Aspies For Freedom

I walked in on an extraordinary site a couple of days ago.  My youngest child, who just turned 8 last week, had gone into the classroom to paint her jewelry box.  When I went to see how things where going I found her painting the box with her left hand while simultaneous doing a math worksheet with her right.  Now neither her painting nor her writing is exceptional, quite the opposite. What intrigued me was that she did not act as if she were doing anything unusual, as though this was the way one should always paint and do math.

My purpose in posting this is a bit vague. I would like to hear from other ambidextrous members, if there are, any to gain their insights, but I would also like (kind) thoughts from parents, therapists, educators, or just anyone who has one.

I am ambidexterous, however using both at the same time to do different tasks is extraoridinary to me

I'm ambidextrous too. Perhaps it depends on the kind of brain activity I'm involved in, but I have often baffled family members by doing unrelated tasks with each hand simultaneously. Like stirring soup and chopping vegetables - at the same time.

Hubby has taken photos of me when I have fallen asleep waiting for him to come to bed, with a book in one hand and a game boy in the other!

There are a lot of advantages to being able to use each hand for a different task:

I can type and write with either or both hands; I can be typing a post here with one hand, and doing a Sudoku puzzle with the other. It was a handy trick when breastfeeding as I could continue filling in puzzles whichever hand was free. Until I had twins!

Or playing catch with one of the children while writing a letter…

The only thing I cannot do, is the simultaneous execution of similar tasks. I cannot, for instance, write two different things at the same time. I cannot play catch with two children and two balls. I think that I may be able to use different portions of my brain at the same time; I cannot make the same part of my brain do two different things! Painting and writing, yes. Both hands painting, no.

Oh yes, the 'reading upside-down print' thing!

All my relations and I have always been baffled by puzzle pages where the answers are printed in plain view next to the puzzle.

Perhaps someone can answer this: is it assumed that the vast majority cannot read upside-down stuff? I was told that the dalmation visual puzzle cannot be deciphered upside-down by anyone other than those on the spectrum. Is this true? It would be a very simple test! If the dog disappears from the second picture instead of just turning upside-down, you must be NT?!

Right way up:

Upside-down:

I saw the upsidedown dog straight away, but it took me a moment to find it in the rightwaysup version!

I'm ambidexterous with a bit of a lean to the right (maybe because when I was a kid lefties were still being 'converted' to learning to write right-handed) but can't do two things at once.  The hands work, but the eyes and the brain don't.

I'm not good at discerning black-andwhite images, right-side up or no.

Thank you for these insights. Tell me, were you a little slow to master these skills?  Ali has been a "late bloomer" on most motor skills, but I've  been thinking that she is learning everything twice. Her OT said that Ali has very unique ways of approaching tasks -- strategies the OT has never seen, and she's older than I am. Part of me wants to let her see where it takes her and part of me feels that being "functional" is also important. It is a balancing act. I would like to hear more about your experiences. PM if you prefer, though others might also benefit if you post here. Thanks.

Last Fall I finally put the pencil in her right hand and told her to use her right hand.  At 7.5 I felt she simply needed to be able to write legibly. I still torment myself about whether I should have done it. She still has letters that take a walk, and 8 often comes in as infinity (thought you all might appreciate that ), but legibility is much better since I've made her choose a hand and stick with it.  What are your thoughts regarding your own experiences?  And do not play nicey-nice simply to assuage my mommy guilt.

I could read by the time I was two, but couldn't write for years. My mother said that all my first attempts were in mirror-writing. With a left-handed mother and a pianist father I was inevitably going to be confused as to which hand to use, but my mother encouraged me to use my right hand as much as possible as she knows how hard it is for lefties to cope in a right-handed world.

It took months of hard slog to learn to balance on a bicycle (I got one when I was eight)

Although I loved ball games as a kid I wasn't actually good at them until I had spent years learning what was likely to happen in each situation. In hockey I was put in goal as I couldn't work out what was happening fast enough if I played on the field. In racquet games I used to win by confusing the opposition!

I had 24 hours of driving lessons before I finally 'got' the whole co-ordination thing and could follow what was going on outside the car instead of what I was doing inside.

To find out whether a child is left-handed, right-handed or ambidextrous I have been told to look to see which hand they use to catch a soft object thrown at their face. Instinct will, apparently, make the faster part of their brain do the job of protection. Lefties will use their left hand, right-handers their right, and confused kids like me will get hit in the face while their brain argues with itself!

My brain eventually resolved the problem, and now I automatically use my left hand for throwing/catching and (mostly) my right hand for writing. That is why I can happily play catch (left-handed) while writing.

If I use a computer mouse, I use it with my left hand, leaving my right hand free for writing.

Encourage your daughter to develop different skills with each hand. See what she can manage with a xylophone. If she happily learns to play with two sticks straight away you may have a musician. Or try a guitar, which also requires totally different skills with each hand. She might make a brilliant pianist! I'm not brilliant by any means (I have no ability to put real feeling into a piece like my eldest son can) but I can play quite complicated pieces up to about grade five level - and I have never had any lessons.

As to which hand she should write with - ask her to write a sentence with her right hand, then the same sentence with her left. Whichever is more legible should be the hand she concentrates on.

I can't even recognise the top, picture without you telling me.

I've always enjoyed throwing officials a curve ball by reading upside-down - not deliberately turning documents upside down for the practise, just reading stuff on their desk that they don't think I can read, where perhaps they tell me what something says and I point out that it doesnt, because contrary to their assumptions I can clearly read it...that's happened a few times

It does seem to be a talent that's uncommon, though whether it's spectrum-related is debatable

^I recognised both dogs pics straight away...but then, I've seen that Dalmatian pic before and so was expecting to see them.

I think Ambidexterity can be trained...
I taught myself to juggle.

And when do painting or make sculpture I use both hands (I still use my right hand primarily when I'm sketching).
But I still have trouble working out my left from my right hand...something that was highlighted today when I attempted to play twister with my son.

^ LOL when I was learning to drive my driving instructor put a left and right sticker on the rear view mirror; that way whenever he said turn left, I'd check my mirror and at the same time check which way was left.
I'm also bad at giving directions.

"Turn left!! NO Right...no not that right...the other right!!! AAAhhhhhh....
In the past when someone stops and asks me for directions I'll unintentionally send them the wrong way.--I just get confused.
Now if people ask I just say I'm sorry i don't know.

^ Good to know I'm not alone Korrigan.

I sent someone in completely the opposite direction once because I misheard the name of the place where they wanted to go. Mishearing things, left-right confusion, poor social skills and indecisiveness doesn't make for very good direction giving.
I want to be helpful but it's often better if I try not to be.

Just close your eyes...put your foot down and hope for the best.
if you drive into a river...chances are you've gone the wrong way.

That image reminds me of one time when I was in my high school science class, and the teacher was giving a PowerPoint presentation that had that image in it. As soon as it popped up on the screen I said loudly "I love Dalmatians!", and all the other students were looking at me like I was mentally ill. I was the only person who immediately saw the dog in the picture, and it took at least 30 seconds for anyone else to finally see it (some people never saw it no matter how long they looked). I did not know it was supposed to be an optical illusion; the thought never even crossed my mind that other people couldn't immediately see the dog in the picture.

I can read upside-down as well, albeit more slowly than I can read rightside-up text. Whenever I did those puzzles where they print the answers upside-down next to it, I would just cover up the answers with my hands or just force myself not to glance at them.