Why do children write in mirrors

Imagine the situation: you open your first-grader's prescriptions and see scribbles that are impossible to make out. And only the skills of the cryptographer will help you understand: all the letters are written as if reflected in a mirror. The first emotion is surprise, followed by shock. What's happening? Approximately this is felt by parents who are faced with the problem of mirrored handwriting in their children. 

In our article we will talk about the causes of this phenomenon, and also give advice on what to do if a child writes numbers in a mirror.The phenomenon of "Leonardo's handwriting"

Mirror writing is writing numbers in reverse order: from right to left.

At the same time, each letter is mirrored. Why is it called "Leonardo's handwriting"?

The fact is that the Italian artist, sculptor and inventor Leonardo da Vinci tried to encrypt his diaries and descriptions of inventions. Fearing the theft of his ideas, he mirrored every letter on paper. Therefore, it was difficult for an unprepared person to read the text fluently. But there is another theory according to which Leonardo was left-handed and it was convenient for him to write like that. 

The phenomenon of mirror handwriting can be observed in children who are just learning to write letters and numbers — at 4-5 years old.

If you watch a kid who is trying to write something, you can note his "two-handedness" — he is equally well controlled with both his right and left hand. The child writes in a mirror image quite easily and naturally, without exerting effort. It is believed that this is a necessary and natural stage of handwriting formation. 

In adults, mirror writing can be a consequence of organic pathologies of the brain. Schizophrenia, focal changes in the cerebral cortex, epilepsy, mental disorders are diseases in which a person who has not had problems with handwriting before suddenly begins to write in a mirror.

Why does a child write letters in a mirrorChildren under the age of 7 have a more active right hemisphere.

They examine the surrounding space from right to left, and, accordingly, depict symbols on paper in the same order. Therefore, if a 4-5-year-old child writes from right to left, do not panic. This phenomenon is temporary. When he goes to school or to preparatory courses, everything will change. During the learning process, the activity of the left hemisphere of the brain increases. Accordingly, children begin to write correctly.

But there are cases when the situation does not change at the age of 7-9, and the child still writes the numbers in a mirror. There are always reasons for this:he's left-handed.

• It is more convenient (and logical) for left-handed people to write in reverse order. It is also easier for them to number the lines from the bottom up and at least write the numbers "inside out";
• he has optical dysgraphy. This is a speech therapy diagnosis, which indicates a violation of the perception of written speech. The child depicts the words as it is convenient for him;
• he has poorly developed spatial thinking. It is not difficult to check: if at 4-5 years old a child confuses left and right, inappropriately uses prepositions in oral speech, then his idea of sizes and shapes is violated. He simply does not notice the features (similarities and differences) of the letters;
• he was taught to write too early. An extremely unpleasant side effect of early childhood development. The skill to regard letters as graphic designations is acquired by the age of 6-7. Up to this point, the child perceives them as pictures;
• he has neurological abnormalities: speech delay, pathology of the musculoskeletal system, epileptic syndrome;
• he is not yet ready for visual analysis and synthesis — important skills that help to remember the shape of letters, and then recognize them (the essence of the reading process).

Also read: Hyperactive children: secrets and rules of parentingWhat to do if the child writes in a mirror

To begin with, do not panic and in no case scold the baby.

It is absolutely not his fault that he sees and understands the letter in his own way. 

Just in case, visit a neurologist. During the examination, he will either exclude organic pathologies of the brain and nervous system, or send for a detailed diagnosis. Based on its results, you will be able to determine the degree of violation and, together with specialists, draw up an action plan. 

If there are no serious problems, your next step is to visit a speech pathologist who specializes in dysgraphy. But the help of a speech therapist is working with you, the parents, and not instead of you. Therefore, home classes to correct "Leonardo's handwriting" are not just desirable, but necessary.

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Correctional techniques

Focus on developing spatial thinking.

Perhaps your child writes numbers and letters in a mirror, because he constantly confuses where the right side is and where the left side is. 

Get involved in training: take the baby by the right hand with the words "I take you by the right hand" and ask where the left is. He'll point to his free hand. After a few minutes, do the same. So the child will accurately learn to distinguish between the right and left limbs. Do the same with the eyes, the side of the body, the leg.

Development of spatial thinkingThe unmistakable determination of the location of objects in the surrounding space is the key to correct writing.

It is not difficult to train them. Stand with your child on the threshold of the room and describe where the objects are. For example, the cabinet to the right of the window. The bed is to the left of the chest of drawers. Then ask: "The chair is to the right of... what?". Further complicate the question: "Where is the ball?". The child himself must determine the location of the ball in relation to any other object. If you have succeeded, it means that you have made progress in the development of spatial thinking.

We master letters and numbersIf you have previously taught your child to read and write, you will have to start all over again.

But change the approach a little. Stencils help very well — ask your child to draw a word with their help. Or put out of cubes. It would seem that this is a step back, because the kid already knows well how to write alphabetic characters. But your task is to correct the mirror spelling, so play with the letters already with this task in mind.

For example, write the letter "m" on a piece of paper and ask the child to write the letter "a" to the right of yours. Then repeat both actions — you will get the word "mom". So you will clearly demonstrate that the formation of words occurs from left to right. You can do the same in reverse order. It will come out "amam" — an incomprehensible and non-existent combination of letters. This will help the child to understand that in order for his letter to be understandable, you need to do it correctly. 

Finding symmetryStart learning with symmetrical letters and numbers that look exactly the same with a straight or mirror font (A, O, H, M, numbers 0 and 8). 

Move on to more complex letters — those that are most often written incorrectly (Z, Y, H, I). In order for the child to remember well which way these letters should "look", use associations. For example, these are "pests" who do not look at other letters in the word, but always turn away in the other direction. 

The most difficult task is the letters B, C, G, R and the rest. They just need to be learned (memorized). But there is a trick here, too. Decompose each letter into elements and assign an association for each of them: B is a bagel with a roof, C is a snowman, and so on. 

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Fantasize, come up with the most original associations and creative tasks so that your child learns the correct spelling of letters and corrects his mirror handwriting. An integrated approach (home classes + speech therapist) will help you solve this problem soon. July 16, 2021 2022-11-27 2021-07-16 Rate the article on a 5-point scale Did you like the article?