Ambidexterity is the use of both hands (left and right) with ease. When this condition is present in children, the possibility of the child having mental health, academic, or language problems is always high compared with other children who are either exclusively right-handed or left-handed. This has led teachers, parents, guardians, and health practitioners to pay close attention to such children so that the problems can be identified and solved at an early stage. The actual cause and link to this condition are not yet established but professionals explain it with the brain difference between normal and ambidextrous children.
There is a gap of knowledge on how one can use both appendages equally and have no hand that is dominant, i.e. be capable of using both the right and the left hand on whatever activity without having to rely on one dominant hand. Due to the rareness of such individuals, data on them is hard to accumulate in order to make conclusive investigative research. Indeed, statistics show that only 1 in every 100 people is ambidextrous. Although the data present may be claimed to be accurate and clinically significant, it should not be interpreted to mean that when a child is ambidextrous then he/she has to have the said problems except that are at a greater risk. As stated by Bryner (2010), the statistics show that most of the studied children never exhibited difficulties despite them having this condition.
The research done to link handedness and language included a sample of 8000 children, who were picked from Northern Finland and presented as a specimen in the test. Of the total children picked, 87 were found to be mixed-handed (using either hand), while 90% were right-handed. The research hence compared the mix-handedness and left-handedness to the normal condition (right-handedness) to establish the link with the subject matter.
The research involved filling of questionnaires by the sampled children at different ages (7 and 8, then at 15 and 16) (Bryner, 2010). Teachers and parents also participated in the exercise by giving information on the children’s ability, schooling performance, and behavior in form of questionnaires. The main problems that teachers had to report were “reading, writing or mathematics and then giving a rating on the academic performance, whether average, below or above average” (Bryner, 2010).
The children that were left-handed never showed any abnormality except that they had problems in mathematics when compared to the normal condition or right-handedness. For left-handed children between the age of 7 and 8, a proportion of 30% was more prone to the problem than the right-handed children while the ambidextrous children were 90% more prone to the problem than the normal children (right-handed). In language, the double-handed children at age 7 and 8 were found to be two times more likely to have a problem in languages than the normal-handed individuals (Bryner, 2010).
For the ages of 15 and 16, ambidextrous teenagers were two times more likely to have symptoms of disorders like Attention Deficit or Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) than normal children and the ailments were more severe in ambidextrous children. There were also findings that they had more difficulties in language as compared to the left or right-handed teens, i.e. the right or left-handed individuals had a higher chance of understanding and internalizing the language than the ambidextrous individuals.
The explanations of the results were linked to the brain hemisphere given that handedness has been identified by studies to be linked to the brain. The brain’s left hemisphere has been proved to be dominant in most right-handed individuals and the right side of the brain being linked with left-handed individuals. Handedness can be a measure of the functioning of the brain though not a perfect measure; for accurate results, scientists use magnetic resonance imaging (not possible when conducting with large data) to establish the link (Bryner, 2010). This gives the brain asymmetric proportionality. In addition, the condition makes the brain’s lateralization atypical thus the brain circuitry and functions will be affected and change from normal to abnormal (Bryner, 2010). The change of the brain’s lateralization may be the cause of the possibility of the child having mental health, academic, and language problems.
In conclusion, ambidextrous children have been linked to the possibility of having mental health, academic, and language problems by the research. The accuracy and effectiveness of the report can be certified since human beings’ characteristics may be said to be similar. This research was a precedence to further research that would shape the future of ambidextrous children since the problems involved can be identified. In addition, this research was done in a specific part of the world and hence should be replicated in other areas to confirm and solidify the results. The factors and conditions of the children should be varied so that to ascertain the findings. Moreover, further research should be done to find a cure or solution to the abnormality in children to help them live a positive life.
Reference
Bryner, J. (2010). Ambidextrous kids more prone to mental issues. Live Science. Web.