Need general left-handed advice for older student

[Grantmom]

Hello wise ones,

I need general left-handed advice, and am having a hard time because almost everything I can find is geared towards young kids and just learning to write.  Any lefties here?  Give me everything you've got.  What is most helpful for you?  Do you actually, as an adult, buy special tools or devices made for left-handed people?

 

My left handed child has not had to write a lot until the last couple of years, and he doesn't write very fast.  Now, he is approaching standardized testing like AP tests, and I am worried that this slower speed will handicap him, because he is really, really bright.

 

Also, is it bad if he starts his letters at the bottom as a leftie?  Will that slow him down?  The HWOT books all say, start at the top, even for lefties.  However, what about the whole thing about lefties having to push more when a righty has to pull.  

 

Can someone explain the whole push/pull thing to me?  I mean, I understand it, but I've honestly never found anything that actually addresses it by suggesting that a leftie actually form the letters any different.

 

Any and all advice on living as a left-handed adult in the right-handed world is appreciated!

 

 

Edited November 19, 2015 by Grantmom

[HS Mom in NC]

I have a left handed 10 year old and two left handed adult siblings (one in his 40s, one in his 50s.) It's been a non-issue. No special products for lefties, no special changes to handwriting curriculum.  They just do everything everyone else does, but with their left hands.

[Arcadia]

The high school where my oldest took the ACT use those chairs with attached tables. Luckily he is a right hander or it would be a little uncomfortable. The ACT mail in form ask if the person is a right or left hander. I have not check the SAT mail in form if that is asked.

 

Left handed scissors are useful to have even though the left handers in my classes and my family just use the Swiss army knife instead of right handed scissors.

 

For writing speed, unfortunately it is test prep. I am a slow writer so I write fast for exams and then have a sore hand later. Wooden pencils are actually easier for me but that is ymmv.

 

I always switch my water glass to my left side when fine dining.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Arcadia

[wapiti]

How long until the AP tests?  My hope is that they will eventually become available on computer, like the new SAT is supposed to be.  (I'm not exactly holding my breath, though by the time my 7th graders get there, surely...?)

[Grantmom]

So, no special changes to the way one writes, but what about the whole push/pull thing?  I have read that lefties have to push more when a right-handed person would pull, and therefore it's harder.  So, is it just harder but it should still be done the same way and then they just get used to it?  Is starting at the bottom with some letters slowing him down?  Would it be worth working on changing that?

 

I guess I was always confused by the HWOT books, that were supposedly good for left-handed people, but I never saw any difference, with the exception of which way to slant the paper.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Grantmom

[Grantmom]

I was hoping that too, wapiti.  Although, I don't think that is going to happen for this spring, unfortunately.  

[Arcadia]

What is harder for the left hander is that words are covered as he/she writes. So when writing with my right hand, I can see if I make a silly spelling mistake immediately. When writing with my left hand, I can't see what I have just scribbled.

 

I had to slant my paper regardless of which hand I use to write.

If he is interested in calligraphy in the future, there are left handed sets.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Arcadia

[Grantmom]

Yes, that is another issue, his hand gets covered in ink, or sometimes it smears.  What are the best things to write with?

[Grantmom]

The other thing is that I can't get him to slant his paper so much.  He does a little bit, but I think he could write better if it was more slanted.  He doesn't turn or crook his hand, he just forms the letters in the way that he doesn't need to.

[Arcadia]

If using a pen, try out the fine tip, oil based ball point pens. I avoid the water based ones.

 

ETA:

I slant at 45 degrees. Some people slant less.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Arcadia

[Incognito]

Being left handed isn't that different.  The issue is the smudging.  Get a pen that doesn't smudge, or have him practice paying attention to how he has his hand on the paper to avoid it.  Writing from top to bottom is the faster, more efficient way to do it - handedness doesn't matter.   

 

Writing slowly is an issue for anyone L or R handed - I am not sure how to solve that, but I don't think it is dependent upon which hand is used at all.

 

Personally, I hate leftie tools.  They are generally built in an inferior manner, and when you usually use a tool that is designed one way, then try an opposite one, it is awkward.  I'd feel about as good using leftie things as you would.

 

[Grantmom]

Any particular pens that people who are left-handed love?

