Writing letters and numbers from left to right is considered the norm, but sometimes children display graphic signs in the opposite or upside-down direction. Usually this phenomenon is observed in preschool age. The child mirrors letters and numbers because it is convenient for him; the reason for such writing is the perception of visual and spatial images. In most cases, this phenomenon is temporary and does not need correction. If mirror writing becomes a persistent habit, and special exercises do not produce results, psychologists, speech therapists and neurologists can help cope with the problem.
Mirror writing and the reasons for its occurrence in children
Before we talk about the causes of optical dysgraphia, let’s focus on age. How old is your child now? If from 5 to 7, then there is no reason to panic. The fact is that preschool children are still developing the mental functions responsible for reading and writing. In preschoolers, the right hemisphere of the brain is dominant, so they more often perceive space from right to left, and therefore confusion arises when reading and writing.
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All you can do now is just show your child how to write correctly. And when he goes to first grade and his brain matures, everything will begin to work out by itself.
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But, if your child is already in school and is over 7 years old, then, most likely, mirror writing is already an established violation and urgent action needs to be taken.
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Let's understand the reasons.
Development of spatial thinking
Before deciding how to teach your child to write letters in the correct position, you need to make sure that this is really necessary.
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A consultation with a child psychologist and neurologist will greatly clarify the situation. But parents don’t need to lose their sense of proportion—there’s no point in panicking because a three- or four-year-old child wrote a letter in a mirror image. At this age, children are just trying out the strength of their hands, adapting to the style of writing, and trying to move their hand in the right direction. Due to the many tasks that need to be solved at the same time, the child may not notice that he wrote the letter incorrectly.
Of course, you shouldn’t limit your child’s desire to write something; it’s not necessary to focus on mirror writing from the very beginning. It is best to add time into the routine for additional activities that will help the child develop deficient functions.
Why does a child write numbers and letters in mirror image?
In general, dysgraphia is more common in children with dyslexia. This is a disorder that affects a child's ability to learn to read. We explain how dyslexia can be identified in the article: Why can’t a child learn to read? Symptoms, causes and correction of dyslexia in children. It’s better to read it right away to clarify many questions for yourself, then return to this material.
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Most often, left-handed people “mirror”. Mirror writing in a left-handed person is, in fact, a reflection of the actions of the right hand. At the same time, the child himself easily reads his written “abracadabra” and wonders why others do not understand it.
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The next reason for mirror writing is poorly developed phonemic hearing, which is responsible for the child’s success in learning to read and write. We also have a whole article devoted to this topic: How to help your child easily master reading and writing. Games and exercises for the development of phonemic hearing. Read and put the tips into practice.
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How to understand that the problem is phonemic hearing? Do a simple exercise with your child. Move a meter away from him and check how he distinguishes sounds by ear. Use syllables with paired consonants: zha-sha, ba-pa, ga-ka. If the child answers correctly, then look for another reason.
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Experts also note such reasons as insufficient development of letter gnosis and visual analysis and synthesis. Simply put, the child perceives and reproduces letters and their elements distortedly. In this case, you need to work on training your visual-spatial representation.
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But the main thing is, whatever the reason for your child’s mirror writing, you need to start working on it faster and do it every day until there is improvement.
conclusions
Normally, mirror writing of numbers and letters should be taught in elementary school. If this does not happen, the violation becomes persistent. A fixed skill distorts thinking, which negatively affects the mental abilities and academic performance of schoolchildren. Doctors and parents themselves can help children. Having noticed deviations, begin corrective exercises. If you can't cope, contact a specialist. The main thing is not to leave mistakes in writing letters and numbers unattended and hope that everything will improve with age.
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Lifehacks and exercises for correcting mirror writing
Separate left and right
Start correcting mirror writing by training in spatial orientation. The child must clearly feel and understand where his left hand is and where his right hand is and be able to correctly show what is on which side of him.
If it is difficult for a child to immediately understand where right and left are, use a red felt-tip pen to draw a checkmark on the right hand, and a green one on the left hand. For girls, you can use nail polish and paint one nail on each hand with a different polish.
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Thanks to this exercise, the child soon gets used to which side is which and it becomes easier for him to navigate.
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Next, complicate the task. Start asking your child which side the objects are on relative to him. First train at home, and then outside.
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When consolidation of the perception of objects on the sides relative to the child has been successful, proceed to the next stage. Take a book and pen. Place it on the table. Ask your child which side of the book the pen is on. Then swap the items and ask again.
