I have 2nd grade student who reverses everything you can. For example he writes “pig” – gip but he also reverses the g and the p. He reverses every number you can reverse. He is starting to recognize when he reverses numbers and self-corrects. Does anyone have any suggestion or strategies that will help with his severe reversal problem. Thanks a bunch.
Re: Reversals
Does this child begin his printing at the top? Or does he start at the line and draw letters and numerals upward? Does he make circles clockwise? Does he form letters from left to right. For example does he form a lower case b making the stick first and the circle next. I always tell them to make the bat first and then the ball. With the lower case d the circle should be formed and then the stick. If a child makes the stick first, then he doesn’t know where to put the circle. Starting at the top and drawing circles clockwise will help, by second grade, these habits are next to impossible to break, especially if you are not able to work on a one to one. This sounds like poor K and 1st grade teaching. If you are able to get help from anyone who can take him on a one to one and just work on this it may help, but these children need constant reminders. You will almost have to stand at his desk, when he is writing and tell him to start writing at the top. I also tell them to look at the clock when the are writing numerals. I tell them they will always be able to look at a clock when they are writing.
Re: Reversals
Is he being taught ball and stick printing or some style of script. I really prefer the script style because the letter forms are created differently you can do so many things to help with reversals and starting points.
Make a clock face from texture (about 3” in diameter) and tape it to his desk. Fabric-backed textured wallpaper is good for this. Then have him put two fingers on the 2 and move counter-clockwise to 4. He has created the letter c. While he’s doing this, have him say C (name) \c\ (sound) repeatedly.
Next have him do the same except he will extend the printing up to the 2 and drop down, creating the letter a. Again have him say the letter name and the basic sound it represents. Do the same with letters d, g, q, and o. If he starts o at 2 o’clock at least he’s a lot closer to where it should start (12) than he is when starting next to the body and moving outward.
Think of his printing paper in terms of a house. The dotted line separates the upstairs from the first floor and the space below the bottom line is the basement. All the parts of letters that are formed by using the clock dwell on first floor. Some, as d, go upstairs for a bit but come right back down. Some, as g and q, go to the basement and roll either backward or forward. Some of the letters, as b, f, and h, wake up on second floor and come downstairs, moving in particular directions as they do so. If you email me, I’ll send you directions for making all the letters and numerals in ways that will help him remember.
Another thing you can do is to create large letters with a green dot where he should begin printing and a red dot where he should stop. Put these under transluscent plastic needlepoint canvas and have him trace them. The tactile-kinesthetic process helps lock them in memory.
I hope you find this helpful. Grace at
Re: Reversals
My daughter had a lot of writing reversals in 2nd grade. After 8 months of vision therapy and 3 months of PACE (which has a lot of directionality exercises), the reversals were gone. I have since learned that writing reversals are a common red flag for developmental vision delays.
The parents would be well-advised to get a developmental vision evaluation (certified developmental optometrists can be found at http://www.covd.org) and invest in a cognitive skills training program such as PACE (very expensive, http://www.learninginfo.com) or Audiblox (home-based program, about $80, http://www.audiblox2000.com).
The problem with trying to correct the reversals by means of academic remediation alone is that the underlying problems are never diagnosed or addressed. This makes academic remediation painfully slow and largely ineffective. When academic remediation is done *after* the underlying problems are corrected, it tends to be very efficient.
If this boy is still printing, your best academic option may be to start him on a good cursive program. Handwriting Without Tears (http://www.hwtears.com) is excellent. However, even using this program, someone needs to supervise his every stroke to make sure he forms the letters correctly from the very beginning and continues to do so. A lot of occupational therapists use HWT. It might be a good idea to have the boy assessed by your OT and started on HWT that way.
I should mention that writing “gip” for “pig” is not a reversal problem, but probably a sequencing problem. Audiblox helps with sequencing. However, it also may represent a decoding problem. The Phono-Graphix approach as described in the book “Reading Reflex” would likely help with that. The “mapping” strategy requires saying a sound out loud as it is written, strengthening sound/symbol correspondence and sequencing for the purposes of reading.
Mary
Re: Reversals
I would add one other thing. I have a son who has been through all of the above. He still reverses letters and numbers. He is currently in OT,has been there for 8 months now,did HWT program etc. Right now he is doing interactive metronome. The biggest thing,it is very neurological,he can tell you what position and everything,but will continue to reverse when writing. A laptop saved his life. Although we still work with handwriting,we changed the priority to the written language,instead. It made a huge difference.
Re: IM
I am in the process of starting my son in IM. What has your experience been with it? I’d be interested in any improvements that you’ve noticed. Also you mentioned another program you’ve tried HW.. What was that. Thanks
THANK YOU Catherine!
I’ve been trying to teach this for years and years. For my pains, I’ve been told by all and sundry from parents to principals that I’m old-fashioned and authoritarian and far too fussy. Yeah, but my kids can read and write. Stick to your guns — directionality is vital and a little work in K-2 can make or break high school and college later.
BTW, I just nearly lost some needed life-saving medication (delayed five days, causing severe health problem) because a person dictating the address over the phone reversed a 2 to a 5 … yes, it is literally vital. And you’re not being too fussy, if you want the kid to ever hold a professional job.
Does this child begin his printing at the top? Or does he start at the line and draw letters and numerals upward? Does he make circles clockwise? Does he form letters from left to right. For example does he form a lower case b making the stick first and the circle next. I always tell them to make the bat first and then the ball. With the lower case d the circle should be formed and then the stick. If a child makes the stick first, then he doesn’t know where to put the circle. Starting at the top and drawing circles clockwise will help, by second grade, these habits are next to impossible to break, especially if you are not able to work on a one to one. This sounds like poor K and 1st grade teaching. If you are able to get help from anyone who can take him on a one to one and just work on this it may help, but these children need constant reminders. You will almost have to stand at his desk, when he is writing and tell him to start writing at the top. I also tell them to look at the clock when the are writing numerals. I tell them they will always be able to look at a clock when they are writing.