Son Needs Help with Fine Motor Skills

My son will be 4 in April and he is special needs and goes to Hope Wall in Aurora for preschool. He has always been developementally delayed. He has trouble with this too, and we just keep working with him. Have you thought about having him evaluated for some kind of therapy to help with this? It does a world of good, let me tell you. I was through it with my middle daughter too and now Erik. My middle daughter Lauren is the top of her class now, but Erik, well he is alot different and alot more behind then Lauren was. I would look into that. If you would like some places I can tell you where we went for him and her to be evaluated.

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

There is so much pressure on little kids today. When we were growing up this stuff was not even discussed until first grade. Maybe he just doesn't like it. I used to work as a para eduactor in special education for kids 4 8. One of the first things we learned about was how a child's motor skills evolve over time to what is called a "mature grasp". That being said most little kids will "fist" then "tripod" their writing utensils, eventually evolving to a "mature grasp" (how you or I would hold a pen). This can last "grasp" can take until a child is 8-10 years of age. That being said...it takes a "mature grasp" to really be able to have control over writing, coloring etc. Try having him cut paper, or a magna doodle toy versuses "work". Also, is he righty or a lefty, because it makes a world of difference. I was told that my son was behind in fine motor skills last year at age three (he is now 4) only to discover that the new teacher in his classroom did not know that he was a lefty. Nevermind I had discussed this with his other teacher, I guess they never documented it, but after they began showing him things lefty it got much easier. Maybe it is just too much pressure and if things are allowed to just melloe for awhile he'll come to it on his own.

Check with your school district about Preschool programs that include therapty provided by the county. I don't know where you are from but in Sandwich it is called Early Childhood. The best part is that if your son qualifies you only pay regular school fees not a weekly fee like most preschools. Definitely have him tested now so he does not fall farther behing when he gets to Kindergarten. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask.

First, bring the issue up with your pediatrician. They can help you evaluate how significant the delay is. If he shows more than a 30% delay, he should qualify for special occupational therapy services from your school district. Most school districts provide these services in 2 ways, either one-on-one with a therapist one or more times per week, or through a pre-school type program with special set-aside activities in the classroom with a therapist. My daughter, who is 5 now, attended a pre-school program like this in Naperville for 2 years, where she got speech therapy, physical therapy and OT for fine motor skills. She loved it, learned a lot, and is completely caught up now. The law requires the school district to provide these services so if you qualify you should take advantage of it. Usually there is an Early Childhood office to contact to arrange for a screening to assess the extent of the delay. Good luck!