A 5 year old who writes letters and numbers backward (sometimes). Is that an early sign of any disorder?

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All Natural Honey	Yes, it could be. They would see "Stop" as "Pots" Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Krayden	I think its early symptons of dyslexia Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Danielle™♥Back in Black08	i think maybe Dyslexia,because thats the way he sees letter & numbers [backwards],so hes writing the backwards. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

audrey_halley2004	i agree the youngster could have dyslexia but it can be corrected with patience & time with a trained teacher that deals with dyslexic children. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

james m	you know something, i was the same way, all throughout my early years of school i had the same problem. they labled me as learning dissabled, i guess its true, im also bi-polar,schizophrantic,ans suffer from ptsd, but let me tell you something, i think its remarkable for a 5yr old child to even be able to write a letter or number, let alnoe an address backwards, to me , if you put a word in front of a mirror, what happens?, it is displayed backwords, your child is giving you a mirror imadge of what he/she is seeing. one time when i turned21 i got a dui, the cop told me to recite the alphabet backwards, i could hardly make it past z. im not verry good at spelling but i can read, although i had a hard time but today even with a 5th grade education, i do ok. show your children love, and help them devellop all skills that come to them, dont be critticle or judgementle, and nurture the love that you each have and they will do better than you thought was possible, remember to thank your god as you understand him , for the verry essence of life that you have together!!! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

nursegrl	No, it's not dyslexia--he's only 5 years old! Is he a lefty?? Sometimes southpaws have a harder time because to them, writing L to R is backwards. If you are right handed, can you imagine writing R to L and backwards?? But still I wouldn't worry about it. Not many 5 year olds can do their addresses correctly and most can't say the alphabet in kindergarten let alone writing the letters or numbers correctly. That's what kindergarten is for. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

rollwit2002	I would not worry about it sometimes kids don't settle on a dominate half of the brain for some time. The child may be struggling with right or left hand dominance Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Nicole G	I wouldn't worry too much about your child being dyslexia. This is an age in when children are starting to read and write more and they can make mistakes. Now when your child gets to the end of first grade or the beginning of second grade I would start getting concerned. I have a son who is 8 and were in the process of trying to figure out if he is dyslexia. In one article I have read children with Dyslexia are brilliant at math. And if your child has dyslexia there are professional out there that can help and hopefully solve the problem. Good Luck! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Mariposa	It could be dyslexia or it could be that he's still trying to learn. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

jon jon's girl	My child does it and I asked the Drs about it. They said it perfectly normal and not to have her checked til 1st grade and even then, it does not mean dyslexia. a lot of children do it Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Ch	Many 5-year olds write their letters and numbers backwards, however, saying his address backwards may be a sign. You should check with a doctor. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Rhythmn is my life	Kids learn at such a breakneck pace that it is common for some things to get messed up. But, I assume you are close, probably his mom, and if you feel that there is a problem, have the school evaluate him, after all, y ou probably know him best. But it is still young for having a big problem with letters and numbers. I have yet to see a single kindergarten get their personal info right all the time. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

VillageGirl	It may or may not be a sign. You can go get some simple tests to see if it is an early sign of a learning disorder and if you start him on therapy early on, he may be fine within a couple of years. The main thing is to get to a learning center of some type and get him tested to find out. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

cheekycruzer	it's all a process of learning, and perfectly normal, if his teachers are concerned in later years, then ask your GP or paediatrician. And for those idiots who said "yes it's dyslexia" get a life or show you have a decent source for your info. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

~ <3 ~	Nah. Unless it becomes a bigger problem.. like he has more than the usually difficulty reading or is reading entire words backwards or something. Maybe look up on dyslexia to see what signs to look out for. I did just want to note that I wrote stuff backwards, too, a lot when I was young... and I'm just fine. I think it's just something that kids do while they're learning and remember how things go. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

seeker100	NO relax. he's 5 Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

calknight	No. It's rather common for children to write backwards. Here are some warning signs though if you see these there could be something... • Your child is still writing letters backwards after grade one. • He also has difficulty memorizing sequences, such as his home phone number, his postal code or the alphabet. • Your child writes letters or numbers in an unusual way: for example, writing an eight as two circles on top of each other rather than in a continuous line. This might be normal for a younger child, but if it continues after age seven or so, you might want to investigate further. • He often calls objects by the wrong name — for example, when shown a picture of a volcano, he calls it a tornado. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

