Mirroring letters/mirror writing

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Did anybody here naturally mirror letters (or did whole mirror writing) as a child?

Before school, I had consistent mirror writing. I could read already though. I also wrote from left to right (as is normal). But letters such as S R F E C etc. were all mirrored. All letters possible were mirrored.

To me it's an interesting discovery, because I'm currently trying to look into (literal) mirroring abilities of people with PDDs.

Anybody else had mirror writing or mirrored letters consistently as a child (or does today still)?

Oh yeah, I'm talking about unintentionally and consistent mirroring. Because it sometimes happens to many kids.

Last edited by Sora on 19 Aug 2008, 1:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Don't know if this counts.....
I'm pretty much ambidexterous, but write with my right hand. I can write with my left hand, but when I do I have to be careful or I will mirror my letters.

I started doing mirror writing because as a left-hander (and one with hypermobility which meant that handwriting was excruciatingly painful the more work I had to do -- I didn't know I was hypermobile, but I knew it hurt, and I thought I needed as many ways as possible to manage the pain if I was going to write) it was less work physically to do it.

I might still, somewhere, have copies of the sort of notes I used to take before I used notetaker services. They are highly detailed and entirely in mirror writing. People would ask to use my notes sometimes, and get very confused before realizing that they were written in mirror writing.

What I have difficulty with is the sort of writing people do where the letters are forwards but the order of the letters is reversed. Like writing "twenty" as "ytnewt". I have real trouble reading that because it forces me to interpret each letter separately. If something is actually mirror written, then no trouble, it's exactly the same shape as the original word, just flipped over like in a mirror. That gives me no trouble at all, but writing the letters forward and the order backwards changes the entire shape of the word, you can't just flip it over and get sense out of it unless all the letters are symmetrical.

I almost never handwrite anymore, so I don't have to do this, but when I did have to handwrite, it saved me some amount of pain. And I could still easily mirror-write if I had to.

I can mirror write, and read, and upside-down, but I've never done it unintentionally, if that's what you mean.

Wasnt there a famous inventer who wrote in mirror, and there is a thought that they were aspergers.

Leonardo Da Vinci wrote all his notes in mirror writing. I can also write mirror image, or even upside down & backwards. but it's too slow a process for me. However, reading mirror image or upside down/backwards is no problem at all...even in a foreign language.

i used to wrrite my name backwards

I do, inadvertenty, and I hate it. This happens only sometimes and then I see it in my notes. I can read this just fine but I've accidentally written note/report, extemporaneously, to another (like my advisor) in this format. I am ambidextrous and mostly try to write with my right hand. I can and so write with my left too. BUT.....on occasion, when I use my left the entire writing is mirrored. I can become really frustrated with myself.

anbuend: That's strange about your writing the letters in reverse. I do not do this, but just mirrored. I think you write (type) beautifull so no matter than you do not hand-write! UndercoverAlien & Sora: I used to write/spell my name backwards but I have only a 3 letter 1st name! And, ironically, when my name is spelled in all-caps, it IS the same mirror/symmetrical in letters. Guess it's ok to reveal.....my 1st name is: AMY



P.S. anbuend: quasi-PM (!): I began a thread I hope will be a permanent addition to WP and I would very much appreciate your input! Or any others here who are reading to whom this may apply. In the Haven (sinsboldly moved it for me) check out "Special Silent Form," which is especially for those of us who are (partly) mute &/or NV. Please come!

I went into kindergarten able to read and write, but I frequently wrote my letters backwards. Really irritated my teachers.

I used to mirror write. Now I mirror read. Seems like sometimes when I really need to concentrate on something and I'm finding it difficult, if I turn my book upside down, it becomes much more clear to me. And when you are the only white girl on a train full of Koreans, it makes them look at you funny, which amuses me greatly as well....LOL.

Yeah, it's a shame people assume that. If you want to read upside down, etc... they assume you can't read. Sometimes I look something up quick, have the book upside down, and don't right it unless I am in public.

There is actually a book in bookstores where the TITLE is in mirrored writing. I almost asked here once if people had any trouble reading such things. I don't have trouble, but heard some DO. There used to be some messages that were written in mirrored writing, and some establishments have letters stenciled on glass(so on the inside it looks mirrored), so I got lots of practice.

My son is 6 and he's learning to read fairly well. He knew most of the letters in the alphabet on sight before he was two years old. There is one remaining oddity, though. Even at age 6, he still routinely confuses "d" and "b". He explained to me the other day that this is confusing for him because, with the capital "D", the curved part is on the right side of the vertical line and that leads him to expect this to be the case for the lower case as well.

I forgot to mention that I reverse random letters while writing, and always have, in a weird direction: Up and down. So, p for b, q or g for d, etc. It seems like my hand gets one stroke right and then randomly fills in the second one.

I am a mirror image identical twin. I have A.D.D. I am left handed. My sister is right handed. I did a lot of mirror writing as a child. I had trouble learning to tie my shoes and do other things because I mirrored almost everything. I would read upside down also (when I was in early years of school). I had trouble reading out loud. I was held back in 4th grade because of an undiagnosed learning disability. Teachers didn't know much about learning differences back 37 years ago.

Yes.. My Mom says I would always write things as a child so that when held up to a mirror, it would be right. She thought it was super awesome, I actually have a video where she's bragging to her family about it, I was 6 in the video but I know I was doing it by 4 with the alphabet because I remember doing it before I went to school. I'm not able to anymore, though.

I also easily read mirrored letters or real mirror writing without noticing that it is mirrored. I don't notice if it's mirror writing usually. If I turn it upside down from my position too, then I notice immediately. I don't know why.

I also mixed up b and d, but because I had been mirroring the 2 letters before. So that b had been d and d had been b before I started writing un-mirrored.