distinguishing between b and d

[squashpie]

My ds is a good reader for his age group but still has difficulty distinguishing between b and d. He has been shown to stick two thumbs up as if it's a bed and trying to learn the b and d that way but it seems only to further confuse him! Has anyone got any other tips?

How old?

DD learnt with the mouth shape, fromt he teacher who gives her support for dyslexic tendancies.

b - when you say it you make a straight line with your lips. b begins with this straight line.

d - you make a circle with your lips; similar d starts this way too.

You can also think of the word bed, and visualise it as an actual bed, b being the headboard and d the footboard. He can then say the word bed and visualise the way it looks, hearing the sounds that match the shapes in the word.

I did this as a child and still do (39!). Also r and n. I was never offered any help, but it didn't develop into anything worse either. Other than that, I was OK throughout school, uni, work etc.

Give him time - he'll get there. Dd was still writing cards to Dabby when she was in year 4!

A reading recovery teacher mentioned 'bed' to me the other day. I'd never come across it before.

She made circles with her index fingers and thumbs, and straightened the other fingers. When you look down then you're looking at a b and a d. If your ds is already confused by his thumbs this may not help at all. But I mention it, just in case.

We tried "b is having a baby" - preggie tummy, because I was expecting at the time. Not sure it helped, so sorry, but it's kind of lost in the mists of time now.

Message withdrawn

b is bat and then the ball , d is doughnut and then the dipstick !

what wonderful tips - will use them with dd AND dh has memorised them for use in the classroom. Thanks ladies!!

I made a game for my dd; I cut out lots of squares of paper and wrote 'b' or 'd' on each one, then I put a toy piece of broccoli and a toy dog on the floor and got her to place the 'b's by the broccoli and the 'd's next to the dog.

She enjoys the game, but it's still too early to say whether it's helping!

I also tried to explain the 'bed' thing to her, but that just confused her.

bat before ball says 'b' ( as in the shape of the b being like a bat before a ball.) Pinched that one from Toe by toe. The 'bed' one with he fingers works very well 'cos it's visual.

Thank you for brilliant tips - my ds has this problem too, also a good reader but can never remember b and d. I have tried getting him to visualise a bed but not thought of using his hands or mouth shape. He also often writes numbers the wrong way round and mixes some words up when reading eg he reads was as saw. Will look for more tips to deal with those.

Ugh! Sorry lost our internet access almost as soon as I'd posted this thread and only recovered it on Friday. Suddenly remembered I'd posted this subject and was shocked and thrilled to see all the responses. Thank you so much everyone - will try all suggestions in the hope something works!

Using hands to make a bed worked wonders here and very quickly too.

My son couldn't get this when writing. So we came up with:
b - bat and a ball
d - dot and a dagger
He really likes the second one obviously appeals to his boyish nature (-:

I think uses it when writing now and although checking the rhyme makes him a little slower he really values the fact that he can work out the right direction (he is 7).