First grade - should I seek further testing

[Anonymous]

My 7yo did is in first grade. She is at reading level F, dra 8. She reverses numbers and letters very frequently. I'd say she reversed the numbers 2,6,9 like 80% of the time. She even reverses check marks. When she reads - sometimes I'll notice she starts with the end of the word.
Her teacher seems to think she's right on target. I just have a nagging feeling about things. Would you pursue outside testing for a learning disorder ? Who administers that type of testing ?
Thanks !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo did is in first grade. She is at reading level F, dra 8. She reverses numbers and letters very frequently. I'd say she reversed the numbers 2,6,9 like 80% of the time. She even reverses check marks. When she reads - sometimes I'll notice she starts with the end of the word.
Her teacher seems to think she's right on target. I just have a nagging feeling about things. Would you pursue outside testing for a learning disorder ? Who administers that type of testing ?
Thanks !

No. She is right on target. She will sort it out by middle of second grade. If it is still happening then you should be concerned.

[Anonymous]

Is there any family history of a reading or learning disability, e.g. dyslexia?

[Anonymous]

I grade math quizzes for my child's second grade teacher and its still fairly common for kids to write their numbers backwards.

I would probably start by calling your school's reading specialist and explain your concerns and see if she'd be willing to pull your daughter out of class for an assessment.

[Anonymous]

Is she left handed? I was left handed and had a lot of trouble with reversing letters and numbers, my son is left handed and has the same issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is she left handed? I was left handed and had a lot of trouble with reversing letters and numbers, my son is left handed and has the same issues.

Me too my left handed DS still does this sometimes (now 9). It is totally normal OP I would just keep an eye on it until middle of next year like the other pp suggested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo did is in first grade. She is at reading level F, dra 8. She reverses numbers and letters very frequently. I'd say she reversed the numbers 2,6,9 like 80% of the time. She even reverses check marks. When she reads - sometimes I'll notice she starts with the end of the word.
Her teacher seems to think she's right on target. I just have a nagging feeling about things. Would you pursue outside testing for a learning disorder ? Who administers that type of testing ?
Thanks !

Very typical. Reversals most often resolve by the end of the second grade year (I'm a second grade teacher and I'm seeing a lot less of them now than at the beginning of the year). DRA 8 sounds fine; I would guess that she's probably working on a higher level instructionally.

[Anonymous]

I'm a lefty. After years of awkwardly forcing it, I've stopped making check marks correctly and now do them backwards. I like to think it's charming. (Oddly enough, I need to hand-check boxes at work pretty often.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7yo did is in first grade. She is at reading level F, dra 8. She reverses numbers and letters very frequently. I'd say she reversed the numbers 2,6,9 like 80% of the time. She even reverses check marks. When she reads - sometimes I'll notice she starts with the end of the word.
Her teacher seems to think she's right on target. I just have a nagging feeling about things. Would you pursue outside testing for a learning disorder ? Who administers that type of testing ?
Thanks !

I would, but then it is because I waited (on advice like the PPs) and DC missed a year of intervention. He was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2nd grade. No family history. An educational psychologist does the testing. Be prepared, it is very expensive.

[Anonymous]

I would get tested too.

[Anonymous]

My 7YO DD, a first grader, is exactly where your DD is. We have an excellent reading tutor for her, who assures me not to worry about the backward numbers etc., as does her teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would get tested too.

yes hows her reading? does she reserve digits in numbers...365 to 635?

[Anonymous]

I also have a dyslexic kid who was diagnosed in the 1st grade, so I'm biased toward early testing to catch those kids who need specialized teaching. Reversals alone don't mean a thing. Combined with reading difficulties they are a flag. Has she been in some sort of school for a while? The guidance is to get testing if your kid has been getting high quality reading instruction for a years (i.e. since pre K for a first grader) and they are not catching up.

One other clue is if it bothers her. Does she know she reads less well than other kids? Does she have a hard time finding her page number in the math book? In first my kid was coming home from school weeping every day, and spent his day at school trying to hide how hard he was struggling. Dyslexia is usually a combo of high intellegence combined with some pretty major deficits, and it is very frustrating and confusing for the kid.

[Anonymous]

Literacy teacher. Reversals in reading and writing are very common at this point. At her reading level and age, she is putting together what she knows about directionality, reading left to right, with the harder skill of reading entire sentences in chunks. When you hear her start at the end of a word, it is because she's read it and that is the last letter she saw so sometimes she erroneously starts there aloud.

If she were struggling with reading (ie still at a level A or B) it might be more concerning, but a level F at this point in the year is right on target. Feel free to document what you are seeing and save work samples--that will help you track growth (or lack thereof) should you need it for child study or testing.

But what you report is very very normal.

[Anonymous]

I'd give it a year. Lots of first graders reverse their letters and numbers. I'd be a little concerned about starting at the end of the word, but if she pretty much does not do that, I would not be concerned. The reversal is no big deal.