*Using Both Hands, Crossing Midline, Hand Dominance: Fun Activities

An Ambidextrous Child? Or A Processing Disorder?

Some children who appear to be ambidextrous actually have a hidden processing disorder. More often than not, these children end up with two, unskilled hands. These kids need lots of two-handed activities- especially those that cross the middle of the body. A lot of the activities done in Occupational Therapy and Vision Therapy promote this.

Just think, what if you couldn't cross the body easily? You'd have to pick up a pencil on one side of your book with your "helper" hand and move it to the middle so that your dominant hand, or "worker hand," could use it. It would affect your handwriting because diagonal lines cross the midline. Establishing a worker hand and a helper hand is a sign that specialization and maturity in the brain is occurring. Look for this around the age of five years old and reinforce it using two-handed activities that cross the midline of the body.

Some examples include: reaching for bean bags across midline then throwing at a target, making large X and 8 with arms in the air, cross crawling, wheelbarrow walking but crossing hands, and popping bubbles with one hand only.