I have no idea if DD is a leftie or a rightie

[lucysnowe]

It's just dawned on me I should pay more attention to things, as DD starts school in September . She seems to use her left or right hand pretty much equally I think - is that even possible? This morning she was eating her Cheerios with her left hand (and picking them out of the bowl with her right , I've seen her use scissors with either hand, and when drawing she quite often has a pen in each hand. .

She hasn't really come on much with her writing and now I'm wondering if that's because she has been encouraged to use her right hand?

Is this something I should mention to school, or just leave it, as she's statistically more likely to be a rightie? I am right-handed myself, but DH is a leftie (as is my father). Eek!

I have an ambidextrous DD who chose to write with her right hand at age 7- she was a very concientious and it made her writing less smudgy. When her right hand gets tired she swaps over but then her handwriting looks exactly as it did when she was 7 (age 10 now). She still is left footed and plays all sports with her left and right equally- tennis, throwing balls....Do be on the lookout for dyslexia in your DD. Being ambidextrous is a big clue that the brain distributes certain skills across both hemispheres. It can be a real gift for spacial thinking.

My ds is the same, left footed and uses his left hand for spoons etc mostly but has no real preference when it comes to using a pen, in fact if he's trying hard, to write his name eg, he will put the pen in his left and guide it with his right (or is it the other way round, I can't remember!) I'm hoping he'll decide soon after he starts at school!

I like the spacial thinking thing, horsemad :) hillyhilly, I said to DD this morning which hand she preferred and that at school she might have to decide but I thing she's not sure herself!

Ha, missed the dyslexia thing tho - is this a sign? DH is dyslexic and hated writing. Still does, really.

DS1 is going into Y5 and can write equally badly well with both hands.
There are lots of examples of ambidextrous people that have done very well, or people that use one hand for writing, one for other activities - thinking of the likes of Tandulkar (sp) the cricketer, Mickelson the golfer etc

Yes, horsemad is right to be on the look-out about the ambidextrous/dyslexia link, particualrly if your DH is dyslexic (it often runs in families)

DD was/is fairly ambidextrous - writes as a leftie, eats as a rightie, plays footy with either (though left probably stronger), but no signs of dyslexia and she's now a teen! DH's brother is the only leftie in the whole family and he probably is dyslexic!

We look at it as a real positive. DD regrets that she didn't use both hands equally for writing. Piano lessons are a breeze if you're ambi.

Both my dyslexic children were ambidextrous during their early years. They still hold their knives & forks the opposite way around & I know DS plays football with either foot. DD is now right handed in most areas while DS writes & is generally left handed. I wasn't aware of the dyslexia link till I researched it after the kids were diagnosed. Wish I knew earlier!

I don't know whether there is a dyspraxia link too. My DS is dyspraxic and I know that a really high % are also dyslexic. One of the signs of dyspraxia is no early signs of hand dominance.
One of the common features in dyspraxia is a problem crossing the mid-line. So if the pen was on the left side of the table, it would feel unnatural for them to pick it up with their right hand and cross over this invisible line. So the alternative is to pick it up with the same hand as the side the pen is on. So from an early age, practising grips is entirely dependent on where the item is.

Definitely a link with dyspraxia and dyslexia. My ambidextrous DC's had years of OT to help them establish a dominant hand and to encourage them to cross their midline.

This is because when writing, they both used to get to the middle of the line they were writing, and then swapped hands. This took them twice as long to write anything as they were swapping the pencil to their other hand halfway through the line, and them back again to start the next line.

Lots of getting them to draw spirals, circles, lines, checks and squares, making sure the shapes are large enough to go across the midline of their body, with one hand on A3 paper, first looking at whether they actually prefer one hand over the other.

Both my ambidextrous DC's now have a preference for their left hands. I am also ambidextrous, but while I write right handed, my left hand handwriting is at around a 10yo level of neatness. I do most other things left handed/footed now.

Another tip is to watch your DC when they walk. When they stop, then start walking again, which foot do they step with first? Usually they will 'push off' with the same foot first. Use the hand on that side for writing practice.

All things told to me by the OT.

And following on from the previous poster, lots of exercises like touching your right shoulder with your left hand, and your left shoulder with your right hand. Touching your right foot with your left hand, and your left foot with your right hand.

Do this with her, to her favourite music, make it like a fun shared exercise session.

There will be lots of young children starting school in September without having established hand dominance so don't worry. I would keep an eye on things as it is something that usually develops in reception/beginning of Y1.

Hi guys, thankyou so much! This thread has gone off in a direction I didn't expect but it is all very useful! I have been trying to see if DD does the mid-line thing but haven't had a chance to see her with a pen in her hand yet (she's not very fond of drawing) but I will check out the exercises and walking thing too.

She may still be 'no-handed', i.e. undecided. Ambidextrousness is quite rare. She is still very young.

DS8yo is maybe ambi, he didn't settle on writing with his left until about half way thru yr1 (summer born, so only 5.5yo then).
He eats, does other jobs, with right.
He has good fine motor skills with either hand but is clumsy & uncoordinated in other ways. And hates original composition.

DS4 starts school in September & suddenly switches hands sometimes, very disconcerting.

This is a fascinating thread! Ds1 is ambidextrous still at age 6. He is quite "stiff" which the midline thing describes!

Off to google more! He is definitely not dyslexic though he can read very well, including made up nonsense, but does do some letters/numbers backwards like 2,s and 5.