Cross Eye-Hand Dominance And Reading Ability In Second Grade Children.

Background: Previous studies have shown that approximately 30% of people are crossed eyehand dominant, meaning they are right eye dominant and left handed or vice versa. Some
clinicians suspect there is a correlation between cross dominance and poor reading ability. This
study investigated this topic further by evaluating a group of 2nd grade children. Methods: The experiment was conducted in five 2nd grade classrooms, totaling approximately 60 students. The experiment began by measuring ocular dominance in each child. More than one means of determining ocular dominance was used to make sure the child was consistent. Handedness was determined by asking the subject to pick up a writing utensil and write his or her name. To evaluate reading performance, the classroom teachers supplied information showing whether the student's reading ability was above average, average, or below average for their grade level. Results: It was found that 56.25% of the below average students were cross dominant. On the
other hand, only 44% of the above average students were not cross dominant. Conclusions: This study did show a small correlation between crossed eye-hand dominance and delayed reading ability; however, the correlation was not strong enough to be statistically significant.