How Can You Tell If a Child is Having Difficulty Crossing

Their Midline?
Some kids have difficulty with midline crossing. They don’t automatically cross
the middle of their body smoothly for motor tasks.

You will see them use their right hand on the right side of the body… and their
left hand on the left side of the body.

They may pass things from one hand to the other at the center of their body.

Or, it may look like they’re crossing midline, but they actually twist their trunk
and/or turn their head. Their core may not be stable. They may have difficulty
keeping the head still to move the eyes to either side.

It’s almost as if the dividing imaginary line is a more like a plexiglass panel that
blocks the arm from passing the middle of the body.

You will see kids reach with their right arm to the left side – but they twist their
body and turn their head. The “glass panel” is blocking the arm from reaching
over the middle.

Even if they slightly cross the middle of their trunk with their hand, they may turn
and tip their head. They don’t allow the hand to move past their nose.
The eyes also have to cross the midline when visually tracking objects. They
need to smoothly move side to side.

When the eyes have difficulty crossing midline, you will see them pause or jump
at the middle… as if there’s a bump in the center of them.

This greatly impacts reading skills and visual attention for learning tasks.