AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 I recently came across an article on testing eye dominance. My son, who is almost 9 and in third grade, has left eye dominance and is right-handed. (FWIW, so am I, and while not always organized, I was a natural speller, learner and pretty good student, sloppy handwriting aside.) I am reading some articles on difficulties with this and wondering how much I need to be concerned with this and if I need to do anything to address it. My son does fine in school. His main problem area has been memorizing math facts, and I think the boring, endless black and white Saxon fact sheets have overwhelmed him and are a large part of that problem. He gets 100's on every math fact and every math worksheet he attempts. He just gets mired down in writing math facts and overwhelmed. He uses a lot of "counting" and tricks to arrive at the answer and is slower in it. This year, I am seeing more retention in oral drilling and flashcards vs. worksheets. He does write some of his letters clockwise and reverses b and d and p sometimes. He doesn't seem to have vertical issues anymore. His penmanship started out poorer when he was younger, but he loves Pentime cursive and actually forms his cursive letters quite well. We have not yet switched to requiring all assignments in cursive. He does sometimes take FOREVER to finish an assignment, especially with a lot of writing. This year has been much better, and he really likes CAP, but I have been breaking up the large part in chunks. He loves to make up stories. Last year, some assignments with "too much" writing were met with large groans. One time, he actually spent an insane amount of time on the topic of a writing assignment to try and make it the smallest amount of letters possible. We're only a few weeks into school, but he's doing much better already, and I was chalking it up to maturity. He is a natural speller. While he has to erase sometimes, he almost always makes 100's on his spelling tests. He would do well with my husband pitching baseballs or off a tee, but when they switched to machine pitch, he went the whole season without a single hit. The coach wondered if we should get his eyes checked. We did, and they really weren't that bad. Didn't even get glasses now, but he may need them later. From an academic performance perspective, he's doing fine with a few small areas to work on. Is this something I should look into more? Does anyone have any resources that are helpful in this issue or right brain/left brain issues? How much should I be concerned with this? I don't want to "fix" it too much if it ain't broke, you know. I don't think I would say this is a disability or dysgraphia or anything, but I do know to look for any signs of that. I'd love some further insight from the Hive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 Oh, I forgot to mention that he loves art and is actually pretty good at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 My 10 year old and I are both mixed dominance. It certainly hasn't ever caused me problems with academics. I don't think my son has any problems from it either. He reverses b/d still, but math facts were easily memorized. He is horrible at art. :lol: His handwriting is decent unless he's writing really fast. His cursive was neat but ridiculously slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 3 of our 5 are mixed dominance. You might want to check foot dominance, also--just have child stand with feet a little apart, stand behind him, give a little shove on the back and see which foot he steps out with. The only thing it seemed to affect for us was it was hard to learn to ride a bike--2 of our family do not know how and have had trouble learning. (One might make it yet!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 Your DS sounds fine and normal to me! :) Don't know of any formal research or statistics on this topic. Just my own anecdotal experience -- I also have mixed dominance (left eye/ear, right-handed, go either way with foot). I was always verbal and a natural writer/speller, but also later did well with abstract math (algebra). Not gifted in any particular way, but was nicely average with physical activities, art, and music. I actually think it comes out to be a bit of a strength for schooling, as it seems to have allowed me a measure of "ambidexterousness" as far as being fine learning with material geared for either "right-brain" or "left-brain" learners. (Although, the older I get, the more I DO strongly favor taking in information visually ("right-brain"), and am weak auditorially ("left-brain").) Thank goodness, because I ended up with DS#1 who is VERY auditory-sequential ("left brain"), and DS#2 who is VERY visual-spatial ("right brain"). :eek: It allowed me to stretch pretty far towards both ends of the spectrum and "get it" to be able to help explain it in that way to whichever DS needed the explanation in his specific mode. I think more of the "left-brain" mode dominated when I was in school; more of the "right-brain" mode seems to dominate now… Interesting topic! :) Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 I recently came across an article on testing eye dominance. My son, who is almost 9 and in third grade, has left eye dominance and is right-handed. (FWIW, so am I, and while not always organized, I was a natural speller, learner and pretty good student, sloppy handwriting aside.) I am reading some articles on difficulties with this and wondering how much I need to be concerned with this and if I need to do anything to address it. My son does fine in school. His main problem area has been memorizing math facts, and I think the boring, endless black and white Saxon fact sheets have overwhelmed him and are a large part of that problem. He gets 100's on every math fact and every math worksheet he attempts. He just gets mired down in writing math facts and overwhelmed. He uses a lot of "counting" and tricks to arrive at the answer and is slower in it. This year, I am seeing more retention in oral drilling and flashcards vs. worksheets. He does write some of his letters clockwise and reverses b and d and p sometimes. He doesn't seem to have vertical issues anymore. His penmanship started out poorer when he was younger, but he loves Pentime cursive and actually forms his cursive letters quite well. We have not yet switched to requiring all assignments in cursive. He does sometimes take FOREVER to finish an assignment, especially with a lot of writing. This year has been much better, and he really