What are Fine Motor Skills?

Fine motor skills involve small, controlled movements of the hand and wrist and enable us to complete activities that require strength and dexterity in the fingers and hands. 

Activities like writing, drawing, tying shoelaces and even peeling a banana all require a degree of fine motor skills to complete. For some children, activities that require fine motor control can be frustrating and difficult to participate in due to developmental delays in fine motor skills.

Some examples of activities that require fine motor skills include:

• Turning taps on/off

• Tying shoelaces

• Brushing your teeth

• Using cutlery or picking up small pieces of food

• Drawing/writing/colouring-in

• Playing with play-dough, clay, beads, lego

• Picking up small objects

• Using zips or buttons

• Turning pages of books

• Playing an instrument

Why are Fine Motor Skills Important?

Fine motor skills are important to enable your child’s participation in both school and home occupations.”Occupations” simply refer to any activities that your child wants to, needs to, or is expected to engage in. Difficulty with fine motor skills can result in reduced engagement in the classroom and reduced independence in self-care skills. Fine motor skills also provide the foundation for learning handwriting, due to the control needed to grip a pencil, stabilise the paper and write with accuracy. At school, occupations like crafts can be difficult for children with poor fine motor skills. At home, activities like tying shoelaces or drawstrings, brushing teeth and feeding oneself can all be difficult due to the fine motor skills needed to complete these tasks effectively.

Signs that your Child may have Difficulty with Fine Motor Skills:

Fine motor skills are imperative for development and independence in self-care and academic areas of life. There are some common signs that your child may be having difficulty with fine motor skills. Contact your Occupational Therapist to further discuss any concerns you may have regarding your child’s fine motor development. 

• Difficulty with pencil grip

• Messy or slow drawing, writing, or colouring-in

• Fatigue when using computer mouse or keyboard

• Difficulty using scissors, or choppy outcome with scissors

• Easily fatigued or distracted when completing fine motor tasks

• Dislikes or become frustrated with activities requiring fine motor skills eg buttoning up shirt, tying shoelaces, craft activities

How can Occupational Therapy Help?

At Acorn Autism, our occupational therapists can assess for underlying aspects that may be impacting your child’s fine motor skills and create an intervention plan to address these. 

In order to develop fine motor skills, there are foundational building blocks required. These include bilateral integration - the ability to coordinate both hands during a task, hand and finger strength, crossing the midline, hand eye coordination and body awareness (body proprioception). 

Occupational therapists address these difficulties through activities that promote use of fine motor skills and develop the foundational skills required, as mentioned above. As it is important that therapy tasks are enjoyable and motivating for your child, our occupational therapists tailor sessions to match your child’s skills, hobbies and interests. As occupational therapists, our emphasis is on enhancing your child’s functional skills through the therapeutic benefits of activities that are enjoyable and the “just right” challenge for your child. 

Fine Motor Activities at Home

In conjunction with occupational therapy sessions, it is beneficial to promote fine motor skill acquisition in the home through fun, simple activities. 

Here are a few examples of activities to promote fine motor skills. 

• Encourage your child to open/close their own containers and lunch boxes

• Use cutlery with thickened handles to promote independence when eating

• Make shapes with play-dough or slime

• Use scissors to cut along a straight line

• Pop bubble wrap 

• Thread beads onto string - Use larger beads to make activity easier and size beads down as the activity becomes easier

• Peel stickers

• Make puzzles

Encourage your child to help with watering the garden, hanging clothes on the washing line, or holding their toothbrush. Consistent use of the hands, bilateral coordination and fine motor skills will enable your child to practice these skills and gain confidence and control in their fine motor movements. 

Contact Acorn Autism’s occupational therapists for more suggestions and specific recommendations for your child.