Bilateral Integration- Two halves to make a whole

If your child has seen an occupational therapist in some capacity, you may have heard the term Bilateral Integration.  But just what does it mean?

Put simply, bilateral integration involves us using both sides of our body in a coordinated fashion.  Babies use bilateral integration when learning to crawl as they must move their arms and legs in a set pattern.

Bilateral integration is also important for many other tasks such as 

• Writing
• Tying shoelaces and getting dressed
• Using utensils
• Scissor skills
• Playing an instrument

and a range of gross motor activities such as running, catching a ball, playing team sports or participating in an individual sport such as karate.

So what can you do if you think your child has difficulty with bilateral integration?

You need to provide them with a range of opportunities to practice activities that involve them using both sides of the body.  Contact an OT for a tailored treatment plan or try some of the following activities:

• Pass a slinky from one hand to the other
• Practice rolling out balls of clay / playdough.  Make this fun by getting the child to create different objects, reminding them to use both hands if necessary
• Thread pasta / beads / anything onto a string
• Place coins in a piggy bank
• Pick up objects with tweezers- you could try sorting coloured felt balls into different containers

Plus many many more.  Follow me on Pinterest for links to other great bilateral integration activities!

Amy

Welcome

Welcome to Enable Me OT and thank you so much for dropping by!

My name is Amy and I am a paediatric occupational therapist.  I created this blog in order to share resources with parents and other paediatric OTs as I have found that it can be difficult to find easily digestible information on how OT can help children and age appropriate resources to help develop skills in the home environment.

If there is anything you would like to see more of, or anything you think it would be valuable for me to share please let me know.  I love hearing from you all!