Midline?

What is the big deal about mid line? I can't even tell you how many times I have heard Tom's therapists talk about "crossing mid line." Sure, reaching across his body. Ok...so what's the big deal about that.

Then I came across this blogpost called "Cris Cross Applesauce Cross Lateral" and it all made sense to me.

"activities that encourage children to move their arms and legs across their mid-line (cross lateral movements) actually have a dramatic effect on learning. Imagine an invisible line that stretches down the center of your body. Your mid-line.

The left side of your brain controls the right side of your body and the right side of your brain controls the left side of your body. When your right arm or leg crosses over to the left side of the body or vise versa, it forces the left and right side of your brain to work together. The part of the brain that connects these two sides is called the corpus callosum." -Sense of Wonder

That excerpt was taken directly from Sense of Wonder blog because it is so perfect. Tom was born with an underdeveloped corpus callosum so this is especially important for him. It's also exciting because this presents an opportunity for us to make a positive difference that can have lasting effects.

An old pic of Tom. Crawling is a cross lateral movement!

If Tom becomes more adept at cross lateral movements he will be creating and strengthening new connects between the hemispheres of his brain. That is pretty amazing.

Do you need more information about cross lateral movement? Check out Start Smart: Building Brain Power in the Early Years by Pam Schiller.

So what kind of activities can you do to promote crossing mid line?

• dancing to music
• go to the park or playground and climb around
• create a small obstacle course at home - indoors or outside
• hugs
• crawl - create a game that gets them crawling
• art projects - have them use both hands to paint
• read together - reaching over to turn pages is crossing mid line
• tactile twister! an easy game to adapt
• baby/toddler yoga- adapt some poses for your little ones
• go for a walk and practice swinging your arms.
• wrestling and roughhousing

Roughing up his Dad.

In each of these activities you can encourage your child to cross mid line without it seeming like work. Make a game of it and sing a silly song. You may create a new favorite that your child wants to do all the time.