EmilyRose	It's normal for a 5-year-old to write letters and numbers backwards sometimes. If he's still writing them backwards in a few years, it could be indicative of a learning disability, but at 5 it's still normal. I still write letters backwards at 20, which isn't normal, and is related to my being dyslexic. The main symptom of dyslexia that ultimately leads to a diagnosis is failure to read at grade level. That's not generally picked up before the age of 7 or 8 simply because for younger kids, the deficits are virtually indistinguishable from normal variation. Some of the warning signs of dyslexia in preschool and kindergarten age children are: -delayed speech -mixing up multi-syllabic words -stutterng -can't learn to tie shoes -trouble with left/right, over/under, before/after, and other directionality words and concepts -late to establish a dominant hand -can't come up with words that rhyme with simple words like caat or seat by age 4 1/2, despite listening to stories with lots of rhyming words -difficulty learning the names of letters or sounds in the alphabet, and difficulty writing the alphabet in order -significantly more trouble correctly articulating R's, L's, M's, and N's than other kids their age (they may still be saying "wed" and "gween" for "red and "green" in 2nd or 3rd grade) Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

xchryssyx	my son did the same thing at 5. I thought it was dyslexia too, but they are just learning there numbers and letters (and sometimes they are backwards) Thats what his teacher said and she was right.... he writes perfect at 6 Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

HcRaYLe	Sounds like Dyslexia to me. Usually these kinds of disorders show up quite early. I would get him checked out. Good Luck ♥ Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

J. W. H	Dyslexia is probably the most likely cause.. the child writes them and says them back wards because that is the way he sees them.. he can be helped and it is not that hard.. so, my advice to you is to not look for answers on this site, but to be a good parent and take the child to someone who knows how to tell for sure.. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Maureen B	You really need to have him tested.It could be dyslexia but more then likely he is just learning to put things in order..Usually with dyslexia they do it all the time my brother has it.. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Loulla	Nope-shouldn't be. You've omitted to say whether he writes with his left hand. I'm left handed and as a child would write letters and numbers backward trying to mimic what my right-handed mother and teacher were doing. My dad's left handed though and eventually taught me to write correctly. Just took a little time. Dyslexia isn't a problem involving writing backwards though. Its a condition where the brain "scrambles" words and numbers (ie sums) making them impossible for the sufferer to see words etc as they really are, thus making it more difficult to learn. This doesn't make sufferers any less intelligent, and many dyslexics have more artistic skills in art or music for example. If in doubt though, take him to your doctor to find out if referral to a specialist is necessary. Either way though, I'm sure he's fine. Good luck! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

ivy_trick_mess	My 2 older kids did it when they were that age. They have grown (14 & 11) to be very smart, love school, and love to read. I was worried as well when I saw it, but was told to give it time. That would be my advice to you as well. If he is still doing it at 7 or so, I would have him checked, but until then just enjoy the learning process with him. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

phylobri	I think he is still little. A lot of kids do this at 5 years old. If you are worried work with your school and he can have an assesment if the teacher thinks there could be a problem. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

RickinAlaska	I did the same thing at that age. The advice my teacher gave my mother was ignore it, it'll straighten itself out. I would keep an eye on him though. His teacher will know more when he starts school. Kudos to you for being concerned! Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

ignoramus	At 5 don't put too much meaning into this. Later, it is one of the signs of dyslexia. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

roxiecat4200	No, it's pretty normal. It will start to change in the next year. I am a pre-k teacher and know from experience that this is normal. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Chrissy #1	Perfectly normal children can do this into the 2ND grade. Don't worry if that's the only problem you have noticed. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Betsy	Could be dyleixa or it could be that he's just starting to learn them properly. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No

Dogzilla	No....that's pretty normal at first. Was this answer helpful to you? Yes / No