While scanning headlines on my Facebook news feed the other day, my eye caught sight of the words “ADHD” and “ambidexterity” and a surge of cortisol washed through my body. I will admit that being a psychologist definitely affects who I am as a parent. In many ways, my education, training, and clinical experience have provided me with a storehouse of knowledge that I have utilized in my quest to be a “good enough” parent. On the other hand, knowing all those things and having the capacity to access even more information with the tap of my finger via the worldwide web has seriously
impacted my stress levels in regards to parenting my two young sons. As health care professionals we know we are not supposed to self-diagnose those close to us, but oftentimes I find myself wondering (and worrying) about my kids’ developments.
You have probably guessed by now that my preschooler appears to be ambidextrous at this point in his life. He loves to switch hands when using a fork or spoon and colors with both hands too. Just when I think he is beginning to favor one hand, he throws me for a loop and starts using the other hand. In addition to his potential ambidexterity, my son happens to be a fairly active young boy. Granted, I grew up in an all girls family (minus my dad, of course), so in comparison to me and my sister, my three-year-old definitely seems hyperactive to me. If you’re wondering whether I’m just reading too much into things, I have tried to get more objective, neutral feedback from other people in my son’s life, including teachers, his pediatrician, his grandparents, his occupational therapist, etc. I’m pleased to say that, for the most part, these other observers have noted that although he can be “restless” at times he is, overall, a “sweet” boy. I’ve also gotten this response, “He is a boy.” I’m not sure that last one ever really sinks in for me because it doesn’t provide any comfort to a concerned mama, but, apparently, it’s the “go to” descriptor for many of my son’s behaviors.
So, back to the article I mentioned above. Upon closer examination, the article reported some findings from a Finnish study on 8,000 mixed-handed individuals which demonstrated an “increased risk for linguistic, scholastic, and attention-related difficulties.” At age eight, these kids were “twice as likely to have language and academic difficulties” when compared to their peers and at age 16, they were “twice as likely to have symptoms of ADHD – and their symptoms were more severe” when compared to mono-dexterous teens. Fortunately, one thing I learned in my studies is that correlation does not equal causation. In other words, per the article, ambidexterity is not causing these problems, it is merely a crude measure of how the brain actually works, and is only one risk factor among many. The article concludes with some thoughts on how nurture affects the developing brain in utero – a 2008 study found that women who experienced stressful life events or depression during pregnancy were more likely to give birth to children who became ambidextrous – an excellent reminder to engage in active self-care to all those moms-to-be out there. (On a side note, yes, my mind did immediately flash back to my own pregnancy and being on-call during my last trimester while on internship – another cortisol spike, I’m sure!)
I have vowed to not be one of those parents who has her head in the sand when it comes to my children, and, perhaps, I have swung over too far on the other end of the pendulum. But I still believe early intervention is key whatever the issue may be. In a culture where ADHD can be overly diagnosed, I choose to take a few deep breaths, wait, watch, get informed, consult and continue to unconditionally love my son’s “unusually symmetrical brain.”
For the full article I am referring to in today’s post, see http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ambidexterity-and-adhd/
You have probably guessed by now that my preschooler appears to be ambidextrous at this point in his life. He loves to switch hands when using a fork or spoon and colors with both hands too. Just when I think he is beginning to favor one hand, he throws me for a loop and starts using the other hand. In addition to his potential ambidexterity, my son happens to be a fairly active young boy. Granted, I grew up in an all girls family (minus my dad, of course), so in comparison to me and my sister, my three-year-old definitely seems hyperactive to me. If you’re wondering whether I’m just reading too much into things, I have tried to get more objective, neutral feedback from other people in my son’s life, including teachers, his pediatrician, his grandparents, his occupational therapist, etc. I’m pleased to say that, for the most part, these other observers have noted that although he can be “restless” at times he is, overall, a “sweet” boy. I’ve also gotten this response, “He is a boy.” I’m not sure that last one ever really sinks in for me because it doesn’t provide any comfort to a concerned mama, but, apparently, it’s the “go to” descriptor for many of my son’s behaviors.
So, back to the article I mentioned above. Upon closer examination, the article reported some findings from a Finnish study on 8,000 mixed-handed individuals which demonstrated an “increased risk for linguistic, scholastic, and attention-related difficulties.” At age eight, these kids were “twice as likely to have language and academic difficulties” when compared to their peers and at age 16, they were “twice as likely to have symptoms of ADHD – and their symptoms were more severe” when compared to mono-dexterous teens. Fortunately, one thing I learned in my studies is that correlation does not equal causation. In other words, per the article, ambidexterity is not causing these problems, it is merely a crude measure of how the brain actually works, and is only one risk factor among many. The article concludes with some thoughts on how nurture affects the developing brain in utero – a 2008 study found that women who experienced stressful life events or depression during pregnancy were more likely to give birth to children who became ambidextrous – an excellent reminder to engage in active self-care to all those moms-to-be out there. (On a side note, yes, my mind did immediately flash back to my own pregnancy and being on-call during my last trimester while on internship – another cortisol spike, I’m sure!)
I have vowed to not be one of those parents who has her head in the sand when it comes to my children, and, perhaps, I have swung over too far on the other end of the pendulum. But I still believe early intervention is key whatever the issue may be. In a culture where ADHD can be overly diagnosed, I choose to take a few deep breaths, wait, watch, get informed, consult and continue to unconditionally love my son’s “unusually symmetrical brain.”
For the full article I am referring to in today’s post, see http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ambidexterity-and-adhd/
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