Telling left from right?

[shakey]

I've been remembering the struggles I had with learning left and right this week - it's going round & round in my head - I'm hoping that by writing it down & telling someone it'll settle things for me!

I still struggled with telling left from right well into my teens & I think it was still a problem when I was learning to drive!
My mum always thought it was because people had frequently told me my right hand was the one I wrote with - it's not, I'm left handed! But now I know it's because of the dyspraxia. I know even when I thought, "my left hand is the one I write with" I could never visuallise which hand I would pick up a pen with unless I had pen and paper to try it out.

I was later told about the, hold your hands up flat infront of you, (fingers pointing to the sky, thumbs towards each other) and the hand that forms an "L" is the Left hand. Except I would look at them and still not be able to tell which L was the right way round!!! I was 16? ... 17? or more by then so, wasn't reversing letters and numbers when I wrote by this age, but somehow without being able to write it down, this meant nothing! Anyone else had this?

I do now know fairly instinctively which is left and right, but I still frequently lay the cutlery on the table the wrong way round!

[Tom fod]

I was sat in office today and wanted to write down some directions so there I was swivel chair round to imagine I was coming out of building. look at hand, left Imagine myself walking along look at other hand right. It still involves a conscious effort and I had to re-imagine it to get it the right way round even then.

Tom

[Catwoman42]

It requires a conscious effort from me too, sometimes I point with my right hand and go to tell the person, but just can't get the words out. I sometimes pass a bus station which says look left (or right dependig which way I'm going) and I always look the wrong way...

[Shadwell]

if I get asked for directions, then I nearly always use my hands to point the direction, but the words always come out different, like point with my left hand, and say right, or point with my right hand as guidence to remind myself, and say left, so yes I notice it a lot. and mainly watching people on video games, and say I seen something behind them on the right, and then have to correct myself.

and I think one friend if not more have noticed in that respect, rather than as in me driving or something. usually then I tell them I am following my nose!! sometimes the scenic route, sometimes not!!

[Captain_Ludd]

It took me yearsto work out my left and right and I still dont always get it right (no pun intended ) especially when some asks for directions.
The one that I still just cannot get is when people say stuff like " my left your right " what ?? .

[joy]

To help me over the years to remember which was right and which was left is because I am left handed I always used to say to myself that whenever having instructions of were you may have to go or for any reason you may forget which was which, I always used to say whenever left was concerned I would always say go in the direction of my writing hand which was the left , so if anyone mentioned the right I used to say thats the hand I dont right with so go in the oppisite direction it has been very helpful to me over the years and just becomes second nature in time and you will find it is less confusing and you never seem to forget it again { unless you forget what hand you write with or you are ambidextrious]

[StuartDotC]

Whenever I need to work out which is left/right I always think back to my old karate class from when I was 12, at first I was always punching or kicking with the wrong limb so drummed it into my head that the side of the room with windows was left. nowadays I just imagine I'm back in that room, has worked a treat for 20 years now.

[Jim]

Yeah, I've always used my writing hand as my reference because although I have poor defined hand dominance.. I can definitely only write with my right.

But if this is still confusing for you.. You could try getting a watch, bracelet or some kid of jewelry to put on one of your wrists and always wear it on the same one. Then you can say "this is left, because I always wear my watch on my left wrist!"

[LilBee]

I remember this was always a huge issue!!
I have learnt ways realistically over the last 4 years or so how to cope with telling left from right, but it still takes a lot of thought and effort. I find road signs with arrows very confusing and cant move my body parts on command, but can normally if i choose to!!! I know its strange. Until i was around 13 i put a L and R on my trainers for p:e, so i didnt look like a penguin.

[Skifflet]

This isn't a huge issue for me, I think I just take a little longer than most people to get it right (no pun intended). What helps me is thinking about which hand is dominant, for me that's the right side (but I know for a lot of dyspraxics that's less clear-cut anyway) or thinking about which side of a sentence I read from so I remember where left is. This one relies less on visualising things too, cause there's almost always something written somewhere I can glance at.

[minniemoo]

Wow. Do I envy you lot who have found a way round this, for me, eternal struggle!

On a good day, I can get right or left right just once. Most of the time, its a case of 'no, your other left' or pointing the way I mean. I particularly hate it when people are giving you instructions like - its the second on the right at the back on the left...or some such nonsense. They think it is oh so easy to understand and think you are stupid for not getting what they mean. Driving is impossible, failed 5 times!!! Decided enough was enough. Having to direct someone in traffic is my idea of a nightmare task, especially when they don't know you well and don't get that you don't understand these alien ideas of right and left

[Tim G]

alien ideas of right and left

LOL another thing that we dyspraxics can laugh at

I am ok with left and right now but can still get confused at time, I have to take time to think about it first then make a deshion on which is left and right.
I did get my parents at times to put a R on my right thumb and L on my left - this helped but it can still be confusing as what does L or R mean. I guess that you could write Left and Right on your hands - it will look a bit out of place but it is somthing for thoes who really struggle.

[Moot]

I generally know left from right, but sometimes I still have to think about it; especially if quick actions are needed. Just today I had to remember to turn a lock right after pressing some buttons on a door code lock thingy which had to be done quickly and I thought 'please automatically get it right!'. I did - hooray!

[melissad1113]

I can relate to every word! I am 26 and I have a lot of trouble with this. I remember my grandmother who was 67 when she died not being able to tell her left from right. I can tell now because I wear an engagement ring, but I have to check that every time.

[Tokis86]

I am 26 as well and i still have to make a conscious effort to tell left from right (i use the "L" shape left hand trick, but it still involves looking at my hands for a moment to make sure that my left hand is really my left hand not my right one).