Microcephaly and Plagiocephaly

What If Your Baby Can't See Their Own Body?

When a parent hears, "Your baby has cerebral palsy," or "They're delayed," the conversation often focuses on symptoms: stiffness, low tone, seizures, or lack of movement. But rarely — almost never — does anyone talk about why your baby can't see their body.

Yes, we're going there. Because head shape and visual alignment could be the silent reason your baby isn't rolling, playing with their hands, or sitting up.

The Hidden Problem: Eye-Ear Misalignment

Take a moment and really look at your child. Not their diagnosis. Not their behaviors. Their actual structure.

In a typically developing baby lying on their back:

• The eyes and ears are aligned horizontally.
• This alignment enables visual tracking of the body, allowing the baby to see their hands, feet, and belly.

But in babies with:

• Microcephaly (a smaller-than-average head)
• Plagiocephaly (flat spots or misshapen skulls)

… you'll often notice something subtle but huge:

The eyes sit above the ears.

Why That Changes Everything

When the eyes are above the ears:

• Your baby can't look down and see their body.
• They can't bring their hands easily to their mouth.
• Rolling becomes confusing.
• Sitting? Nearly impossible. Because…

The eyes help organize the spine.

If the eyes can't "anchor" down to the body, your baby loses their internal map of balance.

Even for an adult, if you artificially push your eyes into a higher-than-neutral zone while lying down, you'll feel off. You'll lose your natural strength to sit up. Now imagine what that's like for a baby, full-time.

Movement Isn't Just Muscle

We've been taught to think that if a child doesn't move, it's about muscle strength or developmental delay.

But what if it's not?

What if it's about structure?

If a baby can't see their body — can't find their hands, can't match what they feel to what they see — then movement becomes chaotic. Or stops altogether.

A Better Lens

We need to look deeper.

Is the baby's vision aligned with their ears?

Can they see their own hands in a resting position?

Does their structure give them the foundation to balance, rotate, and build momentum?

At Movement Lesson™, these are the questions we ask. And it's why we see breakthrough after breakthrough — because we don't wait for symptoms to appear. We look for opportunities.

What You Can Do

• Lay your baby down. Look from the side. Are the eyes above the ears?
• Watch how they interact with their body. Are they trying to track it visually, or ignoring it?
• Give gentle, guided movement that helps them reconnect those missing pieces.

If your child isn't moving like other babies, maybe it's not because they can't. Perhaps it's because no one has shown them how to do it.

Do our Head and Vision Course: CLICK HERE