How to Identify Fine Motor Delay in Your Child
When a child does not reach their developmental milestones in terms of manual dexterity or small muscle groups, they are said to have fine motor delay. Rolling, walking, and jumping are all gross motor skills, while picking up a small toy, putting Cheerio cereal in your mouth, buttoning your shirt, or writing with a pencil are all fine motor skills. Children who lack fine motor skills often struggle in school and get frustrated because they can’t do what their peers can do. And if left untreated, fine motor delay can lead to a lifelong dislike of fine motor tasks like writing , and can affect a child’s development across the board.
Fortunately, there are many ways to detect fine motor delay and many interventions to address it early, giving your child excellent opportunities to deal with or overcome fine motor delay before it becomes an area of distress.
How do you know if your child has a fine motor delay?
Fine motor skills include a variety of tasks:
- Manipulations in the hand: rotating a pencil in one hand, moving a playing card from one side of the hand to the other.
- Dexterity: Typing, tying shoelaces, picking up a small object with the fingers of the same hand that holds something in the palm of your hand.
- Fine motor skills: moving a pencil around a maze, tracing a word in a word puzzle, coloring lines.
- Fine motor integration: drawing shapes, letters, numbers.
Children learn these skills at different rates as they get older, and some people are more dexterous with their hands than others, either with practice or natural ability. By following your pediatrician’s milestones checklist, you can see if your child is on track to achieve their fine motor skills. However, some children compensate or have subtle signs.
“Frequently changing grips during a task (eating, coloring)” or “using the whole hand to manipulate something small (like cereal or beads)” are all signs of fine motor delay in a young child, says Caitlin Sunshagreen. occupational therapist, co-founder and owner of Bright SpOT Pediatric Therapy .
In a school-age child who no longer follows developmental milestone checklists, you will often see fine motor delays accompanied by feelings of frustration or task avoidance . Sanshagrin says, “Sometimes it looks like avoidance or frustration when they have to do fine or fine motor tasks, especially writing or coloring.” Or, in her words, “when you write, you can see the child pressing too hard or too little.” Children who do this tire quickly when writing, so they may complain of pain in their hands or forearms. Children with delayed fine motor skills who do not come to elementary school are sometimes called lazy or oppositional. If your child is having trouble learning, it might be worth checking to see if anything physical is going on with their fine motor skills.
How to help your child cope with fine motor delay
OT creates and recommends activities that kids enjoy and help develop their fine motor skills. Sunshagrin says kids need to work on “arm strength, shoulder strength, core strength, agility and arm manipulation.” Helping them “may be as easy as coloring paper (or drawing, chalking, etc.) taped to a window or wall.”
Part of learning to improve fine motor skills is what occupational therapists call “hard work.” Sunshagreen says a common fine motor activity is “playing hide-and-seek with small objects in playdough or clay to build strength.” The need to pull out beads or gems strengthens the small muscles of the hands. Another fun activity she suggests is “gluing a few pieces together and playing ‘rescue’.” She also recommends cooking, especially if you can include “hard work” like kneading bread or kneading dough. She says, “There are many blogs and websites that talk about ways to strengthen the arms,” which also include classes for older children and adults.
If adding these strategies and providing more opportunities to develop skills doesn’t work, talk to your pediatrician and look for an occupational therapy assessment. At public schools and preschools participating in the Early Intervention Program , assessments and recommended treatments are free. “Parents should try to access occupational therapy from both the school and private providers,” says Paulette Selman, a school psychologist and special education advocate in Oregon and Washington . Many insurances cover OT through health insurance or mental health insurance. Some limit your annual visits and some offer unlimited sessions, so always check with your specific plan. Make sure your private and public health care providers have permission to discuss and coordinate care with each other.
How to talk to your school about fine motor delay
Your child’s teacher may or may not have experience with fine motor delays. Sanchagrin suggests, along with your child’s strengths, “talk about his areas of growth in conjunction with what modifications can help him become more successful and independent.” Selman says some simple modifications, such as a slanted board or paper with larger, bolder lines, can help.
As for handwriting, unlike when we were kids, Selman says, “Many schools don’t teach writing directly these days, but your child might benefit from it.” One program, No Tears Handwriting , can help children with fine motor delays. She says that because tech tools are used both for special adaptations and in the classroom around the fourth grade, “let your child learn to type by the end of elementary school” and use web-based programs to eliminate “hunting and searching.” peak method.
Fine motor delay by itself, unless it is very severe, usually does not qualify for an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 plan . However, says Selman, “schools provide occupational therapy services for fine motor skills if the delay is affecting learning,” and if your child has another medical condition along with the fine motor delay, they may receive occupational therapy services for fine motor problems. . delay as part of an IEP or 504.
Other conditions
Some children have fine motor delay and no other conditions. They may even excel in gross motor or verbal skills and lag behind in fine motor skills. Fine motor skills don’t necessarily signal that your child has an underlying or additional medical condition, such as ADHD or autism , but according to Sanshagrin, “neurodivergent children often have differences in fine motor skills due to a variety of factors.”
If fine motor delay is present, Selman advises that your team evaluate “other areas of functioning, such as academic performance, including writing, not just handwriting” to rule out other learning differences, such as reading disorders . If your child has been diagnosed with another delay or condition, or if you suspect fine motor skills may be related to another diagnosis, contact your pediatrician for advice and a possible referral for further diagnosis.