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Primary education

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Original poster

Left handed child struggling with writing. Advice needed.

54 replies

peachesandpickles · 21/12/2013 09:07

My dd is in Yr R. She has an early winter birthday so is not one of the younger children.

She is left handed and is having problems with writing. Her letter formation is all over the place and she writes almost entirely in mirror writing.

I spoke to her teacher a few weeks ago and she is not very concerned as she says getting to grips with phonics/reading is the priority and she is doing really well with that. They seem to do quite a bit of writing in school though and she is clearly behind.

I have been helping her at home but the problem is when she writes in reverse she sees it the same as the correct way. When we do tracing letters etc she can do it but freehand it's all backwards.

She tries so hard and I want to help in the right way and not discourage her.

Has anyone any ideas?

She is really good at art by the way, loves to draw and is good at it and is the neatest colourer in her class according to the teacher.

OP posts:
greenhill · 21/12/2013 09:22

Try not to worry, it will sort itself out over time. If your DD is a neat colourer, that means she will have good pen control.

My DD was exactly the same, now at 6yo, she has very neat cursive writing and although she does still do the odd random capital letter at the start of a word in the middle of a sentence, the mirror writing and reversals ironed itself out when she was 5yo.

Just make sure you have plenty of different art mediums at home: felt tip pens, crayons, paints, pencils, chalk etc and my DC loved Aquadraw too. I used the wipe clean letters and number books which showed my DD the template for the letters and she could copy them and wipe them away if they were the wrong way round. A magnetic drawing board was good too, again the pictures, letters and numbers can be wiped away and practiced repeatedly.

LindyHemming · 21/12/2013 10:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RiversideMum · 21/12/2013 17:56

Make sure the teacher sits her on the LHS of a table. LH children tend to sit at more of an angle then RH children.

TalkinPeace · 21/12/2013 21:29

mirror writing is not a problem - I still find it an amusing skill
she'll settle in time
she's only in year R
if its not settled by the middle of year 1, then worry

GwendolineMaryLacey · 21/12/2013 21:48

Another one with a lefthander in year 1 here. Last year we did have some issues with mirror writing etc but it's all ironed out now with very little effort. I'm more concerned that last year they were trying hard to ensure that she wrote 'straight'. This year they don't seem to worry and she's starting to hook her hand round the paper. My left handed brother does that and his writing is shocking. My left handed father doesn't and his is lovely and effortless.

CoffeeQueen187 · 21/12/2013 21:57

I'm a lefty and I can't remember having problems with learning to write.

However, I have the paper turned on its side when I'm writing, so I write from top to bottom instead of left to write. Would it maybe help your dd to turn the paper round?

storynanny · 21/12/2013 22:06

Yes to turning paper at an angle, yes to sitting on lefthand side of table. Also a softer leaded pencil as lefthanders often press harder.
Try not to worry. The only thing I would suggest keeping an eye on is making sure "hook" position is not adopted as later on it can lead to ink being smudged.
In my experience as a lefthanded teacher, many lefthanders eventually have beautiful handwriting.

sashh · 22/12/2013 10:51

Have you considered dyslexia?

I don't notice mirror writing, I just read it and I'm suprised others can't.

Oh and Leonardo de Vinci's notes are in mirror writing so she is in good company

lljkk · 22/12/2013 12:09

I have a lovely note from LH y1-DS written entirely backwards! He mostly write forwards so am not worried.

TimeIsAnIllusion · 22/12/2013 12:16

I'm LH and can read and write mirror writing no problem.
Dd2 is LH - just began secondary school - handwriting is bloody awful. My y1 5y old is neater.
She slouches, doesn't angle the paper, has a hooked grip and scrawls worse than a gp! However she can colour in fine.
She has joint hypermobility and low muscle tone too. I just had her reassessed by physio at a strong request (dr didn't want to refer her) and they've said it's not the joint hypermobility or muscle tone that's the issue - they suggested she might just be a bit slow verbally at the appointment but didn't write that in the summary.
Had parents eve recently - teachers saying she's ahead of targets though work can be scruffy.
I've been told it's too late at 11 to correct her hooked grip.

throckenholt · 22/12/2013 12:16

I have a left handed DS who also wrote from right to left across the page and in the words as well.