likes CAP, but I have been breaking up the large part in chunks. He loves to make up stories. Last year, some assignments with "too much" writing were met with large groans. One time, he actually spent an insane amount of time on the topic of a writing assignment to try and make it the smallest amount of letters possible. We're only a few weeks into school, but he's doing much better already, and I was chalking it up to maturity. He is a natural speller. While he has to erase sometimes, he almost always makes 100's on his spelling tests. He would do well with my husband pitching baseballs or off a tee, but when they switched to machine pitch, he went the whole season without a single hit. The coach wondered if we should get his eyes checked. We did, and they really weren't that bad. Didn't even get glasses now, but he may need them later. From an academic performance perspective, he's doing fine with a few small areas to work on. Is this something I should look into more? Does anyone have any resources that are helpful in this issue or right brain/left brain issues? How much should I be concerned with this? I don't want to "fix" it too much if it ain't broke, you know. I don't think I would say this is a disability or dysgraphia or anything, but I do know to look for any signs of that. I'd love some further insight from the Hive. First of all, you are a very smart, observant mama! I suspect your ds may have convergence insufficiency and I would recommend an evaluation with a developmental optometrist. See covd.org. Regular optometrists don't do the right testing to confirm this and often it's missed, even though there is an obvious visual problem. Convergence insufficiency would completely fit with the better retention with oral drilling and flashcards. It would also explain why he had a hard time hitting from a pitch. And why close work that requires a lot of writing is unpleasant for him, because it takes more out of him because of his eyes. Convergence insufficiency means his eye muscles have a harder time pulling inward and maintaining that position, as is necessary for close work or for changing focus from far to near. It is rather common. At least 5% of the population has it. According to research, it is usually fixed in 12 weeks of vision therapy. Sometimes insurance will cover it. My dd just finished VT this spring for convergence insufficiency and a tracking problem. She was a reluctant writer, slow to get her math facts, miss when she went to kick a soccer ball. VT is not cheap but it's a lot cheaper than the neuro-developmentalists who provide therapy to "fix" mixed dominance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted September 13, 2014 Author Share Posted September 13, 2014 Thank you all for your responses. He is due for an eye checkup, and I will definitely check into convergence insufficiency. Never heard of it, so I will read more about it. I don't want to make every little thing about him an "issue," and don't even mention these things to him until I know anything for sure. if there is something there, I definitely want to help him with it. When he was in private school, he would often get headaches on a long day, and sometimes, his eyes will water with too much writing. But when we got his eyes checked, his eyesight was only slightly off. I have always been prepared that he might have to wear glasses someday just based on genetics. The baseball thing was so frustrating last year because he felt like such a failure with the machine pitch, but husband's family is a big baseball family. And he would do so well in practice with my husband. We did soccer this year. He wants to get into horses soon though, so thankfully, there shouldn't be issues there. I do feel like he might benefit from a stronger eye evaluation. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 I am mixed dominance. Didn't even realize it until my dh tried to teach me to shoot a rifle. He said, " Are you even keeping your eyes open????" Finally figured out that I was closing the wrong eye. You ought to see me shoot a bow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 My son and I are mixed dominant. Only issue I know of is with shooting and archery. Can be an issue then. You should have seen me trying to use my left eye to sight a rifle, holding it against my right shoulder. My husband about gave up on teaching me at that point. Some competition shooters with that problem will actually black out the dominant eye in their safety glasses, making it easier to focus using the non dominant eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 I am mixed dominance. Didn't even realize it until my dh tried to teach me to shoot a rifle. He said, " Are you even keeping your eyes open????" Finally figured out that I was closing the wrong eye. You ought to see me shoot a bow! Ha! Didn't see your post until after I wrote mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Mixed dominance is not a problem, even though there are practitioners out there willing to help "fix" it. Tiger Woods is right-handed, left-eye, and he has done fine with it. ;) If you want his convergence, tracking, etc. checked, you have to use a developmental optometrist, not a regular one. Regular one can't check all the things the dev. optom. will, and they'll be the same price for that annual visit. You'll just be able to ask the dev. optom. to screen the extra stuff. You find them through COVD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 I am right handed, left eye dominant, and left foot dominant. It has never caused an issue for me academically. Like fairfarmhand, I never knew about it until I tried to learn to shoot. I'm right handed so I tried to shoot right handed. This year I shot a left handed bow and did really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I am mixed dominant, right hand, left eye. It has never made a difference for me academically. It only affects physical activity and how I participate in some sports, particularly shooting sports. For riflery I pull the trigger with my left hand, but weite with my right. (So gripping exercises for my left hand are helpful.) For archery I need a bow set up for a leftie. In high school I was a competitive gymnast, and I would "throw" left - lead off with my left arm/leg. This wasn't really a problem but again, it never affected my academics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I am right handed and right footed but left eye and ear dominant. It means I have to bat lefty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted