I still get the b and the d mixed up, and I remember doing it as child. I had a teacher who told us to visualize the work 'bed' to help us. The word forms a bed itself. Maybe you can work with the teacher to get a verbal confirmation from him on these mistakes. If she asks him to spell the word out loud that he wrote wrong (with the b or the d), then he knows how to spell it and she can give him the credit. You aren't asking her to do this with every mistake but only the ones that are clearly the b/d issue. It's worth a try. Or maybe he can have two words taped right inside his desk as a reference for him...one on the left shows him 'Dog' and 'dog' and the one on the right shows him 'Boy' and 'boy'. If its a visual perception thing, that might help. Good Luck!

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My son is 7 and we are having this same issue. He also has trouble with p's and 9's. His teacher is very strict about this problem and he is making low B's on most spelling assignments due to this. His math grade is also suffering. :0( I am a teacher myself, and I don't understand how to get the point across to his teacher that "it is just not fair." He spent 15 minutes in my office this morning practicing writing his p's. Which he started off writing backwards. It is on his mind and he is trying, but....

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Direct Instruction Reading is very successful (SRA Publishing). I wish I learned this way. My life would be a hell of a lot easier. If that is his only trouble I would practice everyday (5 to 10 min and longer when reading stories). Starting with identifying letter sounds with only one of the problem letters and other letters, add the next letter after he has 100% identification for 3 days. After he is not mixing up the letters in isolation, move to words, then to reading stories. If he gets board you can add pictures into the letter practice. The letter sound practice will show you if it is an attention problem. The teacher consistently responds to correct responses by saying "Yes, _" and moving to the next letter/word quickly. The DI approach has very strict correction procedure. Either: immediately... model (teacher says the correct response) lead (the teacher and student say it together) test (the student responds independently) retest (the student independently responds later in the lesson)

or: model test retest

Example: Child responds incorrectly Teacher: "That word is /That sound is . What sound?" Student: responds Teacher: "Yes . Starting over" The teacher goes back a couple letters or the student begins reading at the beginning of the sentence.

VERY IMPORTANT: Set up some sort of reward system. Teacher/student points work well. I can give myself points to redirect the child. "My eyes are one the book, I get a point." or "A point for me, I say my sounds right the first time." Make sure you have something your child is willing to work for and this should be pretty easy. You can also make correct responding, points, or time on task to computer minutes or whatever he really likes. I work with many hard to manage children so i also provide them with a "break card" and when the student appropriatly requests a break, I give him a 1-2 minute break. I also have children move when they are already moving. Sit down and answer one, stand up and answer one, get on their knees and answer one, etc.

Also throughout the day point out letters in his natural environment.

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Hey, I have a 6th grader with ADHD (inattentive), dysgraphia, short term memory disability, word recall disabiltiy, and a processing disorder and for years I pointed out that he had a problem with reversals of b's and d's as well as 9's and p's. I was also told by the school that he would outgrow this but in reality he would not and has not and honestly, he may never get it correct in his head. It took me pulling him out of school and homeschooling before the school addressed my concerns that he has a learning disability. If I had to have one more teacher or professional educator tell me that this was common for a boy and to give it time I was gonna lose my mind. I knew he had some problems but due to his intelligence and compinsation skills they refused to listen to me. That being said, he was finally tested in the 5th grade and it turned out that he did have some other issues. That B and D issue is what kept me clued in so pay attention to it and also talk to his teachers about your concerns. See if maybe the child needs some extra testing and get on an IEP if needed. The constant failure of my son to get his letters correct , amongst other incidents, caused him so much anxiety that he chewed on his clothes. Now he is not knocked off for spelling unless it is a spelling test which is done verbally and then typed in on an "alpha-smart" . I say all this to let you know that maybe this letter issue is a red flag for you so do not ignore it.

MP

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My adhd+ son is 9 and when he was first learning to write he didn't mix up his letters very often. As he got older though he started doing it more and more. At first his hyperactivity was his biggest problem but then the distraction and OCD kicked in. We homeschool and the little I have had to do with the school system has convinced me we are doing the right thing and I would recommend it. Yes, I have had to learn a lot about myself and it's not always pretty, but my son would never have his education adapted to fit him. After all, I'm raising an individual not a cookie-cutter kid and there will be a place for him in the world. We practice handwriting and though we correct mistakes, I have to decide when enough is enough and move on. We aim for progress without tearing our hair out. I don't have to tell you how frustrating it was when you didn't know your child was adhd and maybe thought they were just being rebellious. I mean, they are so smart why can't they do certain things? Our doctor said it's because it uses a different part of the brain. She also said it was ok that I help my son with his writing. I also figure that he will probably spend most of his time typing so having great handwriting isn't a big deal and he does get better every year. I think he's probably learning a lot about learning and developing his own coping/success skills too.

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Have you had your child tested for dyslexia? Our school system as well as our pediatrician does not test for this, so we went to a clinical psychologist that does learning disability testing... As I am learning more and more about dyslexia (which my daugher rwas diagnosed with less than 2 months after the ADHD diagnosis), it seems that very often children with ADHD also have dyslexia. Most sites that are for dyslexia also talk about ADHD within a dyslexic child. My daughter is in 1st grade and most cases are not diagnosed till 3rd grade or later. The sooner it is caught, the easier it is to teach them to read. But, schools are not going to help you out (at least not here in Colorado)... you see, there is a Federal Law that requires school to provide learning tools for children with dyslexia, and these are not cheap.... Good luck!

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