Fine Motor Skills
Some times kids diagnosed with Autism have issues with either fine gross motor skills. Some kids have issues with both.
While Zakari has very strong gross motor skills, sometimes his delayed fine motor skills could be crippling. So early on I knew we had to practice hard to catch him up.
Over the years I have found a few toys and household items that have helped his a lot in the area of fine motor skills. As a homeschool parent, I had to make sure I was helping him develop his fine motor skills if I ever wanted him to write independently.
Here are my TOP 7 Fine Motor Skill Tools and Toys:
1 ) Bubble Wrap: Whenever a package comes in the mail, Zakari doesn’t really care what is in it, but he does want is the bubble wrap. I’m more then happy to hand it over because it is a fun way for Zakari to work on his fine motor skills and hand eye coordination.
Besides, what kid doesn’t love popping bubble wrap.
2) Stickers: Stickers at first were very difficult for Zakari. At the beginning I had to take the sticker off the page for him. At that time it took a lot of effort for him just to put the sticker on a blank page.
Once he got better at that I started only partially removing the sticker from the sheet. That gave him a little start and helped him learn to remove the sticker without ripping it.
Eventually with practice, Zakari learned to not only remove the sticker by himself, but place in in the correct spot in a sticker book. It was neat to watch his fine motor skills develop before my eyes.
3) Wood Puzzles Set Puzzles are a great way to work on fine motor skills and logic at the same time.
We started with easy Melissa & Doug Chunky Puzzle, then My First Match It Self-Correcting Matching Puzzles, finally working our way up to puzzles with more pieces.
One word of caution, make sure the puzzles you give your child to work with are good quality. Cheaply made puzzles are very frustrating for a child and they will get frustrated and give up. But don’t think you have to buy your early puzzles new. Check out garages sales, thrift stores and buy and sell groups. Just make sure to count that all the pieces are there.
4) Learning Resources Peg Friends Around the Town & Stacking Peg Board Set: Stacking Pegs can be used in many ways to improve fine motor skills and work on simple math skills.
We started with a simple color set, and then found extra pieces at the thrift store. We used them to make patterns, stack, count and sort. I found they were used for many programs when both my boys were involved with occupational therapy and ABA.
Then for Zakari’s birthday he received the Peg Friends. This set allowed him to stack and build different community helpers and place them all over town.
5) Kid O A to Z Magnatab: I was very impressed when Zakari received his Magnatab for his birthday. It is a fun and clean way for him to practice writing his letters.
Many kids find practicing printing letters over and over again in workbooks boring. However the Magnatab is never a chore for Zakari. He is happy to use the stylus to make the little metal balls rise to form letters. Then take his fingers to push the balls back down. Creating a multi sensory learning experience.
6) Fat Brain Toys Squigz: A few years ago Zakari’s occupational therapist bought Squigz for him to play with during therapy. He loved them. Actually I’m not sure who had more fun with them, him or his ABA tutors.
I immediately jumped on Amazon and ordered our family a set. Afterwards Zakari received another set for his birthday. We soon found out that the only thing better then a set of Squigz… is two sets a Squigz.
Zakari and I play games where I stick them to the floor or walls and he has to pull them off. By doing so he is building strength in his hands. We also focus on sticking the Squigz together which takes fine motor skills and coordination.
7) Brachiation: Finally one of the best ways to work on fine motor skills is by hanging and swinging on a brachiation ladder.
According to Glenn Doman, brachiation helps organize the brain in a way that makes writing and other fine motor skill activities much easier.
What tools do you use to help develop your child’s fine motor skills?
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These are all great ideas. My kids love using stickers. Now they are also working on using regular Lego sets rather than the Duplo. This definitely takes talent at 4 and 6 yrs old.