Our approach transcends traditional methods, offering a fresh perspective on how writing with the non-adept hand affects various aspects of life. By recognising the implications and consequences of writing with the non-adept hand, we aim to empower individuals and institutions to navigate this mind-field with confidence. This involves revolutionising how to assess for personal, educational, medico-legal and legal purposes. Join us in this journey of discovery, where together, we can challenge the status quo and pave the way for a more profound approach to educational and psychological assessments. Our commitment is to uncovering and familiarising others about this currently unacknowledged co-factor in neuro-divergent conditions. Join us in exploring this uncharted territory, where every stroke of the pen can lead to profound insights and transformative outcomes.

We use writing as one key feature since to be able to express oneself with pen and paper with seemingly effortless ease is a complex mind-body skill. The other key feature is to identify the adept hand by administering unfamiliar complex uni- and bi-manual tasks. Common sense suggests that the adept hand should be used for writing. Our research-oriented practice proves that, unwittingly, this is not always the case.

Writing with the non-adept is a co-factor in many neuro-divergent conditions. Identifying a possible mis-match between the writing and the adept hand represents a paradigm shift in how to conduct assessments for  personal, educational, medico-legal and legal purposes. Currently it is an unacknowledged co-factor in many seemingly intractable problems. At core the mis-match induces an ill-at-easeness which manifests itself in a variety of ways. Failure to eliminate the mis-match when present results in a needless waste of time, effort, resources and money for individuals, families, institutions and society as a whole. The paradigm shift is radical in two inter-locking ways:

Practical

Each session, irrespective of the presenting problem, involves taking a seemingly irrelevant sidestep to establish whether there is a mis-match between the writing and the adept (wright) hand. This is done using paper and pencil and object manipulation tasks. If the mis-match is found, then it cannot be eliminated as a co-factor in whatever the presenting problem happens to be. Remedying the mis-match must be considered an essential part of any treatment programme.

Conceptual:

Our practice is grounded in a faceted rather than a separate components model of how we handle objects and interact with each other. The faceted model can be best imagined as a four-sided pyramid with each face representing physical, intellectual, emotional and social perspectives. One implication of this model is that if something is found to be out of kilter with one facet, then  something else will, on deeper probing, invariably be found to be out of kilter in one or other of the facets.

The 'unit of analysis' is therefore taken to be the interaction between individuals, and not the individual alone. The underlying rationale is that all presenting problems exist within some or other social context. In principle there are three types of interaction:

mutually beneficial: all parties to the interaction benefit by engaging in progressive problem shifting

mutually destructive: no party to the interaction benefits because they're engaged in regressive problem shifting

zero-sum: one party gains / progresses and the other(s) lose(s) or remain(s) static