umsami Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 So, it wasn't an issue with 100EZ but it has become an issue with AAR. We've tried a lot of different things... "bat before ball" "donut before door"... "bed".... making a b with your left hand as a reference.... b's belly bumps into other letters video...etc. Does anybody know if there's an app or something that can help with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I don't know of an app. Cursive helps. What hand does he write with? If he's left-handed, his writing hand makes the b. If he's right-handed, his writing hand makes the d. Kids with reversal issues often have trouble with right/left also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forty-two Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) It's helped my kids to make both 'b' and 'd' (and 'p') with their hands - it's a completely different thinking process from figuring out how to read/write them. Every time dd7 confuses them, I have her make the letter she sees with her hands. It's not a quick fix, but it's working over time. We've also talked about how with 'b' the stick comes first, but with 'd' the ball comes first. (And with 'p' vs 'b', for 'b' the stick points up, and for 'p' the stick points down.) And so every time she confuses them, I ask her which comes first, stick or ball. (This initially didn't work as well, because my kids write the "ball" first for both 'b' and 'd' (and 'p', too), and so they thought of first as temporally first - in which case there *still* wasn't any difference - instead of first going from left to right.) I know you've done a lot of similar things, but, from what you posted, none of them really show how 'd' and 'b' are *similar* - that they all focus on their differences, but in ways that don't really show how they relate to each other. For example, "bat before ball" and "donut before door" tell how 'b' and 'd' are respectively made, but they don't show how the "bat and ball" are related to the "donut and door" - a student might never connect those two facts together in their head. And with letters that are being confused because of their *similarity* to each other, I think it helps to understand *what* about them is similar in addition to what about them is different - how their appearance relates to each other. Edited December 17, 2015 by forty-two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Ivy Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 One of my kids mixed these up until he was about 7. What finally clicked for him was making the capital B from the lowercase one. For some reason he could tell which way a capital B should face, so if he drew the top bubble of a B on a lowercase b, he could tell if it was right. (Because if it was on a lowercase d, the B would be facing the wrong way.) Don't know if that would help, but just thought I'd share, just in case it works for someone else too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted December 17, 2015 Author Share Posted December 17, 2015 (edited) Oops..need to clarify.... the problem comes in reading them, not writing. Other things we've tried... b "cs" (sees) d.... B and b are walking.... D and d are talking.... and I'm sure others too. Everytime he comes to a lower case b or d....I hear him saying "buh" "duh" "buh" "duh"...like trying to figure out which makes more sense Even when he has prompts like those above written on the white board. Edited December 17, 2015 by umsami Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 It takes time, for some kids more than others. I like the dyslexic font (can't remember the name off the top of my head) for beginner readers. It helps 'see' it better in their minds because the letters have a distinct shape. Since the problem is in reading, not writing, I'd suggest having your ds write the letter with his finger when he comes to it. If you're using a one-stroke writing font like D'nealian it should be very easy to remember as he's writing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minerva Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 I think the most important thing to do, no matter what method you choose for learning this, is to check EVERY word and figure out if it is a b or a d BEFORE they read the word. Come up with whatever system makes the most sense to your dc and then have them check the word with their thumb (or whatever) before they sound out the rest of the word. Do this consistently for a few months every single bd word they see. This is what the Barton system teaches (for dyslexic kids) and it definitely helps. My ds still has to check every word, but I can see that he has much less confusion than his sister, who never did this, is ten years old, and still always gets the two confused. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 I would spend time working on just one letter at a time. Let him master that one and then work on the other one. (Or you may find that focusing on one and mastering that one clarifies the issue). This article on reversals has some of the things you mentioned, but other types of activities as well--tactile, large arm movements, analogies and so on. For some kids, it can really take time to work through this. (It's also not uncommon for there not to be reversal issues one year, but then they show up another year). Work on it for a few minutes daily--it doesn't take a lot of time, but daily consistency will really help. 2-3 minutes at a time, a couple of times a day can make a big difference. Hang in there! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalusignan Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 (edited) We also really struggled with this. What worked: 'bulldozer' test. Place a bulldozer (or other truck) in front of the letter. He always moves the same direction as you read, left to right. If he can bulldoze the letter, it's a 'b'. If he bulldozes a 'd', it will not stay straight since the truck will hit the round edge first... hope that makes sense. Also, it doesn't happen overnight. They need a lot of daily correction and practice. My dd8 STILL reverses b and d in writing and reading (although it's somewhat infrequent now). You just have to remind them each time, to slow down, figure out which one it is before they continue. Lots of patience! Edited December 18, 2015 by kalusignan 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted December 18, 2015 Share Posted December 18, 2015 We finally had success with something I learned from someone here (wish I could remember who to thank!). We focused on what our mouth does when we say the sound. So, with b, the lips are together in a line before opening. The letter starts with the line, and then the ball. With d, your lips are open when you start the sound, just as the letter starts with the ball. This was the explanation that finally worked for my dc who really struggled with this. I still see her pause sometimes and focus on what her mouth is doing before reading a sound as b or d (she's 5). This is what finally worked for us, too. For the d we said the tongue was round like it was holding the ball of the d. We did it in front of the mirror several times so she could see her mouth making a straight line with the b. She's 7 now and b and d are about the only letters she *doesn't* reverse. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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