Dominanza manuale, disturbi del linguaggio e difficoltà di apprendimento della L2

Does it really make sense to imagine research on the hypothesis of a possible correlation between left-handed dominance and some language and/or learning disorders? Can this idea find a place within a broader theoretical-naturalistic model of the origin and the functioning of language? Finally, is it useful to consider this correlation also in relation to gender and/or cultural differences? The problem of a possible correlation between mancinism and manifestations of some language disorder is not new at all. In fact, from Samuel T. Orton’s (1937) surveys to a number of other recent researches, this hypothesis has been at the center of several studies. Moreover, this idea is also confirmed by empirical observations of class teachers in primary schools. There may, therefore, be a correlation between left-handed dominance and the greater incidence in left-handed subjects of some language and/or learning disorders such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia (Learning Disabilities – LD, or DSA), and learning difficulty of the second language (L2). To try to better understand this problem, I present the results of our research on a representative sample of children from the Italian primary school.