Left or right-handed?

You don’t mention writing. Which hand do you use to write with? I think that’s usually considered the most important indicator of handed-ness.

You might be ambidextrous. Means you use both hands for a number of things. I’m surprised your therapist didn’t mention this possiblity.

My father is an ambi. He’s a painter and uses his right hand to write with (very poor handwriting) and either hand to paint with. He generally considers it a pain. He believes if his brain had simply “commited” to developing one hand or the other, his fine motor skills would be better.

I have read that there is some anectotal connection between handedness and all these interesting learning disabilities.

Edited to add, I’ve got a sister and brother who both are lefties. I’ve got a sister who’s a righty, like myself. Though I’m the only one with a LD (I believe). I think it’s interesting. And Dad probably is LD.

I’m ambidextrous — paint, use screwdrivers, etc. with either hand depending on which fits best. I learned to write with the right just because it was more convenient to do the same as everyone else. It is not a problem, in fact a feature for reaching into those hard corners. And I am very high level in both math and language.

No, she said i was not ambidextrous… So what am I then, :lol:

hesterprynne, do you remember where you have read that?

I use my right hand to write and mostly my left hand to use the keyboard!! That’s weird…

Ellyodd — I think somebody is misunderstanding something here — you are either right-handed or left-handed or ambidextrous; if you are able to use your hands at all those are the only choices.
OK, there is a question of degree. Very few people are 100% right or left handed; the question is which hand you *favour* the *great majority* of the time. But if you don’t favour either hand and use both fairly equally, then yes, that is what ambidextrous means.
I am basically ambidextrous but since the world favours right-handers my right has been more trained — but I still switch unconsciously to my left to reach into those odd corners, turn the bolts or paint that difficult detail.

But everybody tells me that being ambidextrous means that you can use both hands doing the same things equally (sorry, cant spell it) - and that is not the case with me - i cant do anything equally with my hands at all.

But that means ambidextrous too, then? Then there is 2 kinds of ambidextrous.

My husband is “left” handed. He writes with his left hand. But like most people who are left handed, it isn’t completely that way. He bats right handed for example. But still he generally is left handed. He is typical in that way.

I, on the other hand, am completely right handed and right dominant. It is much more difficult for me to kick a ball, for example, with my right foot than my left.

Two of our kids have some LD characteristics (one more than the other). Both have “mixed dominance” which may be what you are describing. This is when you are right handed, for example, but lead with your left foot when you walk. Mixed dominance is common for people who are LD. The therapist who has worked with my kids tells me it really isn’t that important what hand or foot they use as long as they are consistent. For years my LD son couldn’t decide which hand to catch a baseball with, for example. That is a sign of neurological disorganization.

The fact that you do different tasks with different hands suggests to me that you probably didn’t have a clear dominance and that over time you just learned to do some things with different hands.

Beth

Old joke:
A guy breaks his fingers. The doctor splints them up and reassures him that the hand will work perfectly after it heals; he’ll be able to do anything at all he he wants to with it. He asks “Will I be able to play the piano?” “Yes, says the doctor, you’ll be able to play perfectly.” The guy responds “Gee, that’s wonderful! I never could play the piano beofre.”

The point is that there are two things involved: (a) basic functionality, and (b) practice and training.

If you *can* use both hands well and comfortably to do work involving fine coordination, then your basic function is ambidextrous.
But then you train and practice either or both hands to do various things. Violinists train their left hands for many years. Real pianists train both hands. Good typists train both hands. Baseball players train the left to catch and the right to throw. In terms of general body control, skiers and gymnasts and swimmers train both sides of the body.

In my case, I had no favoured side at all so I decided to learn to write with my right hand since that’s what most people do. My right hand baving been trained to do fine work and thus being stronger, I tend to pick up tools etc. with it. But I constantly switch when the left reaches a particular job better. I used to do this without thinking; now with all this discussion of handedness I’ve become more aware of how often I do it.