Around one in nine children are left-handed. Although the days are gone when they were forced to fit in with a right-handed world, left-handed children do have special difficulties that receive little help in most nurseries and classrooms.
One problem is that there is not a simple split between right-handedness and left-handedness. Some children are very strongly left-handed, carrying out all complex manual tasks with their left hand and struggling to use their right hand for such tasks at all. Others can use both hands quite well, showing only a slight preference for the left. In addition, many children may not develop a strong hand preference until the age of seven or eight.
Left-handedness may also lead to difficulties with hand-eye co-ordination. In right-handed people, the left brain is dominant, while in left-handed people, the right brain is dominant. Usually, the left-handed child's left eye is dominant, while the right-handed child's right eye is dominant. Some children are 'cross-lateral', that is, left-handed with right eye dominant. These children often find hand-eye co-ordination more difficult, and may find it hard in particular to throw a ball accurately.
Special problems
There are more left-handed boys than girls, and left-handed children are more likely to be dyslexic or dyspraxic, although the links are not clear. Research has shown that strongly left-handed children are more than ten times more likely to be dyslexic than strong right-handers, and there is anecdotal evidence too; one teacher of a special needs group in a primary school noted that over a third of the children were left-handed. However, there is some evidence that shows that left-handed children are more likely to excel in tasks involving visual-spacial awareness, which can include maths and music.
Some left-handed children learn reading more slowly because they have a tendency to look at the end of a word first, rather than the beginning. Using the finger to point at the beginning of a word can help overcome this. Later at school, left-handed children can face problems with writing. As the pen moves from left to right, the left-handed child's hand covers their work as they write. The hand often smudges the words and the child has to lift their hand to remind themselves what they have written, which can slow them down during tests.
Another difficulty that affects the left-handed child is the use of right-handed implements, such as scissors or pencil sharpeners. When cutting along a line, right-handers are able to line up the scissors using their right eye on the upper blade. If you are right-handed, try shutting your right eye and trying to cut along a line marked on a piece of paper with your left hand and you will see the difficulty for a left-hander. When cutting along a curve or spiral, the left-hander will find it easier to cut clockwise, and the right-hander easier anti-clockwise.
Advice and aids
There are certain tips that will help left-handers write better which need to be taught early before the child becomes frustrated and gets into habits that are hard to correct. The Left-Handers Club produces a fact-sheet on handwriting and also a short video for teachers and parents that is sponsored by the Teacher Training Agency.
A number of aids are available for left-handed children. A three-point pencil grip that slides over a pencil can help get the hand position right. Left-handed scissors are a boon, and there are also left-handed rulers (calibrated from right to left, enabling the child to rule a line from right to left, pulling the pen rather than pushing it), left-handed pencil-sharpeners, and pens with special nibs for left-handers. The organisation Anything Left-Handed can provide a wide range of left-handed equipment for home and school.
Young children who are left-handed may become frustrated, avoiding tasks that they find difficult. A little knowledge, understanding and some practical help can avoid this and give left-handers the same opportunities as the right-handed majority.
Useful contacts
* The Left-Handers Club, 18 Avenue Road, Belmont, Surrey SM2 6JD, tel: 0208 715 1594
* Anything Left-Handed, head office for mail order: 18 Avenue Road, Belmont, Surrey SM2 6JD, tel: 0208 770 3722; shop: 57 Brewer Street, London W1F 9UL, tel: 0207 437 3910
