Main description:

Handedness is a multidimensional phenomenon co-determined by polygenetic, multifactorial and developmental factors, including possible pathological impact affecting the dominant hand. These multiple factors contribute to the complexity of handedness. It is not surprising that handedness research tends to be as diverse as it is inconsistent, leaving many questions unanswered. Furthermore, handedness is rarely studied from a practice-based perspective, as an influence on the ability to function in everyday life, as is the case with children at school-going age who are still undecided about their writing hand. Writing with the non-dominant hand and thereby switching handedness, can result in numerous problems such as incoordination and learning difficulties. It is thus important for professionals working with children to assess and analyse handedness comprehensively and systematically to avoid switching handedness.

This book perceives handedness as a real-life phenomenon, measured with a standardised multidimensional handedness assessment developed by the author, the Handedness Profile. The literature review provides the theoretical and empirical foundation for this instrument. In addition, a Handedness Typology was developed for analysing and interpreting various handedness profiles. Focussing on atypical handedness particularly in children, the book bridges theory, research and practice, which is mirrored in its three parts that systematically build on each other: (i) Theory and Research critically evaluates relevant literature in the field, (ii) Assessment and Analysis documents the development of the Handedness Profile and the Handedness Typology, and (iii) Implications for Practice contains real case studies also with reference to treatment, using both the Handedness Profile and Typology.

The book offers theory, diagnostic tools and practical guidelines based on many years of experience for therapists, teachers and other practitioners working with children with variable hand use, as well as researchers investigating handedness. In particular, the Handedness Profile and its typology offer comprehensive procedures and guidelines for assessing and analyzing handedness within a new and innovative classification system that has been found to be very useful in clinical practice over the past 20 years. The book could thus make an invaluable contribution to practitioners such as occupational therapists, psychologists, paediatritions, speech therapists as well as researchers.

Contents:

1 Introduction.- 2 Basics of handedness.- 3 Determining handedness.- 4 Possible causes of changing hand use.- 5 The development of the handedness profile.- 6 The current handedness profile.- 7 Proposal of a differentiation system "handedness type with variants" for the analysis of changing hand use.- 8 Ideas for intervention with handicapped children.- 9 Case studies from the field.- 10 A panorama: implication for practice, theory, and research.