Gross & Fine Motor Skills...
Gross & Fine Motor Skills Assessments & Interventions
When we assess a child or young person’s gross and fine motor skill abilities, we are also assessing the pre-requite areas of skill development in order to identify where skill development is breaking down. By doing this, we can target these areas with our therapy interventions whilst simultaneous directly working on improving the child’s ability to carry out specific tasks.
About
Children develop control over their bodies in a sequential manner, for example learning to hold up their head, roll, crawl, stand, walk, run, jump, hop, skip, climb, ride a bike, play sports etc. These are known as motor skills.
‘Gross’ motor skills are the movements we do with our whole bodies, such as those described above. Gross motor skill development relies on the development of muscle strength, joint stability, awareness of our bodies in space and the space around us, balance and the ability to move in space without fear.
‘Fine’ motor skills are intricate movements children learn to do with their hands. These also develop in a sequential order; such as stacking blocks, treading beads, scribbling, drawing simple shapes, using scissors, dressing, writing their name, using cutlery, writing sentences etc.
Fine motor skill development relies on having developed the pre-requisites outlined above for developing gross motor skills. It also requires the ability to gain and interpret sensory feedback from our hands; the ability to focus and attend in order to learn; hand eye co-ordination (visual-motor integration) and the ability to sit for increasing periods of time.
What We Do
When we assess a child or young person’s gross and fine motor skill abilities, we are also assessing the pre-requite areas of skill development in order to identify where skill development is breaking down. By doing this, we can target these areas with our therapy interventions whilst simultaneous directly working on improving the child’s ability to carry out specific tasks.
Please note, recommendations and interventions are dependent on the child’s age. It may be more appropriate for an older child or young person that we explore compensatory strategies rather that working on underlying skills. For example, we are likely to recommend very different interventions for 7 year old compared to a 16 year old.
Contact Us
If you would like to find out more about our gross and fine motor skills services, or to book an initial appointment, you can call us on 01892 320334 or email enquiries@inclusion.me.uk