Writing by hand vs typing

[aargh]

his hand coming from above the pen rather than below if that makes sense

As Amber says, this is what most lefthanders do, often so they can see what they have written.

he does complain of pain after a relatively short time writing

This is usually due to the awkward hand position mentioned above. The nerves are pressed by the tendons or muscles in the wrong way and stretched because of the extreme angle of the hand.

DD writes fluently (joined up) backwards, right to left on (thin) paper - totally messy and illegible to me! Turn the paper over... and it is the neatest, most legible writing.

This is exactly what Leonardo Da Vinci did, so you DD is probably a genius.
Writing "backwards" is more comfortable for a lefthander as is avoids the awkward hand position and consequent pain mentioned above.

Lefthanders have a dominant right side of the brain, usually in charge of visual, spacial and relational functions. Righthanders have a dominant left side of the brain, usually in charge of verbal and analytical aspects. So it is likely for left and right handers to think slightly differently. This is not an exact matter though, as the precise location of brain functions varies from person to person. Some lefthanders will have the functions normally located in the left-hemisphere located in the right hemi-sphere.
It would seem illogical for a lefthander with dominant visual, spatial and relational functions to have poor handwriting. However, their language processing is often (not always) being undertaken by the less dominant hemisphere of their brain and so, even though they are constructing their language effectively and particularly intelligent, it can take longer to organise the thoughts into written form. Lefthanders are often better artists than they are at handwriting.

My DS is ambi-dexterous but I feel at school he chooses to be right-handed in order not to look different. He has no sense of what you mean by left and right. In most people one side of their body feels completely different to the other. In DS both feel the same, so he cannot tell the difference, he has no physical key to indicate "this means left" "this means right" He reads maps perfectly but cannot give or take directions.

[Amber]

My 2 lefties have found Lammy pens best, fwiw...sorry if that contravenes advertising rules on the forum but we have had a thorough test of the market by now, so if we can save a few ink splodges, then that seems fair enough to me.

You could always encourage your DS to take up Arabic or Persian lassett- writing right to left is much easier for left handers.

Edited to add: just saw your comment about left handers often being better artists aargh- this will cause some hilarity in our house, particularly wrt DS1. Let's just say the link is not by any means assured.

[pheasantchick]

My ds also has messy handwriting, not helped by breaking his wrist in year 4. He is now in year 7, and his handwriting seems to have got worst, from trying to write quickly at school? He's right handed.

I think I'll to be strong and get him to practice everyday, and I'll also look up dysgraphia.

[aargh]

My ds also has messy handwriting, not helped by breaking his wrist in year 4. He is now in year 7, and his handwriting seems to have got worst,

Does he get pain or an ache when writing?
Sometimes when a bone mends it can slightly re-align the relationships between muscles, tendons and nerves. If he has any painful symptoms, it may be worth a test to check the alignment of his nerves. This is the sort of thing which gradually gets worse over time.
When my wrist mended, the lump on the end of the ulna grew back larger increasing pressure on the cubital nerve.

[Amber]

Interesting. DD has suffered no fewer than 3 nasty breaks to the arm and wrist, and DS2 broke his elbow. However, their writing was flipping awful beforehand too, so I think maybe in our case this can't explain it.
Realised after writing this that 2 of 3 breaks in DD's case were in her non-writing arm, so doubt that will have been much of a factor.

[pheasantchick]

He hasn't mentioned pain?

Forgot to mention, my ds has tried triangular pencils, stabilo pens etc, as recommended on EPE in the past. Now he's older, he has stopped using them ( too babyish?).

[Belinda]

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[johnd]

My boys' handwriting is shocking but I have found a Parker fountain pen makes then write neater, more joined up and I think they quite like it.

[anxiousp]

Hi all
I am encouraging my son(Yr3) to write neater and quicker..hi teacher suggested tht i should let him use the laptop if he finds tht quicker and easier...i don't agree..i thin he needs to be able to write...when we grow up ..it was very important to have neat handwriting...but I have tried everything with him..just cant't get him to speed up...any suggestions plz.

[pushymother]

My year 3 DC is left handed which came out of left field (pardon the pun) as we don't know anyone else in either family that are lefties. DC handwriting is terrible, even had a handwriting practice folder added to the homework pile. I have not seen much improvement...must admit mine is pretty terrible...DC also complains of pain very quickly in the index finger.

DC is not "hooking" the hand as far as I can tell....also loves to write name backwards. ALso gets 100% in spelling tests only to spell incorrectly in written work all the time. Can't be bothered to start with capital letters or use puncuation and has to be constantly reminded. Are these age related issues? End of July birthday....