I’m 30. I’ve never had any learning disabilities or reading problems.
For the past few years, I’ve noticed that when I write (that is, with a pencil or pen, as opposed to writing on my keyboard) I’ll sometimes write the second or third letter of the word before I write the first. For example, my first name (which is Aaron): sometimes I’ll write the lowercase a before I write the first A. Also, I tend to use capitol letters in the middle of words and then go back and have to erase. It can get frustrating.
What’s going on here? Am I developing dyslexia (even though I can read without any problems)? Or is my hand just moving faster than my brain as I get older?
Maybe you have dysgraphia, a writing impairment. I don’t want to panic you, but it can be caused by brain damage.
That said, I wonder if it’s just because you write less often than you used to. I know that since I started using my computer regularly, I type much more often and I write much less often than I used to. I do seem to make quite a few mistakes in writing lately. Perhaps I am just more likely to notice the mistakes I do make. After all, typos are so easy to fix that I fix them automatically, almost without having to think about it.
It could be just a simple case of your brain speeding ahead of your hand. You are thinking forward to the next letter in your mind so subconsciencly you write the lower case a first and your brain still knowing it has to write the upper case a writes it second.
Sounds more like a mild aphasia than disgraphia. But there is possibly a simpler solution. Have an eye exam, check your vision. As adults age (usually late 30s/early 40s) close-in visual tasks like reading and writing are harder, it’s called presbyopia. Your problem might be solved simply by wearing eyeglasses.
I think Quisp has the most likely answer. Typing can be much faster than printing. If you do most of your writing on a keyboard, your brain will get used to a certain speed in setting thoughts to paper. I do this occasionally, too. And now that I think of it, it does seem to be happening more lately when, coincidentally, I am doing more of my writing on a keyboard.
Your brain can also get ahead of itself when you are reading. I have 2 children in elementary school who are tested once in a while on their reading skills. Looking over my son’s results with his teacher recently, we found that while he stutters every so often, his only major mistakes are when he substitutes a word for the one written. For example, in a line of dialogue, he might read the word “replied” as “said”. It doesn’t really matter to the content of the paragraph which word is used. He was reading ahead faster than he was speaking and simply plugged in a word that worked.
Rather than your hand moving faster than your brain, maybe your brain is getting ahead of your hand. Of course, if you haven’t had your eyes checked recently, it wouldn’t hurt to make an appointment. My husband and I have both worn glasses since we were children; our 2 oldest wear them too. We know from experience how much your eyes can change in just a year. I think regular eye exams are a good idea.
Before discovering the joys and wonder of Word Processing, I wrote extensively by hand, which is probably why my script is nearly illegible. Now, when I write, I tend to either scribble in script or, if I’d like to read it later, print in mostly capitol letters. I’ve found I can write much faster by keyboard.
Interesting. I have a similar problem. I am always confusing my lower case b and lower case d. If I’m printing something out and a word has one of these to letters in it I sometimes have to stop and think a second or two about which is which. No other problems with my writing or reading. Weird huh?
I’m a bit like you, Bazooka Joe…Though I normally confuse my lowercase d and g…for some reason I write them interchangibly. Its kind of annoying to have to study from my notes after!
“d” and “g”, you say, mnemosyn? Halleluja, I’m not as much of a freak as I thought! This happens to me all the time, both in writing and typing (thank IPU for the backspace key), but only lowercase. I’ve never been able to figure out the connection between those two letters, though… Anyone have any clue?
In the last four years, I have been completely unable to consistently get “Right” and “Left” out of my mouth when speaking of directions. If you ever asked me for directions, I’d do my best but wouldn’t get you anywhere you needed to go. Lots of “Okay, so at this street, you want to make a left. Go down three- I’m sorry. Make a right (pointing left) thataway. No wait, that’s a left. Anyway, go down another three streets and make a, uh, a-a right. Yeah, a right.”
And for what it’s worth, I couldn’t tell the difference between Right and Left this whole election season…
I think I do it when I type, too, but I’ve never really noticed for sure…I know i switch q and g in typing…some fonts make them look the same to me.
I really have no clue as to why I do the g-d switch, though. Maybe because they KIND of look similar? At least in writing, you start both off with the same shape, then one goes up, while the other goes down. q is like that, too, i suppose. Just same beginning shape and your brain finishes it off without really knowing which letter you actually WANT to write.