using two hand together...

[andrewsmom]

Hi everyone!! I hope you're all doing well. I have been really busy and not on too much lately.

I was wondering if any of you have had a hard time with your kids using both of their hands to do a task together. Such as holding a basket with one hand and picking up things and putting them in with the other. Or holding a bag open with one hand and putting things in or taking them out with the other hand.
Andrew is resisting doing this for some reason. He will growl and get fustrated but refuses to use his other hand to help. Now I know he can use both his hands because he uses both to pick up heavy objects and things like that, and will use either hand to play (mostly his right hand) but just refuses to use them together to help with a task.

Has anybody else been through this??? I need wisdom here! Anybody else going through this now??

-Trisha

[meghans_mom]

Trisha - I recall meghan's OT telling me this was common and that was one of the reasons she was there. Will Andrew use both hands,,,meaning sometimes the left exclusively or just the right exclusively? Or does he just favor ONE hand?
Either way, have your OT address this immediately...if she/he's not already. It could just be that one side is way weaker than the other and it's just too difficult to do things...but the OT should be helping him use BOTH hands....reaching up, crossing mid-line, all that stuff.
good luck and let us know what happens - laurie

[meghans_mom]

whoops..sorry i just re-read your message and saw that you wrote it is one hand (right) that he favors over the other...

[momofrussell]

Russell is still learning this. We are teaching him to hold things and "carry" them. I guess like Laurie mentioned.. with the crossing mid-line .. that is something that is more difficult to process and do from what I gather. I think it's also considered "bilateral" movements. I would maybe talk to your PT and/or OT about this and see about working on some two hand movements?

A.

[ValerieC]

Funny I haven't thought about this in a few months. Alethea seems to have just progressed past this.

I remember we used to tap the lazy hand to get it to "wake-up" and help. Sometimes it worked and other times she would just growl at us too.

Keep encouraging him to use it.

[andrewsmom]

Yes...that's exactly where we are at...crossing mid-line. Andrew is not liking this AT ALL. The growls that come out of this child are unbelievable!

I think maybe I'll try to come up with doing some sort of activity with food (his favorite thing in the whole world!) to encourage him to use both hands. hmmm...now this means I will have to "think"...ohh boy!

If anyone has any ideas to get him to do more two handed activities...post away!!! I'd love to hear them!

-Trisha