Children with sensory processing issues are often smart and repeat what they do well. However, they also often avoid activities that are new or challenging. In this way the child tends to curb learning from experience. Using a plan for well-balanced play during the summer months can be helpful to offset this tendency. Ongoing growth of the child with SPD can be helped by
Concepts explored in this post: Functional Vision: Integrating vision with motor skills and language Dorsal Stream – integrating vision with motor skills Ventral Stream – integrating vision with language skills Ocular Motility: Coordinating movements of the eyeballs Fixations, Visual Tracking, Visual Pursuits Visual Association: Motor free visual perceptual skills impacting Social skills Visual discrimination (i.e., letters, numbers) Children with Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) often
Activities that intentionally combine gross motor skills with fine motor activity influence attention. Key pieces being woven together in the photo below include resistive exercise for the core muscles of his trunk. These muscles are being stimulated by the sway of the swing as he holds on to the swing and moves through space. Body awareness is also being activated as he positions his entire body to point
Bilateral Motor Coordination generally refers to the ability to use both sides of the body working together. In daily life, this may be seen by the ability to hold a sheet of paper still with one hand, while using the other hand to manipulate a pencil.
Increases independence in self care at home and fine motor success at school Low muscle tone, and poor coordination tend to be a problem for many children who have Sensory Processing Dysfunction and may result in weak upper body strength. This impacts the muscles of the neck needed to hold the head in a centered position so that the eye muscles can work properly.
Direct links exist between postural control and fine motor skills due to neuromotor pathways that activate when heavy work is used. The links include attention and control of movement for the muscles that move the eyes (i.e. reading) and those that move the hands (i.e. writing or keyboarding). Postural control is an essential ingredient needed for successful eye hand coordination skills. When the
The Visual Component The ability to use vision to guide the sequencing of motor output is a defining point in the development of fine motor competency. Acquisition of this skill allows for use of tools for self care, including utensils as well as grooming aids such as combs for hair care and razors for shaving. A growing child will also need to learn to
The Motor Component combines visual guidance with hand function skills Fine motor skills develop throughout infancy and continue to develop through the teen years. Initial developmental skills with hand function are directed toward success with: simple grasp patterns the ability to separate fingers for object manipulation the ability to use both hands together During the preschool years, grasp patterns mature to include recruiting vision
Using food crafts to help develop precision in fine motor skills The skills needed to coordinate small muscles of the body, such as the muscles of the fingers, eyes, and ears take the longest time to mature. Synchronization of these smallest muscles requires sustained attention, along with the ability to remember little details about the actions of these muscles. The ability to pull together
Many children who have Sensory Processing Disorders, also have deficits in prerequisites for efficient emergence of fine motor skills: Executive Functions Attention Task organization Task maintenance behaviors / sustaining focus Initiating/terminating activities Postural control coordinating muscles that control posture Ocular motor control coordinating muscles that control the eye balls Developmental Prehension Coordinating muscles that control hand and finger moves Getting all of these domains