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Practice every day until the left-right skill becomes automatic.
Learning to complete the missing elements
For these activities, buy coloring books where you need to fill in the missing elements yourself. It is important that during the drawing process the child draws the line where it is needed, and not up, down or sideways. Help with your hand if he doesn’t succeed.
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This exercise trains visual-spatial perception, making it easier for the child to write.
Finger-pen
For the exercise, a primer with the capital alphabet and a copybook are suitable. It is advisable that the letters be large. Place a book in front of your child and ask him to run his finger over the letter several times. Pay special attention to those letters that the child writes in mirror images. Then take the copybook and tell the child to complete the letter correctly. At the end of the exercise, he must write the letter himself.
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This activity helps to practice and reinforce the correct spelling of letters.
Making letters from sticks
You will need plastic counting sticks or matches. Invite your child to assemble a letter from sticks and transform it into another letter. For example, from the letter “T” you can make “G”. You can also collect several letters consisting of the same number of sticks, for example three (I, A, P, N).
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This exercise helps to master the writing of block letters, making it easier for the child to switch to capital letters.
We trace capital letters
Here you will need to make several photocopies of the capital alphabet. Take one copy and have your child trace some letters. Then, for the effect, just as in the “Finger-Pen” exercise, ask the child to write the practiced letters independently. The more times a child circles one letter, the faster he will learn to write it correctly.
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Practice the entire alphabet gradually and you will soon see positive results.
Writing exercises
The effectiveness of classes to correct mirror handwriting depends on the sequence. It is not necessary to train the technique of performing all elements at once. It is difficult for a child to perceive and remember a large amount of information. It will be more effective to work on errors by correcting 1-2 letters and numbers per day.
Don't complicate the lessons by introducing syllables and whole sentences. You need to start with alphabetic characters. There are 33 of them in the Russian alphabet and not all of them cause difficulties. To make the task easier, parents should know which letters are most likely to be misspelled. Let's highlight 3 groups:
- The letters A, D, F, M, N, O, P, T, F, X, W are symmetrical and cannot be written in mirror images. This letter series, as well as the numbers 0 and 8, can be immediately excluded.
- Letters turned to the left (3, L, U, Ch, E, Z) are called hooligans by speech therapists. They are the ones who are most often written in the wrong direction. Auditory and visual memory can help here. Children just need to remember and memorize them until they become automatic.
- When working with the letters B, V, G, E, I, K, R, S, Ts, Ш, ы, ь, ъ, explain in detail the correct spelling. Let the child tell what elements the letter consists of and where it is directed (right or left). Copywriting lessons are very effective when it is possible to trace the finished contours of individual elements of letter characters. During classes, carefully monitor the process, point out incorrect actions and correct errors immediately.
Similar work is done with numbers. Specularity in mathematics manifests itself clearly; almost all numbers can be written in a distorted form. It is very good to practice correct spelling using checkered notebooks. The child must learn to separate the required number of cells up, down, right and left. You can start writing numbers fully after mastering individual elements (sticks, circles, oblique lines, etc.).
Once you are sure that your child is writing correctly, continue to monitor his written work. The habit of writing in a mirror image may return. For prevention, check the direction of the letter and correct errors in a timely manner.
For classes you will need:
— Copybooks; — Album sheets; — Posters with the alphabet; — Books with bright drawings; — Salt dough for manual labor; — Paints and brushes. — Exercises can change and complement each other. It is important that the child becomes interested and expands his skills.
The very first basic exercise that decides how to teach a child to write letters correctly will be copybooks. You don’t have to look for a store-bought version; it’s best to make them yourself:
Take a blank album sheet; Line it vertically, it is better not to make too many stripes, let the letters be large; At the beginning of each strip, write a block letter, decide whether they will be the same or different on each line; Now the child can start studying - write the same letter as close as possible to yours. Agree that he must write at least five samples. Such activities will help the child feel more confident in the world of letters.
You can make cards with letters, or hang a large poster depicting the alphabet on the wall in the nursery. During games and activities, the child will be able to look for the required letter, remember it and not use its mirror spelling.
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One of the interesting and effective approaches may be modeling from salt dough. This exercise develops creative thinking and affects the child’s fine motor skills. You should not sculpt the entire alphabet at once; it is best to devote each day to only one letter. After finishing the sculpting, you can paint the letter with bright paint, or come up with an interesting story with it.
