The association between letter reversal and dyslexia informs the persistent debate on whether dyslexia is caused by linguistic, auditory, or visual timing deficits (Lawton, 2016). The concerns are justified given the high prevalence of dyslexia and its effects. The Regents of the University of Michigan (2019) cited statistics by the United States Department of Health and Human Services showing that on average, 15% of the US population is dyslexic. However, despite dyslexia being the major reason for learning disability, it is not always the cause for reversing letters. Such is the consensus among researchers, but Kaltner and Jansen (2014) and Blackburne et al. (2014) called for consideration of a number of factors contributing to learning difficulties. The perception from the ongoing debate is that reversing letters is a problem with multifactorial causes due to neural correlates involving phonological processing deficits and weaknesses in the skills and speed of oral language processing, and not necessarily dyslexia.
The evidence on the relationship between dyslexia and reversing letters is contradictory. The Regents of the University of Michigan (2019) observed that dyslexia is a lifelong issue that cannot be outgrown as it has been shown to persist to adulthood. On the other hand, reversing letters is not portrayed to be a major problem among dyslexic adults. Research on this important topic focuses mainly on children. However, Kaltner and Jansen (2014) contended that learning difficulties, including reversing letters, are developmental challenges that occur mostly in children up to the 12 th grade. In the same vein, Lawton (2016) opined that the challenge could be solved through training targeted at improving reading fluency, attention, and working memory. According to Blackburne et al. (2014), letter reversal errors are often made by children when learning to read and write, including for letters whose reversed forms are not very elaborate. The phenomenon, also referred to as mirror writing, is common until the age of seven. However, reversing letters is not a sign that the child in question has dyslexia.
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The importance of debunking the myth that dyslexia is responsible for reversing letters cannot be understated. Blackburne et al. (2014) contended that while the problem is a common occurrence, the role of the brain in it is unknown. The observation delinks the association of dyslexia with letter reversal. Kaltner and Jansen (2014) demonstrated that some children with dyslexia have problems with letter reversal, but most do not. Similar trends were observed in non-dyslexic children, hence leading to the conclusion that reversing letters is fairly common and normal. Review of literature in the field reveals that a significant proportion of children who reverse letters, usually, do not have any learning or attention problems. Researchers have failed to establish a single underlying cause for reversing letters, implying linking dyslexia to the phenomenon is based on speculative evidence. The assertion is corroborated by the observation that while reversing letters can be outgrown, dyslexia cannot (The Regents of the University of Michigan, 2019).
Existing evidence shows that dyslexia exacerbates the problem of reversing letters, but does not cause it. Examination of brain motor functions by Kaltner and Jansen (2014) established slower reaction times to stimulus letters among dyslexic children compared to non-dyslexic. However, Kaltner and Jansen (2014) posited that letter reversal is an outcome of poor mental rotation that results from deficits in mental rotation itself rather than a decision problem linked to dyslexia. Mental rotation is letter specific and has been shown to have no significant difference between dyslexic and non-dyslexic. In fact, Lawton (2016) theorized that the faulty timing in synchronizing activity of visual pathways that causes reversal errors might also be the cause for dyslexia. Blackburne et al. (2014) illustrated the distinction in this function between adults and children in relation to stages of specialized brain processing of print. The conclusion that can be drawn from the review is that that reversing letters is largely a development related problem that is not caused by dyslexia. Children exhibit reversal errors because of poor memory on how to form letters or visual processing challenges. Unlike dyslexia, these causes of reversal errors can be outgrown.
References
Blackburne, L. K., Eddy, M. D., Kalra, P., Yee, D., Sinha, P., & Gabrieli, J. D. (2014). Neural correlates of letter reversal in children and adults. PloS One , 9 (5), e98386.
Kaltner, S., & Jansen, P. (2014). Mental rotation and motor performance in children with developmental dyslexia. Research in Developmental Disabilities , 35 (3), 741-754.
Lawton, T. (2016). Improving dorsal stream function in dyslexics by training figure/ground motion discrimination improves attention, reading fluency, and working memory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience , 10 , 397.
The Regents of the University of Michigan. (2019). Debunking the Myths about Dyslexia. Dyslexia help. Retrieved from http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/dyslexics/learn-about-dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia/debunking-common-myths-about-dyslexia.