September 16, 2014 Share Posted September 16, 2014 I am right handed and right footed but left eye and ear dominant. It means I have to bat lefty. Interesting. I was told that cross-dominance gave an advantage to the batter, as the dominant left eye is what is getting a better look at the in-coming ball, while the dominant right hand gives a more powerful swing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Interesting. I was told that cross-dominance gave an advantage to the batter, as the dominant left eye is what is getting a better look at the in-coming ball, while the dominant right hand gives a more powerful swing... Well, I'm not a softball player, just someone who visits a batting cage every few years with my DH. Maybe five years ago we went and I was doing terribly. Finally someone suggested I try batting letting and I went from missing most balls to hitting at least half. Now, my vision is better in my left eye (even with contacts), so that makes it harder to determine which eye is really dominant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn- Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 I am cross dominant as well. Right hand, left ear/eye. I'm pretty sure I am right footed but never really paid attention. I, too, figured out this issue when attempting to shoot a rifle. Did not go so well. Hand guns I can handle but anything I need to shoot against my shoulder isn't going to happen. I have at least one son that is also crossed. I have a severely left dominant sided child that I should try the foot thing with. I know he breaks boards better with his right leg. As far as I know, no academic issues have come up regarding these facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 He would do well with my husband pitching baseballs or off a tee, but when they switched to machine pitch, he went the whole season without a single hit. The coach wondered if we should get his eyes checked. We did, and they really weren't that bad. Didn't even get glasses now, but he may need them later. Mixed dominance is an advantage in hitting since as a PP mentioned, right handed-hitters have their left eye closest to the pitcher at the plate, and vice versa for lefties. If he can hit off a live pitcher but not the machine, then (assuming Dad pitches at the same speed as the machine) the issue is probably pitch selection and confidence. Practice will help. Get him in to the batting cages over the winter if that is something he will enjoy. You can rent a tunnel and do a mix of dad pitching and pitching machine in the same session. You can also hire a hitting coach for a session or two if he is really into baseball and you want to invest in it. If he doesn't enjoy hitting indoors then I wouldn't push it, he's just 9. A lot can change by next season. And be open to the fact that although baseball is big in the family, it might not be his passion right now. Around those ages, it seemed there were always a few kids on my boys' teams who clearly didn't want to be there and their parents just kept signing them up. I don't know if they don't want to be honest or don't know how to be honest or their parents don't care. My son who has mixed dominance (and is a great hitter) had amblyopia at birth so he did do vision therapy from ages 5 to 6 to improve convergence, but his issues never appeared to affect his reading or academics (which may be rare, it's just our experience). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdventuresinHomeschooling Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Oh, he has already moved on from baseball. He wants to do horseback riding, and he loves the arts. I thought mixed dominance made a better hitter too. What made me think there was something to it was the coach thought we should have his vision checked. My younger kids have plans to play. When I say big baseball family, I mean we have a college baseball coach, and a highschooler getting multiple baseball scholarships along with big fans and followers of baseball. They are already grooming my baby to be a pitcher (but he truly does love to throw the ball as often as he can.) They're crazy sometimes. I am, however, acutely aware of letting my kids do their own thing. That's why they did soccer last year...because they wanted to. Personally, I am frustrated with the level of competition at such young ages in organized sports, and by competition, I mean the adults treating their children like the next pro. If an 8 yo did have an interest in a different sport, they practically are already behind the ones who have been practicing since they were 4 unless they have serious raw talent. I think it's ridiculous the way we pigeonhole kids into their "sport" by third grade. I guess that's a whole different thread though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I think it was after Bill mentioned his mixed dominance a few years back that I checked mine, and lo and behold, I'm left eyed. The problem is, I'm so used to closing me left eye to sight something, that I have a hard time closing the right instead, even though I could aim better if I did. I haven't shot a rifle or done archery in years. My husband has always mocked me for my bad aim when throwing though. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I'm mixed eye dominant also. It's never caused me any academic issues. In fact, I didn't even realize it until I took a handgun course. The only difference for me now is I shoot left-handed when I'm naturally right-handed. Once I found out about the mixed eye issue, I realized why I always had such a hard time when I used to deer hunt years ago. I would have to wrap my head around at an odd angle to shoot my .30/.30. No one ever said anything to me about how I was shooting; only that I did things very oddly. You'd think my ex-DH would have recognized the issue. I just thought it was natural for me. Shooting left-handed has drastically improved my accuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 I have mixed dominance and have never bothered to test the kids. It is a non-issue as far as I can tell. I am a fairly typical and boring person, lol. Some things in school came easier for me than others, some things in athletics come easier for me than other things. Not really anything worth attention if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 I have mixed dominance too. Not really found any disadvantages and a slight advantage in photography. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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