"I used to teach third grade," Terry Davenport says as she explains how she became so interested in handwriting. "I noticed that none of the children could ever make their letters look like the chart above the chalkboard. In fact, I could not make mine look like that either. I also noticed the Little Miss Goody Two-Shoes in the front row wrote differently than the rough and tumble boys in the back of the room. I always wondered why that was."

She began learning the answer when she attended a lecture on handwriting analysis while vacationing on the Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship.

"It was so interesting", she said, noting that it made her hungry for more knowledge on the subject. She began studying and ultimately became a Board Certified Forensic Document Examiner. This means that she is qualified to determine if someone has disguised their handwriting, altered a document, forged a signature or authored an anonymous letter.

When she asks people for a sample for forgery detection, she will dictate a passage for them to write. Since concentration is necessary to make consistent changes in handwriting, she carries on a conversation with the subject. Ms. Davenport's distraction technique of taking writing samples makes it impossible for the person to concentrate enough to make consistent alterations.

"I've seen this issue [allegations involving fraudulent documents] raised more in the past three years than in the past 20 of being a lawyer," says Chris Rentizel, one of the many attorneys who has used Ms. Davenport's experience on many occasions, keeping her very busy. "She is very hard-working, very experienced and very knowledgeable." She does her analysis with the help of an arsenal of high-tech equipment, including special microscopes, lights and measuring tools.

Each document is examined for a large number of telltale details that indicate if it is authentic. Once she has made her determination as to the authenticity of the document, she then answers depositions and testifies in court.

Document examination does not allow for the examiner to make any judgments about the character or personality of the writer.

"It is unethical," she says about this aspect of what she does.

However, behavior profiling, a totally separate field requiring its own special certification, does permit the examiner to make judgments about the writer. To take a handwriting sample from this, Ms. Davenport asks the subject to spontaneously write at least two pages of unlined paper. The person needs to be as relaxed and comfortable as possible so that there are no distractions to interfere with the writing. A person's true personality will be reflected in the pattern of the written passage.

Ms. Davenport has discovered specific clues about personality and character that are revealed in the way a person writes. However, she warns amateur handwriting detectives, a single or rare incident of an individual trait does not necessarily brand the writer. The result of her studies is that Ms. Davenport has identified a relatively small number of handwriting characteristics that identify people with problems or in crisis. This is particularly important for teachers and others who work with children on a regular basis. If they are aware of these warning signs, they can help students who may be depressed or abused before they explode and hurt themselves or others. Other traits exhibited in handwriting give clues as how to teach a child. For example, some children may need more praise or hands-on projects to succeed at school. Handwriting can also pinpoint a student's "hot-button" so the teacher can avoid triggering it. These are all things she would like to have known when she taught third grade.

Now, Ms. Davenport lectures throughout the country on "Red Flags in Handwriting - Identifying Potentially Dangerous Behavior" to share her findings with others. She talks to attorneys, human resource people and others who work with people on a regular basis. "She is a fascinating speaker," Kathleen Crist raved after hearing one of her lectures. "I want to learn more!"

It is not surprising that her passion for handwriting began as she was indulging in another passion - traveling. And now she has come full-circle, lecturing herself on the Queen Elizabeth II.

When she is closer to home, her passions and interests include two miniature horses that she keeps in Wiley. Peanut and Toomuch are her pets that she has trained to bow when she first comes to see them. The bow until she gives them each a carrot.

In addition, she has taught them to shake hands and play dead. But the most fun of all is when they go into an open field and run.