Fine Motor Skills

Examples of Fine Motors Skills

• • Academics skills including:

    • Pencil skills (scribbling, colouring, drawing, writing)

    • Scissors skills (cutting)

  • Play including:

    • Construction skills using lego, duplo, puzzles, train tracks

    • Doll dressing and manipulation

  • IT use (e.g. mouse and stylus manipulation)

  • Self care including

    • dressing – tying shoelaces, doling up sandals, zips, buttons, belts

    • eating – using cutlery, opening lunch boxes and food bags

    • hygiene – cleaning teeth, brushing hair, toileting.

Indicators of Fine Motor skills issues

• Avoidance and/or disinterest of fiddly finger skills 

• Preferring  physical activity  (to avoid sit down tasks)

• Interest in ‘passive’ activities such as IT (e.g. watching TV an IPAD  that don’t require Fine Motor skills)

• No interest in pencil or scissors skills

• Being ‘bossy’ in play and and asking others to  “draw a cat for me”

• Not persisting in the face of a challenge (e.g. asking parents to fix a problem without physically trying to fix it themselves)

• Waiting for parents to dress them or clean their teeth rather than trying themselves

• Refusal to use stylus with the IPAD

• Children with fine motor issues can also have difficulties with:

  • Pencil skills (writing, drawing, colouring)

  • Scissor skills (cutting)

  • Dressing – tying shoelaces, doing up sandals, zips, buttons, belts

  • Eating – using cutlery, opening lunch boxes and zip lock bags

  • Hygiene – cleaning teeth, brushing hair, toileting

  • Construction skills using Lego, duplo, puzzles, train tracks

  • Doll dressing and manipulation

  • IT use (e.g. mouse and stylus manipulation)