Characteristics
Students with fine motor skills needs have difficulty printing and writing legibly. They often have difficulty painting and cutting and sometimes with activities of daily living (eg, dressing). Endurance for fine motor activities can be affected by fatigue. Because of their difficulties, they may seem disinterested, or give up easily on fine motor tasks.
Fine Motor Assistive Device
Switch
Speech to Text Assistive Technology
What it is
An area of student need, involving fine (small) physical motor skills of the fingers and hands.
Teaching Strategies
Instructional
• Implement school-based strategies provided by a Physical or Occupational Therapist.
• Use assistive devices, like pencil grips and various sizes of writing instruments.
• Create opportunities for paired writing activities with peers who have strong fine motor skills.
• Use assistive technology and computers.
• Provide copies of notes.
• Chunk written work into parts.
• Use larger-lined paper or paper with raised lines.
• Provide practice in making particular letters of difficulty.
• Teach cursive writing if printing is especially problematic.
• Teach keyboarding skills and/or the use of speech to text software.
• Permit the use of a computer for drafts, especially first drafts, so that future drafts require less fatigue.
• Provide a physical mouse instead of a touch pad on lap tops (larger/specialized mouses are available).
• Develop and teach alternative programming expectations with respect to the student’s fine motor development.
• Reward student efforts.
Less...
More...
Environmental
• Use preferential seating to use assistive technology (near an outlet).
• Provide a larger or slanted work surface.
• Use stress balls to massage tired hands and to strengthen hand.
• Substitute key lock for combination lock.
• Monitor the student for safety when working with science or art materials, especially if the student is unfamiliar with the specific materials used.
Assessment
• Provide extra time.
• Give oral tests/scribe answers for the student.
• Give tests with a variety of formats to reduce the amount of writing required (true/false, multiple choice).
• Use assistive devices (computer, assistive programs, specific paper/writing tools).
• Provide choice in assignments, including some with less writing demands (Power Point presentations, for example)
Resources
