Fine Motor Activities for Children with Special Needs

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The much needed activities for children who have difficulty in holding things (especially small things), Writing, Grasping, Squeezing , Kneading etc.

• What are Fine Motor Skills?

(LinkSource:-https://youtu.be/4bKyVjx90Ds)

• Fine motor skills are the ability of small muscles of the wrist and hand to initiate the movement.
• The wrist and hand muscles get coordinated with each other to make a movement.
•  These muscles are generally responsible for initiating movements like grasping, holding, squeezing, writing etc.
• These muscles are also known as Fine Motor muscles.
• The movements or activities initiated by these muscles are known as Fine Motor Activities.
• These activities are otherwise known as Small joint movements.
• Interpretation in the activities of these muscles can cause Fine motor impairment and which is responsible for inability to generate the movement.

What are the movement impairment are seen if the child is having fine motor issues? If the child is having fine motor deficits then he/she has some particular movement issues which indicates the fine motor movement deficit. They are following: 1. The child is having difficulty with holding an object, or if he/she can hold they are unable to hold for a long time. 2. The child has difficulty in writing, if the child knows how to write then maybe he writes with too much pressure or the pen/pencil sleeps in between the writing. 3. The child may not be able to grasp small objects like buttons, pulses, grains, etc. 4. The child cannot perform certain activities like throwing a ball, playing with a flying dish etc. 5. The child is unable to do pulling- pushing activities as these activities require good fine motor muscle strength. 6. Due to muscular weakness the child with fine motor impairment has very poor drawing and craft skills. >. So above mentioned are the difficulties faced by a child who is having fine motor issues. 5 Fine Motor Activities Here are some fine motor activities which are very important for the children who have fine motor muscle weakness. They are following: 1. Create Your Own Imaginary World with Play Dough

(LinkSource: YouTube https://youtu.be/XnAXjiW5u3c)

• There are some different types of play dough activities which the child really loves to perform.
• They are divided into other different parts. a. Make Your Own Play Dough:
• This is one of the best activities which every child loves to do.
• Infact making your own play dough is the best home activity also e.g; you can make your own play-dough by using wheat flour or mix grain flour etc. b. Build your dream house or castle :
• You can make your imagination come true. With the help of clay or sparkling play-dough the kid can make his/her own imaginary dream house or a story castle.
• Yeah, it’s a great activity for a kid as it also improves memory , concentration and imagination power, too. c. There are some games of playing with dough also available in the market which involve hand activity, concentration, color recognition and also helps in improving the fine motor muscular strength. d. The kid can also make the shapes with this like car, animal, etc.

2. Sorting Activities : (ImageSource:-https://s28301.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Fine-Motor-Sorting-Tray-Activity.jpg)

•  This activity can be done by children of any age group.
• It can be done by mixing different types of grains, pulses, color beads, different shapes of pebbles , different types of buttons etc.
• The child has to separate all these items according to their shapes and color and has to arrange it in a proper manner.

(LinkSource: YouTube https://youtu.be/-SvD9ljpFtQ)

•  This is one of the best fine motor activities which not only improves muscular strength but it is also helpful in increasing eye hand coordination, concentration and memory.
• The therapist or teacher can make this activity from basic to advanced level according to the child’s need and level of understanding.

3. The SSS Activities : (LinkSource: YouTube https://youtu.be/tLOcHF1Tu8I)

• These activities involve 3 activities in one set.
• The SSS means Sticking, Scissoring and Shaping.
• Yeah, The one can cut different shapes according to their wish and after that he/she has to stick it on a cardboard or a chart paper.

(ImageSource:-https://s28301.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/fine-motor-tools.jpg)

• The best example of this activity is making your own family tree, yes this involves all these SSS skills.
• The paper craft is also a great example.
• This activity can improve fine motor skills, muscular strength and also improves confidence of the child.

4. The Sensory Bin Activity:

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• The child can create his/her own sensory bin by using color pebbles, stones, color threads, box, color craft paper etc.
• This can create a magical colorful world of children.
• Sensory Bin is the best activity for the child who is a sensory seeker, it provides very good sensory input to the hand and finger muscles of the child.
• The sensory bin proves like a child’s own treasure box.

5. The Sensory Combo:

(Imagesource:-http://mamaot.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Connecting-through-sensory-play.png)

This includes the combination of various activities which involves the sensory room or playroom activities. They are: A.Pulling and Pushing B. Squeezing Sponge or soft boll C. Hanging On Monkey Bar, Up-Down activities on monkey bar D. Turning and Twisting activities E. Drawing and Doodling fun activities All these above activities are the fine motor activities which help to improve the fine motor skills of a child.

(Linksource: YouTube https://youtu.be/VvIqKOTvTsA)

• The therapist has to change the activities according to the child’s internet otherwise it becomes monotonous to the child and he/she can’t enjoy it, so prepare the program like funlearn activity and yes don’t forget to give the home program for speedy improvement.
• If a child enjoys the activity then it becomes easier for him/her to learn and cure because EVERY CHILD IS SPECIAL.
• Read more on Dyslexia: One of the most common learning disability