Some children in your class may not have the fine motor or gross motor skills to be able to use everyday classroom tools.

What you might notice

• Children may not be able to hold their writing tools to be able to draw or write.
• They may struggle to place their hands correctly in their scissors.
• They may not have the strength in their hands to open and close their scissors.
• They may struggle with other fine motor activities such as buttons and zips.

There are lots of ways you can try and support a child or young person struggling with delayed fine and gross motor skills.

Strategies

Strategies to support key areas are provided on the integrated therapies website. The links below will take you to the relevant areas.

Foundation Skills

• Balance
• Bilateral integration and co-ordination
• Body awareness
• Crossing the midline
• Finger dexterity
• Finger isolation and finger games
• Hand dexterity
• Hand dominance
• In-hand manipulation
• Pincer grip
• Shoulder and core strength
• Visual skills
  
  

Fine Motor Skills

• Finger dexterity
• Finger isolation and finger games
• Hand dexterity
• Hand dominance
• In-hand manipulation
• Pincer grip
• Fine motor play
  
  

Gross Motor Skills

• Bilateral integration and co-ordination
• Shoulder and core strength
• Jumping, hopping and skipping
• Ball skills
  
  

Scissor Skills

• Using scissors
  
  

Foundation skills for Handwriting

• Writing – preparing your child for learning how to write

 

Supporting early years children

Advice and guidance on developing children's physical development developed by the Early Years Service.

The team of Occupational Therapists work with children and young people with or without an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) from 0 to 19 years old.

Our clinic and virtual support are available for all children and young people with a Buckinghamshire GP. School support is available for those attending a Buckinghamshire early years or mainstream school setting.

Home equipment is provided for children with a Buckinghamshire address.

Who the service can support

The team support children, young people and their families.

Support is provided for children who face barriers to participation in activities they need or want to do as a result of a physical disability, developmental delay or neurodevelopmental disorders.

How the service is accessed

• Live sensory webinars can be accessed without a referral needed.
• Virtual advice lines for educational settings and families can be booked without a referral.
• Referrals for face to face assessments and for home equipment can be made by GP, educational setting, other health professionals or parents. You can download the referral form from the Bucks healthcare website.

How the service can help

• Assessment of child’s occupational performance and impact of their motor skills on this
• Direct blocks of therapy to develop motor skills
• Provision of programmes for settings and parents to develop motor skills.
• Recommendation of alternative equipment such as specialist pens, scissors and rulers
• Recommendations for reasonable adjustments needed to the learning environment and learning activities.
• Contribution to Annual Review, review meetings and multi-professional meetings
• Liaison with other professional services and agencies
• Liaison with parents/carers
• Support with home-school liaison
• Written reports as appropriate
• Telephone and email support

Contact children's occupational therapy

telephone: 01296 831 908
e-mail: bht.cyptherapies@nhs.net