Handedness and Developmental Disorder

Abstract

(from the jacket) The notion that handedness is related to developmental disorder has been around for at least 60 years and has enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity. However, the extensive literature on this topic is fraught with controversy. Paediatricians and neuropsychologists frequently assess the handedness of children referred to them, but many remain uncertain how to interpret the significance of their findings. This book will appeal to both researchers and clinicians. It offers a comprehensive and readable account of theoretical aspects of the origins and normal development of handedness and its relationship to cerebral lateralization and intellectual function. Later chapters review the evidence for links between non-right-handedness and various develomental disorders: mental impairment, autism, epilepsy, and disorders of spoken and written language. The emphasis is on understanding the range of underlying mechanisms which might lead to associations between handedness and disorder, and on identifying assessment procedures which can distinguish between different explanations. ((c) 1999 APA/PsycINFO, all rights reserved)