I am asked many times by parents and teachers, “Are letters reversals normal? Should I be concerned?”. My answer is twofold: yes and no. As a child’s visual perceptual skills develop and they work on the skill of proper letter formation, it is common to see a child reverse some letters (most common are b,d and p,q). It is true that some children ‘grow out of it’ and are able to properly form these letters on their own, however, I have seen many children who have not spontaneously corrected these errors and are still reversing letters at later stages (grade 3 and above). I personally prefer to gently and patiently correct these errors from when I first spot them. This way, it becomes easier to continually teach a child the proper way to form letters, rather than trying to break a habit that has been forming for years. There are unique and fun techniques that an Occupational Therapist uses to assist a child with remembering the proper way to form a letter (for example, the ‘bed’ technique for remembering ‘b and d’ orientations). Also, an Occupational Therapist can also determine what is the root cause of these reversed letters, are they just habits, or is there an underlying visual perceptual concern. The therapist can assess and work on the root causes of the issue to ensure the child’s needs are met in the most suitable way. All in all, every child is unique and it never hurts to contact a therapist to answer any of your questions to help you determine whether or not you should be concerned as a parent.
Lucille Shenouda – Occupational Therapist & Director
