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Hi I'm new here, my 25month old dd just scored above the 99th percentile (5 year old plus) for visual comprehension in a voluntary child development study we attend and we were told she had a very long attention span and might do with early reading.
I'm not really worried about doing anything that isn't child led although I am definately now looking for things that are more stimulating for her. Anyway...
She is now asking for letters/words to be explained to her but she does everything backwards from right to left, or upside down. She has started doing her easy puzzles upside down too (i mean 10 peice knob puzzles not jigsaws which she doesn't seem quite ready for) is she bored or is this a sign of dyslexia or some other emerging issue?

For the puzzle she may well be adding challenge but the rest sounts like a variation in development. I would talk to her pediatrician and ask for a referal to a Pediatric Occupational Therapist. She is definitely on her own personal developmental path and she may need a little help catching up with stuff that occurs more naturally for kids on the 'main road' portion of the developmental path.
Love and More Love
Grinity

Thanks - I'll bring it up at her upcoming well child check, It's hard to know what's normal at 2- she did a 10 peice jigsaw yesterday so apparantly she IS ready for that -so off to get some 20 peice ones today.
I guess I'm a little concerned because she has started not wearing shoes with dirty soles etc, probably just normal 2 year old behaviour. She's otherwise a happy kid so I'm not hitting the panic button yet!

Reading from left to right and top to bottom is not a natural or intuitive process. The Chinese write top to bottom, and the Arabs write right to left. Like most community standards, it's completely arbitrary in and of itself, but it's necessary to have some standard we all agree to follow in order to communicate effectively.

Since your DD is only just beginning to read, she needs a chance to get used to the standard. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions there.

Flipping over a puzzle to make it more challenging is a very normal thing to do.

With affection
I think it is appropriate to say, "Welcome to the Club!"
Also if you get a blank stare at your well-child check,
please come back here for more 'moral' support.
To date, none of our [well-meaning] local psychologists,
let alone primary care physicians, had any idea what
we were talking about. I am glad you found this site
early; I was slower on the uptake but think I caught
on in almost enough time to save our DD from permanent
psychological harm, although I may be wrong--time will tell.

Best of luck,
Dbat

P.S. I almost forgot I was responding because have you
seen 'Amadeus'--I am not learned enough to know whether
it is valid or not, but apparently Mozart relished
backwards and variant phrases, both linguistic and musical.

thanks Dbat, nice to hear!
If I hadn't gone to that testing I would never have known how far ahead she is in visual comprehension, I'm still struggling with the "am I just being one of those mum's who thinks their toddler is gifted cos they can poop" mentality.

I'm really glad I found this site too -a lot less competitive than some of the parenting sites and at this stage because she isn't reciting numbers/alphabet by rote she sounds a bit behind - but then again I haven't taught her those things yet and she doesn't perform on cue

Great to hear the Mozart anecdote, proud mother and all I'm pretty sure we aren't dealing with that kind of prodigious talent!

Welcome mahagogo!

FWIW, I wouldn't be too concerned for now, I'd instead just enjoy the cuteness of it all and maybe flip her books over and let her see how you read the words - maybe point at the words as you read them. The reason I wouldn't be worried is I saw quite a few of my friends' kids do the very same thing right before they started to read

Best wishes,

polarbear

Welcome!

I have a just-turned 2DD also! If she's your first...it's so hard to know when to worry and when to wait it out. Luckily most of the time, variants in development are normal. I have a DS who did not recite his ABC (song) or any songs or rhymes until he was at least 3...but started reading at two. He's a really strong visual processor and auditory learning took more time.

Also, is she a lefty? My DS and I both are...it is
instinctual for us to go right to left. We have to adapt...but don't get me started on that.

Hi Evemomma - thanks for that - she swaps almost daily with hand preference so we aren't sure yet, I do think she is quietly teaching herself to read, just by pointing at all the letters and punctuation marks. Before she was verbal she did that with everything, as soon as she started talking at 23 months her vocab was 3 times her colleagues at playgroup who had been talking for months.

Anyway I will just enjoy her - sounds like nothing to worry about at this stage - yay

Mahagogo5...my DS did the same thing! He was always at the "minimum" standard for speech....we even had his hearing tested! But once he started talking, well, he hasn't stopped since!

My oldest niece "read" upside down books when we used to babysit her, she sat at DH's feet and copied him while he read. When she heard him turn a page, she looked up at him then turned her page too, and pointed to things and ran her fingers under the sentences. She did this when she was pretty little, 18 months.

My DD read her books upside down, or upside right, didn't matter (also did mirror writing and writing letters backwards...still has issues with d/b) through the summer entering 2nd grade. You could ask her to read it and she would. I guess the placement just wasn't an issue for her. Font also never an issue. She was not right-left dominant until last year really. Can't tell left from right, still, though, this takes some strategies! Is very good with physically placing herself though, she always knows which way to turn when she comes out of a store, gets floor plans at airports and malls down very fast.

She is just good with visual things, did jigsaws early and also did them blank side up when she was bored with picture part.

You should keep an eye on it of course and keep reading lots of articles and research, but IMHO at such a young age it's hard to tickle out the natural learning strategies they are coming up with on their own and learning issues down the line.

and like polarbear said, they're so cute! My niece is in middle school now and I can still see her eager little face waiting for DH to turn the page, and her cute little hands!! sniff sniff

I was wondering the same thing about my son. I think some of it may be boredom because he is 2 1/2 and has been saying is ABC's the right way for quite some time, learned all the sounds and is spelling words, early reading etc. Sometimes he does it all backwards and it seems like he has ran out of things to do with the letters so he is switching it up. I wouldn't worry about it but then again I don't know. I have thought my son was Autistic at times because of how obsessive he can be..I guess as parents we always worry