Did you know that children need a mental age of approximately 6 years old to overcome vertical reversals and seven and a half for horizontal reversals? (Harman, 1982). And that certain letters in the English alphabet are more likely to be confused? In fact, letters that are mirror images of each other, such as b/d, p/q, n/u are more likely to be confused. Other letters that are similar, such as m and n, i and j, and o and a can also be problematic for some students.
If a student struggles past the age of seven with letter reversals, he may have a visual discrimination problem which means that he/she doesn’t notice, and can’t compare features of unique symbols, like with letters, numbers, and/or words. A visual discrimination issue can be a sign of a learning disability, such as dyslexia.
Improving letter recognition with this no-print, digital, matching letter activity is a simple yet effective therapeutic activity because it helps the brain to recognize, and match, visual patterns.
Students that struggle with letter reversal and confusions, especially older learners, appreciate activities that are free from babyish images and busy worksheets and task cards, which is why the format of these cards is bare and simple.
This resource targets graphemes (letters) that are often confused (b/d, p/q, u/n, i/j, o/a). Various fonts are used to aid in the generalization of letter recognition. For further work on automaticity, you can time your student and have him/her try to beat her time by repeating the task card.
Visual learning strategies can also be beneficial to students that are struggling. Here is a free resource (visual aid of b/d) that can be a helpful tool in discriminating these mirror letters. I simply put it up on a wall in my office so that the student can refer to it when need be. I also encourage my students to have a copy on their desk at school, or in a binder for quick access.
Another quick tip is to teach the student the b/d thumbs trick! This kinesthetic tip is really useful since the student always has access to his thumbs, and is multisensory, which is best practice when working with students that have learning disabilities :)
Happy reading and please share your best practices and/or questions!