Reading upside down

Here are some posts about reading upside down. One of the things that slows Anselm down is that he often changes the direction of reading to right to left, even mid-word. The phenomenon seems to be a little mysterious; it's quite intriguing from the point of view of brain mechanisms. Myself, I always preferred to read and write at about 80 degrees.

I have a friend in my homeschool group who accidentally discovered that her 6 year old son can read a book better upside down rather than right side up. She was writing out a sentence for her other child, when her son, who was sitting across from her, read it back to her. Surprised, she asked him about reading upside down, and he said it didn't know why, but it was easier. She then gave him back his reader that he had just struggle through and asked him to read it upsidedown. He did it with very little effort. She is really stumped by this and I said I would research it out for her. If anyone has ever heard of this, please write back.


I have heard of it because I can do it. I'm in my 40s. Have always been able to read upside down text and at least as fast as reading right side up. I can write and draw upside down characters/images as well. I have a few "funny people" tricks I attribute to my Dyslexia.And to give your friend hope: I have two university degrees, been published multiple times and run two successful corporations.


My son reads better upside down than right way up too. He can't copy from the blackboard and reads quicker and with more understanding in his head (silently) than out loud. He is very bright in math and is ambidextrus (spelling?). He is a clear logical thinker and is very sociable and has no behavioral problems whatsoever, however, he can't find his shoes when they are just in front of him (man thing?)!


I'm 41 years old, and I have been reading upside down for the past 16 years. As a kid, I struggled to read. I had trouble tracing left to right on a page. I would get headaches and would get very frustrated. I was very good in math and spelling, and I read mostly Cliff Notes to get through High School and undergrad college. Up till I was 25, I could count the amount of books read for pleasure on one hand. I must say my vocabulary was horrific.The day I picked up a magazine upside down and started reading transformed me. It felt easy and natural. Since then, I've completed my masters in engineering with a 4.0/4.0 and my MBA (magna *** laude). I moved from Boston MA to England to run a business unit for a public company. More importantly, I have discovered the joy of reading that has eluded me for half of my life.I cannot do math upside down, so I'm curious as to how the brain is wired for this. I've been searching for years to find if there is a specific diagnosis for this.