Write with Your Non-dominant Hand in 6 Weeks

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Kathleen E. Yancosek, MS, OTR/L, CHT
Kristin Gulick, OTR/L, CHT
Handwriting for Heroes

Learn to Write with Your Non-dominant Hand in Six Weeks

By targeting adults, this book preserves the dignity of those who must “re-learn” the basics of handwriting by providing an alternative to children’s workbooks. All tasks are oriented to the adult learner.

• Handwriting for Heroes is a task-oriented workbook that approaches learning to write with your previously non-dominant hand through meaningful repetitions of purposeful writing tasks.

• Handwriting for Heroes captures the extra-ordinary learning process of a very ordinary task: handwriting.

• The methods of instruction are based on motor learning principles and the dynamic process of skill acquisition.

• This is a first-of-its-kind workbook designed for adult populations who sustain injuries to their dominant hands that permanently impair dexterity functions.

• Learning to write with the previously non-dominant hand can be a rewarding
accomplishment along the recovery path; it is an accomplishment that leads to improved self-esteem, increased opportunities for hobbies and work occupations, and one more illustration of the adult’s ability to overcome adversity.

Occupational Therapists’ Acclaim for the Handwriting for Heroes Method

“I used Handwriting for Heroes with all of my patients, some had lost hand function from amputation, brachial plexus injuries, stroke, or extensive soft tissue trauma to the dominant hand. All of my patients benefited and enjoyed the workbook and how it helped them return to handwriting tasks.” — Stephanie E. Daugherty, MS, OTR/L, CHT, Army Lt. Col. (Ret.)

“This workbook is extremely practical and functional! It is an essential tool in hand dominance retraining for the upper limb amputee.” —Oren S. Ganz, MOT, OTR/L

“Handwriting for Heroes is more than a workbook! It’s an investment into the future performance of my patients who need to return to occupations that demand handwriting. My patients enjoy the challenge and the success of the program!” —-Kristi A. Say, OTR/L

www.HandwritingForHeroes.com
Medical : Allied Health Services - Occupational Therapy US$22.95

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FULL PAPER: http://www.rehab.research.va.gov/jou...f/yancosek.pdf

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertation: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewco...radschool_diss

Stability of handwriting performance following injury-induced handdominance transfer in adults: A pilot study
Kathleen E. Yancosek, PhD, OTR/L, CHT;
David R. Mullineaux, PhD
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY;
Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion, College of Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY;
and Sport, Coaching, and Exercise Science, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, UK

Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development
Volume 48, Number 1, 2011
Pages 59–68

Abstract—The aim of this study was to quantify stability of nondominant handwriting kinematics and legibility in participants with functional loss of the previously dominant hand. Twelve adult volunteers provided two handwriting samples 6 weeks apart. Handwriting tasks (Compose a Sentence, Copy Alphabet, Copy Date, Copy Sentence, and Draw Circles) were performed in cursive writing on standard white, lined paper taped to a digitizer to record kinematic and kinetic variables of velocity, displacement, force, and on-paper time. Results showed minimal performance variability within subjects and marked variability between subjects, as well as variability between tasks for all participants. Stylistic stability of the handwriting samples was assessed by two independent evaluators. These evaluators matched all handwriting samples at test to retest times with 89%–100% accuracy, suggesting value in the “whole” handwriting sample and emphasizing the idiosyncratic nature of handwriting. Results suggest that handwriting skill stability in the previously nondominant hand varies across subjects and task demands.

Key words: activities of dailly living, amputation, handwriting, hand dominance, injury-induced hand-dominance transfer, Jebsen-Taylor Test of Hand Function, kinematics, performance, reliability, stability.

Address all correspondence to MAJ Kathleen E. Yancosek, PhD, OTR/L, CHT; U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, 15 Kansas Street, Building 42, Natick, MA 01760; 508-233-5454.
Email: kathleen.yancosek@us.army.mil
DOI:10.1682/JRRD.2010.04.0074

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Yancosek, Kathleen E., "INJURY-INDUCED HAND DOMINANCE TRANSFER" (2010). University of Kentucky Doctoral
Dissertations.Paper 18.
http://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_diss/18
http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewco...radschool_diss

INJURY-INDUCED HAND DOMINANCE TRANSFER
Kathleen E. Yancosek
University of Kentucky, kyancosek@yahoo.com
This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact UKnowledge@lsv.uky.edu.

Hand dominance is the preferential use of one hand over the other for motor tasks.
90% of people are right-hand dominant, and the majority of injuries (acute and
cumulative trauma) occur to the dominant limb, creating a double-impact injury whereby
a person is left in a functional state of single-handedness and must rely on the less
dexterous, non-dominant hand. When loss of dominant hand function is permanent, a
forced shift of dominance is termed injury-induced hand dominance transfer (I-IHDT).
Military service members injured in combat operation may face I-IHDT following
mutilating injuries (crush, avulsion, burn and blast wounds) that result in dominant limb
amputation or limb salvage. Military occupational therapy practitioners utilize an
intervention called Handwriting For Heroes to facilitate hand dominance transfer. This
intervention trains the injured military member how to write again using the previously
non-dominant hand. Efficacy and clinical effectiveness studies were needed to validate
the use of this intervention.
This dissertation contains three studies related to I-IHDT. One study measured
handwriting performance in adults who previously (greater than 2 years ago) lost function
of their dominant hands. Results verified that handwriting performance, when measured
on two separate occasions (six-weeks apart) was similar (stable). A second study
examined the efficacy of Handwriting For Heroes in non-impaired participants. Results
demonstrated a positive effect on the variables that measured the written product:
legibility, writing speed (letters-per-minute); as well as a positive effect on the variables
that measured the writing process: kinematic and kinetic parameters. The final study
examined the clinical effectiveness of Handwriting For Heroes in an injured military
population. Results did not show as positive results as the efficacy study, despite similar
compliance with the intervention. Specifically, non-impaired participants started with
faster writing speeds in their non-dominant hands (higher letters-per-minute) and made
more gains (wider ranges). The non-impaired participants also started with faster
dexterity (betters scores on the Grooved Pegboard) but they made fewer gains than the
injured service members (smaller ranges). Nevertheless, injured participants clearly made
gains in all dependent variables thereby demonstrating clinical effectiveness of the
intervention.