He kept switching hands and didn't develop much finger strength.
After a school year with weekly OT, we seemed to have settled on writing with our right, but we still use our left alot.
I guess my question is how can I learn more. Thanks!
FWIW: I'm mixed-dominant, with near-full ambidexterity now. I've worked on developing skills with both hands all my life.
I see this as a valuable extra ability and have never, ever tried to exclude/favor one hand. So, I play racket sports with two hands. Switching the racket to my other hand gives me an advantage because I can get to a shot on the other side of the court that would be unreachable if I had to use backhand (but I still use backhand sometimes).
As the years have passed, my ability to write with the non-dominant writing hand (right) has improved considerably. I'm pretty comfortable now writing with my right hand. This is a major, major advantage if I injure my left hand.
I guess I'm trying to understand why you/the OT want your son to "choose" one hand. If he's naturally inclined to use both, what's wrong with letting him do what comes naturally? His writing may lag behind a bit, but in the end, if he can write with two hands, isn't that an advantage?
Also, I remember VERY clearly how sore everyone's hands got when we were learning to write in 1st grade. I can still see a girl named Nyla shaking her hand and saying "Ow! Ow!" I had this problem then too, and it happened later when my comfort level with my right hand changed and I was able to use that hand to write for longer periods.
Just my 2c.
Val
