Fine Motor Skills Delay - What Does the Future Hold?

I work on a special education school bus and it is just amazing to see the transformation that these children go through from the beginning of the year to the end. Nothing is ever set in stone. I was in a car accident and learned to do everything over again and the doctors said that I would never be able to do it. Just keep challenging them and somehow make a learning game out of everything that they do. Give them a reason to succeed and they will!!

The good news is, the earlier you catch a delay and start to work on it, the better chance you have of your child "catching up." That being said, whether the delays are life long or temporary depends on what is causing them. I know quite a few children (most of them boys) who had speech and motor skill delays as toddlers and preschoolers who were fine by early elementary school. Sometimes there are deeper issues and it may be longer until the catch up and sometimes, yes, it can be a life long problem. All you can do is take it day to day - which is difficult, I know. As parents we are naturally inclined to worry about our child's future. I have found with my son that the more I can stay focused on the progress he is making right now, the better my mindset is (and I think that makes things better for him too).

I hope your boys are making great gains with their therapists. Seeing progression in my son definitely helps me stay focused on the now, with positive hope for the future. One thing I learned the hard way - my son's first OT and speech therapist were not a good fit for him. By the time I realized that it could be his relationships with the therapists that were hindering his progress, we were about to transition to preschool anyway. He actually began to make more progress having no therapy over the summer and then began growing by leaps and bounds once he had therapists he "clicked" with in preschool. My advice is to trust your instincts and if you have any misgivings about the relationship or interactions between you, your child, and the therapists, ask for new therapists. It is your right to find the best fit for your child and family. I hope this is not an issue for you and since it was for me, I try to save others from my mistakes. :) Good luck to you and your family.

When I had my son assessed with Early Intervention, his fine motor skills were delayed and he had a few concerns with language (English was his 2nd language). He didn't qualify for services, however. At this time, almost 7 months later, his vocabulary and articulation are pretty good. His fine motor skills have not improved much. =(

I don't know what the future holds, but I am considering having him assessed through the school district. He's to the point that he does not attempt tasks that require fine motor skills because success does not come easily. It's tough for me because I want to help him but know that he needs to at least try on his own. He does amazingly well on many gross motor activities, so I'm sure that frustrates him why he doesn't just "get it."

I wish you and your little guys all the best!

Hi~
I work with kids with fine motor delays. Unfortunately your question is hard to answer. It depends on many factors such as how significant the delays are, how well they pick up on the strategies that are taught to help increase their fine motor skills (e.g. cognition will play a role), if there are other under lying factors/diagnoses (e.g. apraxia), how motivated the child is to learn, etc. For the children who have only fine motor delays (nothing else going on), I would say yes they catch up and do great. For those children who have other things going on, yes some children can improve significantly with therapy while others may continue to struggle.
As far as how fine motor delays will impact children as they get older: the biggest impact in school that you will most likely see is related to handwriting (grasp on pencil, writing, amount of time child can write before getting tired, letter formation). Again it depends on the child, but other things it can impact is ability to manipulate objects, cutting, drawing (math – geometry), art class, etc.
It is wonderful that you are getting your kids help early. Make sure you find a therapist you like and feel comfortable asking questions about your children – if you don’t understand what they say ask them to explain.
Take care

I can't guarantee it of course, but I am pretty sure they WILL outgrow it. Don't worry!

One thing you can do that will pay huge dividends is learn & use American Sign Language with them. I HIGHLY recommend "Signing Time" (with Alex and Leah, by (--- de Azevedo, I believe) I am Deaf and use sign language myself. I am amazed by those who have benefitted from this video series, including my autistic neice and many others. Our library has the whole series, so check out your library and rotate through them. They're fun for little kids and even big people(adults) learn very well from them!!

There are lots of great reasons to learn sign language (and admittedly MY number one reason is that you can then use it to communicate with those who do - after all, hearing people can learn to sign but deaf people cannot learn to hear.)

It does help your children's brain development (even if it may slightly, if at all, delay their speech development, the benefits far outweigh the small delay in that they become much more able to converse and express their needs - it helps those otherwise nonverbal or language delayed children be able to express needs and converse sooner. Even if they learn and then forget and never sign again once they verbalize everything, the brain 'power' has been enriched for life.

My son did not have any speech delays but he did have some small motor delays. OT really helped him. He had OT for about 1year at about 4-5 and is now 7. He still hates to use scissors--but he CAN use them now. He sometimes says that his hands hurt when he has a really tough snap on his jeans or something like that. If he's doing a LOT of writing, his hand gets tired, but I really think in most areas of fine motor--he's completely caught up now. Good luck to your little ones!

YES they WILL catch up.
The Speech Therapy is good.
My son had that, and now he is the most talkative one in our family!

My son was just late in talking... but his overall development was normal and even advanced in several areas. He is also bi-lingual. His speech delay helped via Speech Therapy, was greatly improved.

all the best,
Susan

I have three children who have had speech and other developmental delays. Having read the responses, I would encourage you to do what Martha said about a developmental pediatrician. Also the first response as well about getting therapy and that all kids have their own path.

