Motor Skills

0 - 9 Years

Basic Principles of Motor Development

• Due to brain development & environment• Head to toe• Proximal to distal• Bilateral to unilateral• Gross to fine

Reflexes & Cortical Control

• Birth: flexion & spinal level reflexes• 0-4 months: increasing extension• 4-6 months: brain stem reflexes,

increasing volition• 6-15 months: mid-brain reflexes &

beginning cortical control• 12 months: cortical control

Signs of Abnormalities

• Muscle tone: high or low• Asymmetry• Primitive reflexes• Quality & quantity of movement• Motor milestones: large variability

Early Motor Skill Development for Printing

• 2 years: whole arm movement, fisted grasp with wrist extension, hand preference beginning, switching of hand dominance

• 3 years: index finger along top of pencil, 4-fingered grasp

• 4 years: establishing hand dominance, static tripod

Early Motor Skill Development for Printing

• 5 years: dominance established, static tripod becoming dynamic tripod

• 6 years: dynamic tripod, tight grip, excess pressure

• 7 years: rapid & accurate movement of thumb, index, & middle, appropriate pressure

Motor Components for Printing

• Proximal stability• Forearm position• Wrist extension• Palmar arching• Motor separation of 2 sides of hand• Mary Benbow, OTR/L

Motor Components for Printing

• Isolated movement of thumb• Isolated movement of fingers• Maintain thumb web space• Rapid & accurate movement of thumb,

index & middle digits as a unit

Skill Development for Printing

• Bilateral coordination & finger movement: snap beads, sewing cards, stringing beads, nuts & bolts, construction toys, play dough

• Proximal stability: push-pull toys, gross motor• Wrist extension & proximal stability: easels,

white boards, games on wall• Short crayons, crayons with rounded ends• Water/bubble guns, penny held by ring & little

fingers, cloths pin games

Skill Development for Printing

• Correct desk & chair: 90, 90, 90, 90• Slant board or binder with clip• Alternative pencil grasp• Pencil grippers • Handi-writer• Handwriting Without Tears - Jan Olsen in

pudding, sand, jello powder