[Aiden]

I'm also left handed and don't use any special tools--I tried using my mom's left handed scissors a time or two and just.couldn't.make.them.work. I generally avoid smudging by slanting the paper so that I can see what I'm writing.

 

I don't think left handedness is your son's problem. It's that he's forming the letters inefficiently and he hasn't had sufficient practice to build speed or stamina. I see an increase in copywork coming on ;)

 

My favorite pens are the ones that write well, like the Pilot G-2. I actually couldn't tell you, though, whether or not they smudge. I tilt my paper enough not to find out.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

What about cursive? It is faster with practice than print. I am left handed and love cursive. I hate spiral notebooks since the spiral is in the way. Sewn composition notebooks are better. have slant his paper at least a bit and from letters correctly as in HWT.

[Tanaqui]

I always, always, always use left-handed scissors. Right-handed scissors DO NOT CUT when I try to use them, and I hurt my hand trying, and also, the cutting line is totally obscured. Not all lefties have this problem. Some adapt very well, others simply use their right hands when cutting, but I can't do that. I strongly advise all parents and teachers with left-handed children to have some lefty scissors for said kids. Left-handed means left-handed - not "ambidextrous", which are really righty scissors with funny handles. Lefty scissors are jointed a different way, "backwards". Don't force your kid to use 'em if they don't like them, but have them available.

 

Some people say "Oh, but my kid won't always have access to lefty scissors". I say that this is how a normal human variation can become a disabling condition due to lack of accommodation*. I always have access to lefty scissors, because if there's even a slim chance that I may need to use scissors, I bring my own.

 

I also find that I have a lot less pain when using a left-handed pencil sharpener, but honestly, at this point I've given up on the issue and mostly sharpen pencils with a knife. Anything that requires me to use any form of torque and that isn't ambidextrous by design (like screwdrivers) I either have to use a lefty version or use it in my right hand - can openers I use with my right hand, scissors I buy special, pencil sharpeners I eschew entirely and use knives.

 

I hate spiral notebooks since the spiral is in the way.

 

Now THIS is a problem I never have. LOL, there's always more variation in a group, huh? Pro tip I've picked up from folks with that problem, though - write on the verso side of the page, the "even numbers".

 

* I've spent an awful lot of time in neurodiversity fora over the past two decades. You know you hang with entirely the wrong crowd when you can rattle off phrases like "the disabling attitudes of society" at the drop of a hat. In all seriousness, left-handedness is a great example of a condition that can be mildly handicapping due to society but that isn't inherently problematic, and so I'm very much in the habit of using it as an analogy. Regardless, I am dead serious on the subject of scissors. Those are what I'd save if my house was burning down, presuming that the kids and my cats were already safe.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Tanaqui

[KSinNS]

So dh and I are both left handed (our kids are right, which is weird). But anyway. 

 

Smudging while writing is a huge issue. I use ballpoint pens and make sure I roll up my sleeves if I have to use a pencil. NEVER USE ERASABLE INK! (oh the shirts I ruined) I tend to hook, which is probably why my writing is terrible. Dh has fewer smudge problems, but I'm not sure why.  Actually, I just asked him. He put a piece of paper under his pinky while writing with pencil so it would smudge on the paper, not his hand. Clever. 

 

Left handed tools. I do most things with my right hand-cut with scissors, peel veggies, etc. My folks could never turn it around, so I just learned their way. Dh uses scissors with his right hand but has a left-handed veggie peeler. It's about 25 years old, and the only one he has ever liked. But we do most things with right handed tools, right-handed. Except write, throw balls, etc.

[J-rap]

My daughter is left-handed, and though I don't think writing is much of an issue, cutting sure has been!  I can't believe I didn't get her special lefty scissors until she went to college.  They make all the difference in the world for her!

[JudoMom]

I've got 3 lefties. They all love Pentel Energel pens-they dry instantly and don't smudge.

[Grantmom]

Thank you all for sharing these little tidbits.  You have no idea how helpful it is!