Get better informed, get therapy for your kids, and do the best you can by them. You can do too much therapy, but that rarely happens. Most parents in this situation don't take it seriously enough, or let others talk them out of it.

With my kids I saw significant progress and they were able to "catch up" by kindergarten, but because of their dx, they will have developmental delays at all ages of development, not just the early years. We have learned they just need to be taught differently and they are able to function fairly well as we continue to support and help them.

my oldest son had this problem due to fluid in his ears. his speech did catch up with speech therapy. He walks and runs alittle cock eyed but not real bad. He never did well in sports. i dont think it was due to the developmental problems he likes to take his sweet time at everything. I think this is a personality trait more than a developmental trait. so yours may be diffrent than mine.

My youngest son also has tubes with no waddling and such and is very rambuncious. more physically apt than his older brother. so I don't know how to answer on him yet.

Being an ex-preschool/primary school teacher, may I say that you should relax at this point. You're aware of the problem and doing something, now let natural maturation step in. All children develop at different rates and they all reach the same point eventually. Having said that, "normal" is a very iffy term, we are all different and have our own struggles. Speech and fine motor skill delays may simply mean that they are simply immature, RIGHT NOW. Don't "worry", simply help (as you are doing now), build their confidence and meet each stage as it comes along. We all come in different sizes, colors, abilities, and skill levels. Enjoy them.

Hi JF, While there is a chance that they may not catch up, there is still a great amount of chance your children will catch up to the level of other children. My daughter had a problem with a lazy eye and I had no idea that motor skills played a part.

The therapist started with simple stretches. What she called Superman stretch. Laying on her tummy, the doctor had my daughter stretch her arms out and her legs out. Then swim. I really had my doubts, but went along. Next she worked on a jump rope skill much like the double dutch. All of this worked on her coordination. It was many years ago, so I can't remember all of the physical activities she had her do, but it worked. My daughter does need glasses, but the eye has not appeared lazy again.

With the second one, I made sure to stretch her little body and let her use her own physical abilities. Sometimes, you will hear older generations say walking too soon can be harmful. I'm no expert, but these tidbits of advice sway back and forth.

Do what you can with them, without over stimulating them in one particular area. Google and see if there is any advice out there that you can start them on. I would think things like bouncing a ball while carrying on a conversation would be a good start. Extended walks, while saying the ABC's. Physical activities while working the mind.

Best of luck.

J.F.

You really cannot take the anedotal information that you will get from other Moms and apply that to your situation. Some will do better than others, and some will not do well at all. There are many factors that will predict the outcome for your sons. You do not seem to me to have all the information that you should, and I would suggest to you that you don't rely on a "theory" for what is going on here. Find out for sure by going to see a Developmental Pediatricain ASAP. Make the appointments on Monday, and do not delay. Call your nearest Children's hospital, and ask to be seen by a Developmental Pediatrician, do not settle for a psychologist, or therapist who could see them sooner, get the appointment and ask to be on the cancelation waiting list. This will take many months, but you need so much more information than you have. The Developmental Pediatrician will call in every type of professional your sons need, from speech, hearing, language to OT and geneticists. Then, they will put all the information into one report with a complete treatment plan for you to follow.

Next, get as much therapy as you can get until you have this appointment. If you can get OT and speech privately, get it. Do not settle for only what the state will provide. The one thing you have going for you is your son's young ages, do not waste a single second of the time they have on thier side. This will be the biggest predictor of how well you sons do, how early and how much intervention you get, and being sure that you do not miss a single thing in their treatment. The state has no interest in getting your sons the best treatment they can get, they are only interested in providing what is required by law-You will always want more, and they are not required to maximize your son't potiential, and that is what you want.

It may very well be a struggle. I don't say that to make you feel bad, but it is probably reality. I know you want to hear tons of Moms say that they got therapy and thier child is fine, but for most of us, that is not the complete picture. Do not count on being that one parent whose kid is like the few you will hear about who are not effected later. For sure, do not delay a single day in getting more therapy because someone writes here that thier cousins sister in laws neice had this problem and is now a rocket scientist. You could be very disapointed, and you will never get the most important years back if you wait. More is much better than less. Now is far better than later. NEVER wait and see because you probably won't like it.

It is far too soon for you to worry about school age, get a diagnosis from a Developmental pediatricain, and get as much therapy as you can get in the mean time for the symptoms that you see now. Don't waste a second, time is all you have that will be free.

I am very sorry if this sounds doom and gloom, it is serious, but many people live with these kinds of issues, and they have very happy lives. You will have plenty of time later to worry about the future, concentrate now on what you can do when intervention is hands down the most effective.

M.

As a tired OT who should get to bed soon, I'd like to just say ditto to AJC's response. ..and ask these questions of your children's therapists. I am sure they would be glad to discuss this with you. :)