Hello Audrey,

I am not a specialist in learning development, and can not diagnose your child.
I can only give you my experience, and what I am exposed to.

Given the facts that he is 4.5 year old, I find nothing to alarm or concern me that he laid them down the opposite way. His understanding was there, he could express his ideas. The rest is training.

Like language, math formulas are not inherent in us. It is something that must be taught. Just like, you don't have to teach him to eat, it is inherent. But you do have to teach him HOW to eat in the custom that his culture requires of him.
So naturally when you started to give him toddler food he wants to eat with his fingers, but in your culture, let's say you use a fork, you will need teach him how to use it. As time as goes by, he becomes more proficient with the fork.

The same is true, most times, with teaching math.
It requires teaching until they are proficient.

Again, I would not worry about his laying them down the way he did. I would gently point out what he did and have him redo it, next time. He will even write his number 12 as 21 (or other teens)and you will wonder, but he is doing what is natural when he hears the "tw" in "twelve" first. It causes him to write the 2 first then the one. But in his mind his is writing the number 12 correctly. Simple, consistent, and patient instruction will correct it all...through time.

I would be concerned if he was nine and not showing ANY interest in reading or writing. Then I would question the physical possibility of dyslexia.

Until then always give him ample space to write his answers…like on a large white board. I have found if you give boys a large space to write on many of the writing issues go away. It's the small confined pages that hinder them. But that is only my experience.

As I said earlier, I do not specialize in the field of dyslexia, but nothing you wrote gives me concern that it was a problem. And one of the clues was that he is left handed, which would mean if he laid them left to right while holding the cards in his left hand he would have had to cross his plumb line, which is difficult for young children to do. So it was probably natural for him to chose to lay the cards down that did not involve the plumb line. Thus, you have the cards laid down in the wrong way.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
Carissa
Customer Service Rep.


PS A good easy to read book is "The Way They Learn" by Cynthia Tobias
http://www.amazon.com/They-Learn-Cynthia-Ulrich-Tobias/dp/1561794147

Another book is "Discover your Child's Learning Style" by Willis and Hodson
http://www.amazon.com/Discover-Your-Childs-Learning-Style/dp/0761520139

Thank you so much Carissa! I value your insight.

I think I'll have him use a larger writing surface, as his first official worksheet was a challenge (writing the tally marks). I bet he'll enjoy writing on a larger surface.

Thanks again - we LOVE RS!

Audrey

Audrey,

One more thought. I am pretty sure that most children naturally tend to do things from right to left (even right handed ones). We need to train them to go left to right in reading and in math. All of my children, when they started writing their names, wrote them from right to left (and only one of them is left handed).

All that to say, it is quite natural, and nothing at all to worry about. As they become more proficient in reading, they will also start ordering things more naturally from left to right.

That being said -- I still put some things in order from right to left (i.e. cards, when I am playing card games -- it drives my husband crazy!), and I am not at all dyslexic!
Hope that helps!
Lisa