Week 4: Fine Motor, Visual Motor & Visual Perceptual skills

grasp

voluntary act of picking up, holding and manipulating objects with the hand

the sequence of grasp development is driven by ____ but is also influenced by the child’s ____ and ____

maturation; environment, experiences

release

ability to smoothly release and place an object precisely in/on a targeted area

what is needed for skillful and powerful grasps, as well as isolated and individual finger movements?

well defined hand arches

between what ages do children demonstrate important gains in hand skills?

4 to 6

bilateral skills

smooth use of both hands working together

these skills are needed for clapping, holding paper down while coloring, buttoning, tying, etc

bilateral skills

this is needed for students to push, pull, pinch, squeeze, twist, etc

hand strength

this is needed for placing blocks in a container, stacking blocks, working puzzles, etc

release

these skills have an important role in school settings

bilateral skills

translation

move objects from the palm of the hand to the fingertips and vice versa using only one hand

shift

moving objects between the fingers

simple rotation

ability to roll a small object between the thumb and fingertips

complex rotation

ability to turn an object end over end

palmar-supinate grasp

shaft held with a fisted hand, arm moves as a unit

what is the age range for a palmar-supinate grasp?

1-1/2 years old

digital pronate grasp

shaft held with fingers, forearm moves as a unit

what is the typical age range for a digital pronate grasp?

2-3 years

static tripod grasp

held with crude approximation of thumb, index and middle finger, continual adjustments made by other hand, no fine localized movements of fingers, hand moves as a unit

what is the typical age range for the static tripod grasp?

3.5 to 4 years

dynamic tripod grasp

held with precise opposition of distal fingers of thumb, index and middle fingers, fine, localized movements, held with thumb and index finger that point toward the tip

what is the typical age range for dynamic tripod grasp?

4.5 to 6 years old

dominant hand

used more consistently for finer manipulative skills

when is the dominant hand typically established?

5-6 years

non-dominant hand

develops skills in manipulating, stabilizing, positioning

at this age, a child should typically be able to lace 3 holes and string small beads by holding the bead in one hand and the string in the opposite hand

3-4

by this age, a child should typically be able to cut out shapes accurately, precisely fold paper in half and stabilize paper with opposite hand while drawing or coloring

4-5

true or false: tool use is just a fine motor skill

false

what are some typical visual motor skills that you would see a 4-5 year old use at mealtimes?

• holding a cup with one hand

• using a napkin

• holding fork with fingers

what are some typical dressing skills to expect from a 3-4 year old?

• putting socks and shoes on with minimal assistance

• snaps independently

• pulling pants down independently

what are some typical dressing skills that you would expect to see from a 4-5 year old?

• buckles clothing independently

• unbuckles independently

• shoes and socks on correct feet with minimal assistance

coloring helps children develop what skills?

• crayon grip

• use of helping hand

• attention

• strength and endurance

pre-writing skills

include tracing and forming proper strokes that are a prerequisite to letter formation

what are some benefits of tracing or pre-writing activities?

• increase grip strength

• promote ideal grasp

• increase endurance for paper/pencil tasks

• promote visual tracking of top to bottom and left to right

• increase understanding of spatial awareness

at approximately what age should a child be imitating vertical lines?

2 years

at approximately what age should a child be imitating horizontal lines?

age 2.5

at approximately what age should a child be imitating a circle shape?

2 years, 9 months

at age 3, what pre-writing skills should be copied/mastered?

vertical and horizontal lines, circle shape

at age 3.5, what pre-writing skill should be copied/mastered?

cross shape

what shape should a child be able to copy/master a right or left diagonal and a square shape?

around age 4.5

at 4 years and 11 months, a child should be able to copy a ____

x-shape

a ____ shape should be copied or mastered by age 5

triangle

puzzles

ability to manipulate smaller pieces in order to create a larger image

puzzles help develop ____ skills

perceptual

scissor skills

combines fine motor skills with visual motor skills to coordinate an open-close motion on tool to produce cuts along paper

scissor skills require what?

• hand eye coordination

• bilateral coordination

• fine motor skills / strength

visual discrimination

ability to identify similarities and differences between letters, numbers, objects, etc

figure ground

ability to distinguish an item or form while perceiving foreground from the background

form constancy

ability to recognize that an item is the same when in a different orientation, size or color

spatial relations

ability to perceive two or more object’s positions in space relative to oneself and in relation to each other

visual memory

ability to remember or recall objects, shapes, symbols, movements from pictures, list of words or other information presented visually

visual sequential memory

ability to put items seen in consecutive order

visual closure

ability to identify items although the item is not visually complete or part of the item is visually obstructed