A free 3-minute check that shows where the mix-up is
A child can mix up b and d in reading, in writing, or both. Each one needs a different push. Do this check together. It takes about three minutes, and you need a pencil and paper.
How to do it: do not teach and do not correct. Just listen, and tap what your child could do. Nothing you tap is sent anywhere.
Show your child this screen. Point to each letter in turn. Tap each one your child says the right sound for.
Turn the screen away and give your child a pencil. Say the sound of each letter below, one at a time. Your child writes it. Tap each one written the right way around.
Show your child the screen again. They read each word. Tap each word read correctly, however slowly.
A cup is a cup whichever way it faces. A dog facing left is still a dog. Letters are the first things a child meets that change their name when they are turned around, and b and d are the same shape, turned. So is it normal? At five and six, yes. By seven it has usually settled.
It is not a diagnosis, and it is not a test for dyslexia. Mixing up b and d on its own does not mean a child has dyslexia. If your child is seven or older and still mixes them up often, or finds reading very hard in other ways too, tell their teacher what you saw and ask what the school has noticed.
More help: My child mixes up b and d · Why can’t my child blend sounds? A free check
