Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Brief Report: Non-right-Handedness Within the Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Brief Report
  • Published:
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A larger distribution of left-handedness in the population of Autism Spectrum Disorder has been repeatedly reported. Despite of this, the sample sizes in the individual study’s are too small for any generalization to be made. Using both description-based and citation-based searches, the present review combines the individual results in order to examine whether non-right-handedness is a general trait of the autism spectrum disorder. With a relatively large combined sample size (N = 497), it can be concluded that the distribution of non-right-handedness is significantly greater within the autism spectrum disorder population, compared with the population in general.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.). Washington, DC, USA: American Psychiatric Publishing Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Annett, M. (1967). The binomial distribution of right, mixed and left handedness. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 19, 327–333.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Annett, M. (1970). A classification of hand preference by association analysis. British Journal of Psychology, 61, 303–321.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Annett, M. (1997). Schizophrenia and autism considered as the products of an agnostic right shift gene. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 2, 195–240.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Auyeung, B., Taylor, K., Hackett, G., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2010). Foetal testosterone and autistic traits in 18 to 24-month-old children. Molecular Autism, 1, 11.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baio, J. (2012). Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders—Autism and developmental disabilities monitoring network, 14 sites, United States, 2008. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 61, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., & Hammer, J. (1997a). a.Parents of children with Asperger syndrome: What is the cognitive phenotype? Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 9, 548–554.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baron-Cohen, S., & Hammer, J. (1997b). Is autism an extreme form of the “male brain”? Advances in Infancy Research, 11, 193–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry, R. J., & James, A. L. (1978). Handedness in autistics, retardates, and normals of a wide age range. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 8, 315–323.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Batheja, M., & McManus, I. C. (1985). Handedness in the mentally handicapped. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 27, 63–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonvillian, J. D., Gershoff, E. T., Seal, B. C., & Richards, H. C. (2001). Hand preferences in sign-learning students with autistic disorder. Laterality, 6, 261–281.*

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boucher, J. (1977). Hand preference in autistic children and their parents. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 7, 177–187.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chapman, L. J., & Chapman, J. P. (1987). The measurement of handedness. Brain and Cognition, 6, 175–183.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Colby, K. M., & Parkison, C. (1977). Handedness in autistic children. Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, 7, 3–9.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corballis, M. C. (2003). From mouth to hand: Gesture, speech, and the evolution of right-handedness. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 26(2), 199–208.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corballis, M. C. (2009). The evolution and genetics of cerebral asymmetry. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 364, 867–879.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coren, S., & Porac, C. (1977). Fifty centuries of right-handedness: The historical record. Science, 198, 631–632.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cornish, K. M., & McManus, I. C. (1996). Hand preference and hand skill in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder, 26, 597–609.*

