Small Boys Fine Motor Skills

Is Your Child Ready For School?

	Small Boys, Fine Motor Skills, Perception & Handwriting
Help, I can't get my son to sit still long enough to learn some fine motor skills! This is one of the most common problems seen, in fact about 70% of older children treated are boys who have developed problems with their fine motor skills but have found these skills vital once they get into higher grades. Well it's totally understandable, quite frankly they would rather be out kicking a ball around than inside writing or drawing! Timing is everything - we've structured the Get Ready For School program so little boys can burn off some of that energy before they settle down to focus on the "finer" things! The first section of the program deals with a gross motor skill, for example pretending to be a bear, this enforces a gross motor skill in a really fun way. The child is then asked to "bear walk" over to where they will work on their fine motor skills. We suggest you let your little boy burn off some energy outside, then, when he's on the wane, start the program. We have kept the lessons short, 1 hour divided into 15 minute sections for gross motor, fine motor, visual perception and school skills, so they don't get bored. So, if you're really struggling to hold his attention for an hour, break the program down into 15 minutes sessions. We encourage you to reward your child after he has finished each day's program with a sticker or some other surprise, before he "bear walks" off to do something else! The Get Ready For School program focuses on developing or improving the following skills for school:
		Handwriting foundation skills required • Posture & Balance - to provide a basis for adequate arm & hand control • Grasp Strength & Finger Control - appropriate grip on a writing tool • Ocular Motor Control - eyes & hand moving together • Visual Perception & Memory - choosing the difference between 2 pictures • Memory - ability to recall correctly • Spatial Organisation • Attention • Following Instructions
Interfering factors which affect children's fine motor development Low muscle tone & poor joint stability Poor arm strength Poor motor planning Poor postural development Inability to isolate individual finger movements Poor grip & pinch strength Poor fine motor co-ordination Inefficient bilateral hand use Foundation skills for cutting out Postural control Close & open hand Doing hand / helping hand Isolate fingers Eye-hand co-ordination Put movements together Stablise Activities to develop fine motor skills Arm strength Hand strength Bilateral Hand Use Pre Writing Pre Scissor Skills Visual Perception - Understanding What We Are Looking At Discrimination - What's the difference? Figure Ground - Where is it? Spatial Relations - Which way is it facing? Visual Memory - What was it? Visual Closure - What would it be? And remember although early intervention is the key, so is having fun while learning!

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