Does this need to be tested?

[Kontessa]

My amazing 10 year old daughter has been a late reader. As of late though she seems to blossoming while we take a break from all things but Math and Health and a bit of social studies this month. We love to super focus on Math after the holidays as we take a break from it then. I like to let things rest in my children for a bit before trying to climb new mountains so to speak.

She has taken it on herself to read and read and we are thrilled. She was reading to us all last night and what I noticed and DH as well is that she still will see the letter "b" and the sound P or d will come out of her. She will see a d and sound out b or P and when she tries to read p sometimes it will be a d or b sound first. She eventually works through them and figures it out but I really expected this to not be an issue by ten years old.

I am wondering if this could indicate a bigger learning issue or one that could help me over come this if only I have a label to look into.

(I have my own learning disorders, the school system tested me when very young and told my parents I would never spell past a second grade level.. So that was not the case but I still have other issues I have grown with. I don't want to give her labels as I was given but they can be helpful!)

[Amatullah0]

i think this is normal for newer readers(for a couple of years even!). p, b, and d look VERY similar! i don't think age has as much to do with it as her experience with reading.

[ChristaN]

So, are you suspecting dyslexia? I'd do some looking around online for symptoms and see if she matches enough of the symptoms to make it a significant possibility. There is a good book out there called the Gift of Dyslexia in which the author, who is dyslexic himself, describes it basically as a highly visual way of reading wherein everything is a picture. He has some tips for working with this so as to complete the pictures in the person's mind and not have it be so broken up by letters that, in themselves, are inexplicable symbols to a dyslexic mind.

If you are concerned about testing and labeling her, perhaps you could start with some at home techniques like this and see if you get anywhere yourself. If you see little progress in a few months or so, then you could always go back and do the testing. You don't have to tell her that you are testing to see if there is something wrong. You can tell her that you are wanting to learn more about how she learns so you know best how to teach her in a way that will work best for her.

[Savoir Faire]

If it would make you feel better, then I'd say do it. My daughter is five...but she has MANY of the symptoms of dyslexia. We're trying to get hold of the local school to have her tested.

Sometimes it is hard to do everything on your own. If you feel she has some of the symptoms listed...it couldn't hurt.

[Dakota's Mom]

It's not unusual for kids to mess up b and d. My seven year old still does. He also sometimes writes the whole sentence from right to left. That is also not all that unusual. I think if she is doing well in general, don't worry about it. The more confident she becomes the less this will be an issue.

A easy way to remember is that b has a belly and d has a derriere. Now you just have to explain what a derriere is.

Kathi

[Kontessa]

Thank you all! I think rather than testing I will do more research and see what things we can work on and see how she is doing before next school year. She is doing really well homeschooling, just reading has been holding her up a bit and this b,p,d thing was something we noticed.

[jessicaSAR]

Yes, I think you should have her tested. It is normal to confuse letters, but this usually resolves itself by age 7 or 8. My daughter still does this occasionally, and she does have a specific type of dyslexia. If you choose not to have her tested, I would do some reading on dyslexia (Sally Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia is a good place to start). I think the "wait and see" approach does a real disservice to kids who need specific instruction to become confident and fluent readers.