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dane, S., & Balci, N. (2007). Handedness, eyedness and nasal cycle in children with autism. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, 25, 223–226.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Day, L. B., & MacNeilage, P. F. (1996). Postural asymmetries and language lateralization in humans (Homo sapiens). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 110, 88–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Escalante-Mead, P. R., Minshew, N. J., & Sweeney, J. A. (2003). Abnormal brain lateralization in high- functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 539–543.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fein, D., Waterhouse, L., Lucci, D., Pennington, B., & Humes, M. (1985). Handedness and cognitive functions in pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 15, 323–333.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Floris, D. L., Chura, L. R., Holt, R. J., Suckling, J., Bullmore, E. T., Baron-Cohen, S., & Spencer, M. D. (2013). Psychological correlates of handedness and corpus callosum asymmetry in autism: The left hemisphere dysfunction theory revisited. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43, 1758–1772.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fournier, K. A., Hass, C. J., Naik, S. K., Lodha, N., & Cauraugh, J. H. (2010). Motor coordination in autism spectrum disorders: A synthesis and meta-analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 1227–1240.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Geschwind, N., & Behan, P. (1982). Left-handedness: Association with immune disease, migraine, and developmental learning disorder. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 79, 5097–5100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geschwind, N., & Galaburda, A. M. (1987). Cerebral lateralization: Biological mechanisms, associations, and pathology. A bradford book. London, England: The MIT press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghirlanda, S., & Vallortigara, G. (2004). The evolution of brain lateralization: A game-theoretical analysis of population structure. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 271, 853–857.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, A. N., & Wysocki, C. J. (1992). Hand preference and age in the United States. Neuropsychologia, 30, 601–608.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gillberg, C. (1983). Autistic Children`s hand preferences: Results from an epidemiological study of infantile autism. Psychiatry Research, 10, 21–30.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gillott, A., Furniss, F., & Walter, A. (2001). Anxiety in high-functioning children with autism. Autism, 5, 277–286.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hauck, J. A., & Dewey, D. (2001). Hand preference and motor functioning in children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 31, 265–277.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ingudomnukul, E., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., & Knickmeyer, R. (2007). Elevated rates of testosterone-related disorders in women with autism spectrum conditions. Hormones and Behavior, 51, 597–604.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jasco, P. (2005). As we may search—Comparison of major features of the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar citation-based and citation-enhanced databases. Current Science, 89, 1537–1547.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbance of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2, 217–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lai, M. C., Lombardo, M. V., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2014). Autism. Lancet, 383, 896–910.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, J., Kohen, D., & Mathew, G. (1993). Handedness in mental handicap: Investigation into populations of Down’s syndrome, epilepsy, and autism. British Journal of Psychiatry, 163, 674–676.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E. H, Jr, Leventhal, B. L., DiLavore, P. C., et al. (2000). The autism diagnostic observation schedule–generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 205–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Couteur, A. M. (1994). Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 659–685.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCann, R. S. (1981). Hemispheric asymmetries and early infantile autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 11, 401–411.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McManus, I. C. (2009). The history and geography of human handedness. In E. C. Sommer & R. S. Kahn (Eds.), Language lateralization and psychosis (pp. 37–57). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, M. E. R., Thomas, N. A., Loetscher, T., & Grimshaw, G. M. (2013). The Flinders Handedness survey (FLANDERS): A brief measure of skilled hand preference. Cortex, 49, 2914–2926.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Noterdaeme, M., Mildenberger, K., Minow, F., & Amorosa, H. (2002). Evaluation of neuromotor deficits in children with autism and children with a specific speech and language disorder. European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 11, 219–225.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oldfield, R. C. (1971). The assessment and analysis of handedness: The Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia, 9, 97–113.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ornitz, E. M., & Ritvo, E. R. (1976). The syndrome of autism: A critical review. American Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 609–621.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Papadatou-Pastou, M., Martin, M., Munafò, M. R., & Jones, G. V. (2008). Sex differences in left-handedness: A meta-analysis of 144 studies. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 677–699.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Perelle, I. B., & Ehrman, L. (2005). An international study of human handedness: The data. Behavior Genetics, 24, 217–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porac, C., & Coren, S. (1981). Lateral preference and human behavior. New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Preslar, J., Kushner, H. I., Marino, L., & Pearce, M. (2014). Autism, lateralization and handedness: A review of the literature and meta-analysis. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 19, 64–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raczkowski, D., Kalat, J. W., & Nebes, R. (1974). Reliability and validity of some handedness questionnaire items. Neuropsychologia, 12, 43–47.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rodriguez, A., Kaakinen, M., Moilanen, I., Taanila, A., McGough, J. J., Loo, S., & Järvelin, M. R. (2010). Mixed-handedness is linked to mental health problems in children and adolescents. Pediatrics, 125, 340–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1966). Behavioral and cognitive characteristics. In J. Wing (Ed.), Early childhood autism: Clinical, educational, and social aspects. Oxford: Pergamon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1968). Concepts of autism: A review of research. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 9, 1–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1977). Infantile autism and other childhood psychoses. In M. Rutter & L. Hersov (Eds.), Child psychiatry: Modern approach. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1978). Diagnosis and definition of childhood autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 8, 139–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schatz, B. R. (1997). Information retrieval in digital libraries: Bringing search to the net. Science, 275, 327–334.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Soper, H. V., Satz, P., Orsini, D. L., Henry, R. R., Zvi, J. C., & Schulman, M. (1986). Handedness patterns in autism suggest subtypes. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder, 16, 155–167.*

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsai, L. Y. (1982). Handedness in autistic children and their families. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 12, 421–423.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tsai, L. Y. (1983). The relationship of handedness to the cognitive, language, and visuo-spatial skills of autistic patients. British Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 156–162.*

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Whiteley, P., Todd, L., Carr, K., & Schattock, P. (2010). Gender ratios in autism, asperger syndrome and autism spectrum disorder. Autism Insights, 2, 17–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • * Studies included in the present dataset (presented in table 2)

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study did not recieve any grants or other financial support.

Author Contributions

Both authors conceived the idea and designed the study together. ALR conducted the searches but AVP partook in the process of selecting studies for inclusion. Both authors in co-operation performed the data analysis, and they wrote the manuscript together. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Science, Sør-Trøndelag University College, P.O. Box 2320, 7004, Trondheim, Norway

    Anne Langseth Rysstad & Arve Vorland Pedersen

Authors
  1. Anne Langseth Rysstad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Arve Vorland Pedersen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Langseth Rysstad.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rysstad, A.L., Pedersen, A.V. Brief Report: Non-right-Handedness Within the Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 46, 1110–1117 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2631-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2631-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation