Help! Left handed child

K

kls518

New Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2007
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Can my left handed daughter sign "backwards" or should I teach her to be a righty for purposes of signing? I think it is frustrating to her to sign right, but if it will be a problem, I might as well start working on it now. Thanks.
 
kls518 said:
Can my left handed daughter sign "backwards" or should I teach her to be a righty for purposes of signing? I think it is frustrating to her to sign right, but if it will be a problem, I might as well start working on it now. Thanks.
Click to expand...

If i were you... I would let its nature takes its course... My late husband was left handed... It was no problem at all....
 
Just let her sign with whichever hand is most comfortable for her. If she is normally left handed when she writes and eats, then let her sign left handed.

In the descriptions of signs, the phrases "dominant hand" and "non-dominant hand" are used instead of "left hand" and "right hand" for the very reason that some signers are lefties and some are righties.

When you are teaching or practicing signs, just think in terms of "dominant/non-dominant" instead of "left/right", and it will be less confusing. :)
 
I certainly agree with Sxyporky and Reba. It would be like signing into a mirror, still easy to read, despite some books teaching which hand to use. I always thought that was for ease of instruction, but you could switch if you needed to.

Years ago, elementary teachers were taught to force lefties to write with their right hands. It caused all kinds of problems with the sides of the brain driving certain motor functions for the individual. Now prevailing wisdom is to let your daughter use whichever hand pleases her.

I'm sure there are still some rigid instructors out there, but most agree hand preference shouldn't be forced.
 
It was a teacher who first corrected her! Public school......uggh. I was tending in the direction you all suggest, but I needed some backup. Thanks.
 
I am left-hand and nothing wrong. Nothing to be left out... Smile
 
well my sister and my nephew are left handed
my sister write so well on her left hand and my nephew is getting there doing well writing

i can read backward words well unless i study the words hard.
 
Im left handed and so far Ive not had any problems. Just have her use whichever hand is the most comfortable.
 
kls518 said:
It was a teacher who first corrected her! Public school......uggh. I was tending in the direction you all suggest, but I needed some backup. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Public school teachers who have no deaf education or deaf studies degrees have no clue!

Dont listen to that teacher..let your daughter sign however she feels comfortable with and if those teachers are forcing her to sign in a way that she is not comfortable with, I suggest call an IEP meeting. I have a student who is left handed and her ASL is extremely fluent (she is from a deaf family). Being left-handed had no impact on her ASL.
 
Didn't you know that, in Australia - being left handed in sign language is more easier to read? And also, it does not matter whether you are left handed, despite you are NOT left handed in writing - that doesn't matter either. ;)
 
Reba said:
When you are teaching or practicing signs, just think in terms of "dominant/non-dominant" instead of "left/right", and it will be less confusing. :)
Click to expand...

Totally agree. In my classes there was one left-handed girl and occasionally the teacher had to give her some special direction. But I've signed with and interpreted for lefties with no issues at all. I think she'll learn better if she is more comfortable using her naturally dominant hand.
 
Like everyone said let her be.

I had a classmate from elementary school who was a lefty and he funtioned just fine in sign language. We found him understandable.
 
Signing lefty is very natural. It's funny. There have been times that I've been signing with a Deaf person all morning before it dawns on me, "Oh, you're a lefty!" :lol:
 
That's pretty strange. I wonder if the teacher worries about the size of the brain. If she signs more on the left hand, it makes her brain bigger on the right side. If both signs, it would make her brain's size same balance.
:stupid:
 
kls518 said:
It was a teacher who first corrected her! Public school......uggh. I was tending in the direction you all suggest, but I needed some backup. Thanks.
Click to expand...

It is very wrong of a teacher who tries to make a child using right hand... My late husband told me he got confused for long time when teachers made him using right hand....

I believe in letting a child using left or right hand whatever feels comfortable..
 
I am both a regular edu. certified and deaf edu. certified teacher. The child should be allowed to use the dominant hand she is comfortable with - which in this case, is her left hand. I have a hutch that the teacher is "picky" about perfecting hand formations - if so, s/he needs to stop that as well. Receptive language comes before expressive...as hearing babies don't start talking in perfect speech with perfect articulation, deaf children don't start signing with perfect hand formation and syntax. Provide plenty of good language exposure (modeling), and usually the child will improve expressive skills.
 
Watch out for Repetitive Strain Injury

Forcing dominant hand reversal can lead to repetitive strain type injuries, as the weaker hand is forced to do the more work.

My husband is lefty, and signs completely left (except for C .. never worked that one out (Auslan - two handed alphabet)).

And my daughter is right handed, but signs lefty ... very confused in this house :)
 
Signing left-handed is like writing left-handed... let it happen.

I think teaching sign language to a left-handed person is easier... just like looking in a mirror.

I had a teacher in elementary school who was so cruel that she would force her deaf left-handed students to sign and write right-handed. This caused those students to fall behind in school and resulted in the students' parents reporting on the teacher. This teacher finally stopped... after all, she retired. Whew!
 
I have been teaching Asl mostly basic and I tell the students that it does not matter which hand to sign. Most of the students have asked me if they have to use right handed sign language. I tell them that it does not matter which hand to sign as long it is easier to read. The hearing students are very relieve to know that they can sign left handed. We go on doing the sign language lessons and we all are happy about it. :h5:
 
Back
Top