for.