Crossing Mid-line

On Friday, my son’s Occupational therapist was working on his grasp and had him drawing shapes. He did an incredible job on circles and other shapes that had lines that were parallel and perpendicular, such as a square and rectangle. He had a very hard time with the triangle and diagonal lines. I asked her why she thought he was having difficulty and she said, “It is because he has to cross midline.” Crossing midline refers to reaching across the middle of the body.

This was an “ah ha moment” for me. I never thought that writing sometimes included crossing midline. Crossing midline has always been a challenge for him. I remember when he was first tested at 16 months that “not crossing midline” was a concern. Today he does cross midline, but has difficulty with it. He is working on it with his Occupational therapist and through Equine therapy, but I also want to address it at home.

The first step is for the child to have a hand preference. The hand they prefer becomes the working hand and the other hand is the helper. Once that is established, here are some activities to help children with crossing midline:

1.      Trace horizontal lines with the working hand. Hold the paper with the helping hand.

2.      Draw the infinity sign with the working hand. Hold the paper with the helping hand.

3.      Sit cross legged on the floor

4.      Deal cards to everyone around a table using the helper hand to hold the deck and the working hand to pass out cards

5.      Use right hand to reach across and touch left toe, use left hand to reach across and touch right toe

6.      Use the working hand to shovel sand and the helping hand to hold the bucket. Have the working hand reach across midline to put sand in the bucket

7.      Reach for objects crossing midline. Use right hand to reach for stuff animal on left side of the body. Use left hand to reach for stuff animal on the right side of the body.

8.      Sit back to back with a friend and play pass the ball around. Using two hands on the ball, hand the ball to your friend by reaching over your right side. Get the ball back by reaching with both arms over your left side.

Crossing midline will help your child with the development of motor and cognitive skills. Helping your child cross midline will help them with life skills (such as dressing), reading, writing, and physical activities. These activities above are easy and fun. If you are concerned about your child not crossing midline, please talk to your pediatrician or your child’s therapist.