mixing up the numbers 6 and 9, when should I start to worry

[nukeswife]

My dd is 7 (just turned in Nov) and even though we've done math consistently since she was 4.5 she is still having trouble keeping 6 and 9 straight. Not just the names but the digits as well. Trust me I didn't push her we only did school from age 4.5 until 6 if she wanted to because she has a late birthday and I realized she might not be ready for full on school. She's also starting to get frustrated because her 3.5 year old brother has no trouble with naming numbers by site. I try to tell her that they are different kids so things will be easier at time for him and at other times things for him will be hard, but easy for her.

 

My question is when should I start to worry. We know it's not a sight issue, as we've had that checked.

[Karen sn]

Well.....my dd still calls the letter c "s" when we are doing spelling.

She will spell the word correctly but while reading it back to me she calls it the wrong name.

 

She's some kind of weird dyslexic. We've almost got the d from b down pat - and now this c as "s" thing pops up. Honestly - I am so over worrying. At this point - I just look at her funny, she looks down at her paper, smiles, and then says "c."

 

My dd is 11!!!!!

But - rest assured - eye development isn't really where it needs to be until 9yo. So your dd may out grow it. Don't know what to do for mine!!!!!!

[FlockOfSillies]

Without asking my school psych sis, I'd say you should ask your doc now. I don't subscribe to the "see if they grow out of it" school of thought. Treat it early, if possible. No sense having a kid struggle with some unknown thing for years, when it can be caught earlier and fixed more easily.

[AngieW in Texas]

My dyslexic dd had this issue. It wasn't corrected until she did vision therapy.

 

Does she have other naming issues? My dd couldn't say the names of numbers until she counted up to them even though she could accurately write the number if you told her the name (with reversals though).

 

My dd also had a great deal of difficulty remembering which symbol meant which operation (+,-,x,/,=).

[FO4UR]

I would try approaching it by using lined paper (with a dotted midline) and naming the "main floor", "attic" and "basement". Explain that the 6 keeps his circle in the main floor and the 9 keeps his circle in the attic. You can make it into a funny little story and then when she mixes it up during math just remind her where the 6 and 9 keep their circles.

 

If she can't self-correct after that, I would ask a doc.

[nukeswife]

Thanks for all of your answers. She doesn't have any other naming issues really, well except for 13,15,16 and 19 but I think that is because thirteen and fifteen are just weird, she recently got eleven and twelve down pat because they don't "Sound" like their single digit "partners" if you know what I mean. Sixteen and Nineteen is simply because of the six and nine mix up. She has some issues with the letters b and d unless she see's them in alphabetical order, but it's getting better the more we work with phonics. I know b and d confusion is fairly normal though so I wasn't too worried about that.

 

I have mentioned this with her doctor but he seems to want to blame everything on homeschooling, and before you suggest finding a new doctor, we're military and it's hard enough just to get an appointment at all, let alone a different doctor, you get who you get.

[Colleen in NS]

I would try approaching it by using lined paper (with a dotted midline) and naming the "main floor", "attic" and "basement". Explain that the 6 keeps his circle in the main floor and the 9 keeps his circle in the attic.

 

She has some issues with the letters b and d unless she see's them in alphabetical order, but it's getting better the more we work with phonics. I know b and d confusion is fairly normal though so I wasn't too worried about that.

 

I see these two things as easily fixable. (I have a suggestion similar to 3blessingmom's)

 

WRTR, which I used to teach my kids to draw letters and numbers, teaches letters and numbers as "clock letters" or "line letters." b would be a line letter, because you start drawing it with a line, and d would be a clock letter because you start drawing it at 2 on the clock. 6 is a line number that starts just under the top line (of the space you use to write) and curves down to the baseline, and 9 is a clock number that starts at 2 on the clock, goes up and around the clock, and straight down to the baseline. It looks like a long explanation, but I went over and over it with my kids as they drew the letters and numbers, until they could remember and their fingers did what their brains were telling them to do.

[nukeswife]

Colleen,

 

This is brilliant. I acutally just picked up a copy of WRTR over the weekend and plan to implement it, but I'm still reading it over for the 3rd time. I know I really should before I just jump into it. Hopefully what you suggested they do in WRTR will help her.

[Colleen in NS]

Colleen,

 

This is brilliant. I acutally just picked up a copy of WRTR over the weekend and plan to implement it, but I'm still reading it over for the 3rd time. I know I really should before I just jump into it. Hopefully what you suggested they do in WRTR will help her.

 

It *is* brilliant, isn't it?! WRTR just made it so easy for me to teach all that to my kids! If you've got the 5th edition white book, see pp. 30-31 and 17-26 to get you started with drawing letters and numbers. And worry no more, just put the patterns into her brain and her fingers.