[Kathryn]

I've never used any special instruments. When I was young, spiral notebooks were an issue and before I figured out that I had to take the paper out of a three-ring binder to write, that was as well. For much of school, I turned my paper at a 90 degree angle and sat kind of sideways in my desk whenever I had to write because we had those right-handed desks. There were a few lefty desks, but never enough. I remember smudging a lot when I was young, but the way I write now, I hold my hand below where I'm writing so I don't smudge and I can see what I'm doing.

 

Scissors are annoying because you can't see the line you're cutting on. I've never used lefty scissors, but that would be the most helpful lefty thing I could think of. I used to have a tough time with can openers, but I don't now.

[Jennifer132]

I am left handed, as is my brother, and two of my children. I don't use any special tools for lefties. Instead, I've just learned to do things the righty way...or a wonky way that works for my handedness. As far as writing, I start all my letters at the top. The only unique thing I do is hold my paper completely side ways when I write so that I can see my writing as it progresses across the page. So my only suggestion would be to let the child hold the paper as they please and what feels most natural to them. I do not know about the push/pull thing. Spiral notebooks are the bane of my existence, haha. I remove the paper from a three ring or clipboard to write.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Jennifer132

[sbgrace]

I asked hubby for his thoughts. He likes Cross pens, but he said he has found others in the past that don't smudge. That can be trial and error, but is probably worth the trouble to find one that works for him without smearing. My left handed son prefers a pencil.

 

Hubby told me to get my son left handed scissors when I was puzzled by his mangled cutting style. You want truly left handed ones. I got Fiskars brand, and it is worth the purchase imo. My son can cut with right handed if he has too, but the quality of his cutting is much better with his scissors. I tried to cut with the left handed and realized why it matters!

 

He likes top bound notebooks (not side spirals).

 

Other than that, no special tools here.

 

 I used Getty Dubay italic cursive with him because I think it might be the fastest style and, ideally, we would practice every day to gain fluency and speed. I don't think slow is necessarily about left vs. right handed. If you think there might be a major issue like dysgraphia, you would want a dx for accommodations. Both hubby and son do start some letters from the bottom, and I did use HWOT with my son up till last year when we switched to Getty Dubay. Watching his dad made me decide to quit pushing on top starts that just wasn't sticking anyway. I don't know if it's a mistake. But a connected writing (cursive, cursive italic, whatever) would eliminate some of that concern. Hubby is much more legible when he prints, though, and I think that may end up being true for my son as well.

Edited November 23, 2015 by sbgrace

[Tanaqui]

 I used Getty Dubay italic cursive with him because I think it might be the fastest style and, ideally, we would practice every day to gain fluency and speed. I don't think slow is necessarily about left vs. right handed.

 

Poor handwriting, or poor handwriting speed can be connected to handedness, but I think the connection there is, like, 90% poor instruction and only 10% "our writing system is easier on righties". If you put the effort into teaching good lefty penmanship practice - as you clearly have :) - then, barring a disability, you shouldn't see abysmally bad handwriting.

 

[wathe]

Both my kids are lefties.  True lefty scissors (with reversed blades) have been essential.  They bring their own scissors with them just about everywhere. 

[Soror]

My 2 oldest are both lefties, 11 and 8.5 yo, for my son he writes with his left but sometimes uses his right hand for other activities. I have both left and both handed scissors(my dd's new Fiskar sewing scissors are awesome for both hands- the sewing teaching with a left-handed daughter introduced me to those). Anyway, my daughter who is left-handed has never had an issue writing, she has always loved writing and you would never guess she does it left-handed. My son is quite the opposite and has always had trouble, we've went to typing for a lot of things but I also started him on a writing remediation program this year, Write Now, we too did HWOT when he was younger but I think I started too soon and stopped too early and it just didn't stick. I think I'm already starting to see some improvements with this program. So, in general I do let him type longer assignments but I'm also working on increasing the amount I'm making him write bit by bit -along with the remediation- to hopefully get him able to write a larger volume and more quickly. As to paper we've found we like binders- I just have them write on the back sides of papers instead of the front, so the rings are to the right. Yet again however my left-handed daughter seems to make anything work- although she is more across the board a leftie- so it really does vary by kid, some find it only mildly irritating while it is a huge issue for others.

[sbgrace]

The Write Now book Soror linked is Getty Dubay. I think I might consider trying it in your place, OP.

If I could rewind, I would have used their material from the start.