Perceptual motor skills refer to our ability to coordinate constant input and feedback between our eyes - brain - and muscles as we plan, coordinate and effectively carry out specific activities such as moving, walking, running, skipping, eating, working, writing, keyboarding, texting, driving, playing, etc.I've gotten a lot of wonderful inquiries and feedback (thank you all), and devote this post to discussing the differences between gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and grapho-motor skills - which correspond to different muscle groups and therefore to different types of perceptual motor skills, all of which we rely daily from birth to death.
Our development of perceptual motor skills begins at birth, and while there are developmental milestones doctors, psychologists, health providers and teachers will refer to, kids develop these skills at different rates. IF you are concerned about your own child's skills, ask these professionals for guidance. However, the best way to develop these skills is to practice them and consciously pay attention to the feedback you get when practicing. Feedback refers to how successful each element of the practice was at achieving the target goal- the strength used, the grip used, the extension used, etc.
- ALL percpetual motor skills develop at slightly different paces although experts have set 'normal' developmental milestone limits, and
- ALL development involves practice in use and recognizing and understanding motor feedback (how effective different movements are at achieving a target goal).
What you can do to help kids develop fine motor skills:
- PRACTICE, practice, practice. Start with simplified, large materials and gradually move to smaller/heavier/narrower objects.
- Play with legos and blocks- starting with the larger pieces and gradually integrate and move to the smaller ones;
- Beading - start with large beads and once mastered, bead with smaller and smaller objects;
- Bow tying - you may want to start with thick yarn or thick tying materials on dolls, large books and gradually move to thinner and thinner tying materials such as laces.
- Make play-dough together, mixing the flour, water, salt, by hand and choosing your own colors. Making it requires kneading which is EXCELLENT fine motor practice for all kinds of hands.
- For younger kids, there are wonderful fine-motor books you can make or buy where you can read the book and have your child practice buttoning, tying, sewing, playing with zippers, etc. These are great because the practice element is built in and is fun!
- For kids with weak oral/mouth/tongue coordination, practice making sounds placing the tongue in different locations. Note the difference sounds depending on the placement of tongue and lips.
- Squeezing squeezy toys can help kids develop stronger grips and hand muscles.
For more information on fine motor skills please read:
- Children's Health: Fine motor skills (this site defines fine motor skills, charts developmental milestones in fine motor development, defines key terms, common problems, possible parental concerns, fine motor development tests, and resources).
- 50 Fine motor activities for children
- More fine motor for children
- Fine motor development 0-6 Years
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS involve coordinating the use of large muscle groups involved in motor activities that involve large movements such as crawling, walking, running, jumping, balancing, dancing, most sports.
What you can do to help kids develop gross motor skills:
- PRACTICE, practice, practice. Start with simplified, large materials and gradually move to smaller/heavier/narrower objects. Also, for those with weak gross motor skills, have them practice in the privacy of their home/room where they won't fall victim to possible ridicule and/or embarrassment.
- Play ball, practice throwing and catching. Start with large, soft balls and gradually decrease their size and weight
- Teach your child how to skip which involves stepping and hopping. Break down the skipping movements and exaggerate them at first, refining the movements gradually.
- Practice balance by walking on wide lines or tiles and gradually trying to walk on narrower lines.
- Play games like Simon Says and Mother May I
For more information on gross motor skills please read:
- Children's Health: Gross motor skills (this site defines gross motor skills, charts developmental milestones in gross motor development, defines key terms, common problems, possible parental concerns, gross motor development tests, and resources).
- Helping children develop gross motor skills
GRAPHOMOTOR SKILLS involve highly specialized coordination between eye-hand-finger movements used for writing, and writing only. [Drawing, interestingly enough falls under fine-motor skills.] More specifically, graphomotor skills include how to effectively hold a pencil so the hand doesn't tire, muscle movements needed to shape letters, and kinesthetic feedback necessary to monitor progress when writing making sure the letters look like they're supposed to, that the ink or pencil lead is not too weak or too strong, and that there is just the right space between letters and words so others can read them (whether they are in print or script).
What you can do to help kids develop graphomotor skills:
- PRACTICE, practice, practice.
- Have your child practice handwriting - first with a large pencil and large lined paper, gradually using thinner pencils and more narrowly spaced lines.
- Grips help some kids but not all of them. Furthermore, there are different types of grips and you may want to experiment.
- Make sure students have enough space on math sheets and worksheets to comfortably fill in the required response.
- Graphomotor Skills: Let's Talk Writing - discusses what kids with weak graphomotor skills look like, factors that effect handwriting, strategies and accommodations for kids with poor handwriting,
- Handwriting and dysgraphia
- Understanding spelling errors
- Graphomotor Skills: Why some kids hate to write
- Tips for improving handwriting
Thank you all so much for your visit. Please leave your thoughts, ideas and perceptual motor strategies in the comments below.