Saturday, September 25, 2021, 00:06
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of an ambidant? The theoretical definition refers to “a person who uses the extremities of the two sides of his body with the same skill”, a kind of ‘super power’ with which he can write with both hands without any difficulty or suck a ball with identical expertise, both with the right leg and with the left huge. But the reality is another. «Birth -Amidextuur is not an advantage, because it is a poorly arranged lateralization. In other words, what happens in the brain of an amidiestro (only 3% of the population) is that it has not developed complete dominance by right or left. It is as if he stayed in someone’s country, “explains Fabiola García Vaz, spokesperson for the Neuropsychology section of the Spanish Neurology Society (Sen).
And the lack of this brain specialization on one of the two parties translates in many cases into spatial guidance problems, problems in literacy and even language. «That is why, what seems to be an advantage in theory, it is not really that much. Our brain is divided into hemispheres and although both work in a coordinated way, each of the sides is about a specific area (laterality). While the left hemisphere is in principle responsible for processing verbal information, communication or writing, the right one is involved in spatial orientation, in addition to other aspects. Hence the importance of children who develop sufficient brain specialization, regardless of whether it is on the right or left, ”says the specialist.
– From what age does our dominant side manifest?
As explained by the neurologist Pablo Eguía, this side begins to be clear in the 5 years that is already 6 or 7, practically established. “With young children we can start to realize when they see them suck the ball or look at which hand they draw,” says the Sen -Klinker. In any case, from the point of view of neuropsychology, “you can – and also successfully – work to help a child define his dominant side in a natural way,” says García Vaz. “In the reading phase it is frequent and normal for a child to confuse the ‘P’ with the ‘Q’ or to read ‘instead of’ the ‘is right -handed or left -handed. The alarms jump when it keeps doing it as soon as that learning stage is over.
From adult leather
The last studies indicate that “the brain of an Ambidioso sometimes works in a way similar to that of the left, what happens is that it is not done with completing this side,” experts say. A fact: boys more often use the left hand (12%) than girls (8%). The reason? “It has been tried to relate to genetic, hormonal, pathological aspects, etc., so much that there are straight people and that there are more men who dominate the left limbs, but the truth is that the reason is unknown,” Pablo Eguía admits.
What needs to be done is to force the left to write with the right and vice versa. The professional association of pedagogeneous and psychopedagogues warns that changing the manual preference of a child has consequences in their learning, because it “is contrary to the nature”, a confirmation that SEN shares in considering that, although changing the dominant side does not cause important changes in the child, the minor dare “. «The functional domination on the one hand on the other does not mean that there are no skills on the non -dominant side. Without a doubt, a child with a well -acting can learn to write with his left hand and on the contrary whether he is taught at a young age, but it is not recommended, ”says Eguía.
If the ambidextry can be an extra difficulty in learning as a child, the domain of the limbs of both sides in the adult stage is “a matter of training,” says neuropsychologist Fabiola García. And sets a few examples. «A pianist will have to develop skills in both hands to touch the piano, regardless of the fact that in his daily life it is good or left. And how do you get it? Testing, there is no other. In this case we can talk about a kind of ‘super power’ in quotes ».
The other case is that people who have no choice but learn how to use the opposite limb. «Although it is true that it is easier to acquire skills, the younger, adults can do this too. The people who have had a kind of accident and forced to stop using the dominant hand can take longer, but will eventually learn to use the other hand to perform all kinds of tasks, ”both experts agree.
“I have been left, but I write with the right because they forced me at school”
There are many people who regard themselves as amidatras, but in reality they are what specialists call counter -over. That is, people – the majority older than 40 – whose dominant side of birth is left, but he learned to use the judge through obligation. “Years ago, children in many schools were forbidden to write with the left and left students, had no choice but to learn to do it on the right,” explains the neuropsychologist Fabiola García Vaz. This is the case of Ramón Varela, 63. When he learned to write, they did not give him the option. «The whole world had to write with the right and nobody asked. Neither teachers nor parents, “he remembers. Now, when he played football with his friends during the break, he always sucks his left or when he brings the ball back with a racket. “It is my natural side for everything that does not write, although I defend myself fairly well with both sides,” he admits.