He grew out of it - can't quite remember when - but it was probably before the end of Y2 - no big deal.

FWIW - he has better writing and finds it easier than my two right handers.

TimeIsAnIllusion · 22/12/2013 12:19

Sorry the above is all about me - not really advice - I would push to get help with any issues now - particularly with encouraging good posture and grip as I've been told by age 11 it's too late.Hmm
Can't believe she's been in state education all these years - is of average intelligence and yet her handwriting is appalling. The school complain it's appalling but nobody's suggested a plan of action other than telling her her writing is not neat! :-/

TimeIsAnIllusion · 22/12/2013 12:20

I have tried all manner of grips/fancy pens to help but to no avail.
Her favourite is the rub out biro so she can rub out and try again!

SapphireMoon · 22/12/2013 15:51

Have you tried left handed stabilio pencils TimeIsAnIllusion?

TalkinPeace · 22/12/2013 17:04

left handed pencils
WOW the marketing men have done their job well
what is a "left handed pencil" FFS?

the sharpened lead of a pencil is round
the nib of any ballpoint or fibretip pen is round
my fountain pen only became asymmetrical after 20 years of use (it being steel after all)

blimey falimey
we are not disabled
just wired the other way round, generally to our own academic benefit

TalkinPeace · 22/12/2013 17:12

PS
DH just said he can sell you some very reasonable left handed toilet roll

and DS has got a very expensive design for a left handed X-box controller

Xmas Grin
mrz · 22/12/2013 17:20

try www.amazon.co.uk/Stabilo-EASYergo-3-15mm-Handed-Retractable/dp/B002SAFIOS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1387732752&sr=8-3&keywords=left+handed+stabilo+pencil TalkinPeace they are shaped to ensure left handed child/adult uses the correct grip

TalkinPeace · 22/12/2013 17:29

mrz
but there are as many 'grips' as there are people
I hold a pen differently than either of my parents or my husband (all also left handed)
my children hold pens differently (both right handed)
three of my grandparents were also left handed - some had beautiful writing, some had dire

can you tell in year 6 by looking at a piece of work which hand the child holds the pen in ?

its just marketing bilge catering to the worried well

bring on the left handed x-box controller ....

mrz · 22/12/2013 17:45

Yes TalkinPeace you can often tell which hand a child holds the pen and which use an effective grip and it is often the child with a poor grip who complain their hand hurts and the child who produces very little work.

I'm afraid you are a little late with the idea of a games consol controller www.amazon.co.uk/Playstation-Left-Handed-Controller-PS2/dp/B001IKYRUK/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1387733985&sr=8-16&keywords=left+handed+games+controller

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/XBOX-360-LEFT-HANDED-SOUTHPAW-OFFICIAL-CONTROLLER-MOD-SERVICE-/261356535607?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cda103f37

mrz · 22/12/2013 17:46

and left handed nibs for fountain pens have been around at least 50 years

TalkinPeace · 22/12/2013 17:50

mrz
I know about left handed nibs - I had one fitted to one of my pens and had it taken off because I do not write with a hook grip

and yes, I have left handed keyboard bits because I like the number pad on the left
but pencils ......
its just a way to extract money from parents who have been provoked into worrying about little things

mrz · 22/12/2013 17:52

We the left handed option are exactly the same price as the right handed pencil so not sure how you work that out.

TalkinPeace · 22/12/2013 17:54

because its ALL madness
give a kid a fat, round, padded pencil and let them work out their own grip

StillaChocoholic · 22/12/2013 17:56

Talkin I think the left handed pens are supposed to more comfortable, my mum bought me one and I struggled to use it. Found out recently that she'd actually bought me the right handed one. Managed to finally use a friends left handed pen and it was comfy but I'm used to regular pens so it doesn't really make much difference.

I second what other posters have said about making sure the paper is at an angle and avoiding the claw way of writing.

mrz · 22/12/2013 18:10

fat rounded pencils encourage poor pencil control Hmm