Do people with dyslexia see letters backwards?
5 minute read · updated October 29, 2026
7 sources: 1 government or law, 5 peer-reviewed research, 1 charity or professional body
Not in the sense of seeing letters flipped on the page. Young children learning to write often reverse letters and digits, such as writing a backwards 3, whether or not they have dyslexia.[1] Current definitions describe dyslexia as a difficulty with word reading and spelling, not with seeing letters the wrong way round.[2][3]
Reversals are common while children learn to write
Mirror-image letters and digits are a normal part of learning to write. In a study of 300 typically developing children aged 5 and 6, the researcher found that children often reverse some digits and single capital letters when writing to dictation, for example writing a 3 that looks like the letter E turned around.[1] So a child, or an adult remembering their own childhood, who mixed up b and d or wrote numbers backwards is describing something that happened to many early writers.
The US National Institutes of Health lists the reading difficulties it associates with reading disorders, and its list centers on sounds and words, such as trouble recognizing the sounds that letters make, rather than on seeing letters backwards.[4] The British Dyslexia Association describes the most common underlying difficulty as one of phonological processing, which is about the sounds in words.[3]
What research on mirror images has found
That does not mean mirror images are irrelevant. A 2017 study compared children with dyslexia with two control groups, one matched for age and one matched for reading level. The children with dyslexia were less affected than either group by the difference between a shape and its mirror image, and the authors report that this was not explained by reading level.[5] A 2021 study of 22 adults with dyslexia and 20 adults without found the dyslexia group less accurate when judging whether pairs of words were the same, both when letters were swapped in order (two, tow) and when a letter was swapped for its mirror image (cob, cod).[6]
Why a reversal quiz cannot tell you anything about dyslexia
Online quizzes sometimes ask people to spot reversed letters. Because reversals are common in early writing and the research on adults is small, a count of reversals on a screen cannot separate dyslexia from the many other reasons reading feels hard. A diagnosis in adults rests on a full history and standardized tests chosen and interpreted by a qualified assessor, as the page on professional assessment explains.[2]
If letters that look alike slow you down now, that experience is worth writing down for a professional, along with when it happens and what helps. The free reading check helps you put everyday experiences like this into words, and the focus reader lets you try larger text, more spacing and read-aloud on any passage. Neither one can tell you whether you have dyslexia.
Quick answers
Is writing b instead of d a sign of dyslexia?
Not on its own. Young children commonly reverse letters and digits while learning to write.[1] Definitions of dyslexia focus on word reading and spelling.[2]
Do adults with dyslexia mix up mirror letters?
One small 2021 study found adults with dyslexia made more errors judging word pairs that differed by a mirror letter or by letter order.[6] It is a single laboratory study, not a test.
Can colored overlays stop letters moving?
A review of the research found little support for colored overlays improving reading.[7] Some people still prefer them for comfort.
Review status
Source-checked, not expert-reviewed
Drafted with AI assistance. Each factual claim was checked against the source it links to on 2026-10-29. No clinician, psychologist or dyslexia specialist has reviewed this page. See the claims register.
Sources
- [1]Mirror writing of digits and (capital) letters in the typically developing child. Fischer JP. Cortex 47(6): 759-762, 2011. Accessed 2026-10-29. Peer-reviewed research
- [2]Toward a consensus on dyslexia: findings from a Delphi study. Carroll, Holden, Kirby, Thompson, Snowling and the Dyslexia Delphi Panel. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (doi:10.1111/jcpp.14123), 2025. Accessed 2026-10-28. Peer-reviewed research
- [3]What is dyslexia?. British Dyslexia Association. Accessed 2026-10-28. Charity or professional body
- [4]What are the symptoms of reading disorders?. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health. Accessed 2026-10-29. Government or law
- [5]Mirrors are hard to break: a critical review and behavioral evidence on mirror-image processing in developmental dyslexia. Fernandes T, Leite I, et al. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 159: 66-82, 2017. Accessed 2026-10-29. Peer-reviewed research
- [6]Sequential and spatial letter reversals in adults with dyslexia during a word comparison task. Peter B, Albert A, Panagiotides H, Gray S. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics 35(4): 340-367, 2021. Accessed 2026-10-29. Peer-reviewed research
- [7]The effect of coloured overlays and lenses on reading: a systematic review of the literature. Griffiths PG, Taylor RH, Henderson LM, Barrett BT. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics 36(5):519-544. doi:10.1111/opo.12316, 2016. Accessed 2026-10-28. Peer-reviewed research
Related reading
- Does dyslexia affect spelling?Yes. Spelling sits at the center of dyslexia definitions and often persists after reading improves. What research on adults shows, and tools that help.
- Is there a dyslexia test for adults?Quizzes and screeners cannot diagnose dyslexia. Adults are identified through a diagnostic assessment that combines a history with standardized tests.
- Do colored overlays help with dyslexia?Reviews and eye-care bodies find no good evidence that colored overlays or tinted lenses improve reading in dyslexia. Some find them more comfortable.
- Dyslexia in adults: what the definitions sayHow the IDA and UK definitions of dyslexia differ, how dyslexia is described in adults, what co-occurs with it, and why reading difficulty has many causes.