Hands In Motion

1. Hands In Motion Laura Turner, OT ELAWR Conference October 13, 2012

2. Learning Objectives • Review the prerequisite skills for learning to print and to use scissors • Discuss considerations for success • Outline approaches for Exceptional Children • Troubleshooting, Show & Share, Discussion

3. Hand Skills 101 • Our hands are the tools that facilitate interaction in complex ways with the environment: allow us to engage in work and play, and to accomplish activities of daily living • Effective use of our hands is a complicated process that relies on a complex interaction of: hand skills, postural mechanisms, cognition and visual perception

4. Hand Skills 101 • Patterns of hand skills include: reach, grasp, carry, voluntary release, in-hand manipulation & bilateral hand use • Social and cultural factors can play important role in acquisition and use of hand skills: e.g., limited exposure to tools and materials, cultural importance of objects and of play, safety concerns, familial preferences and perceptions related to child development (Case-Smith & O’Brien, 2010)

5. Are You Ready? The basic developmental prerequisite skills for printing and using scissors are: • The ability to balance without the use of your hands • The ability to grasp and release an object voluntarily • The ability to use your hands in a lead/helper fashion

6. Are You Ready? • The ability to interact with the environment at the stage of constructive play • The ability to coordinate eyes and hands in an appropriate perceptual/motor fashion • Previous exposure to a variety of sensory and motor experiences

7. Development of Printing Skills in Children • TRACE, IMITATE, COPY, MEMORY • 4-5 years of age: copies cross, square, left diagonal, right diagonal, some letters and numbers and may be able to print name • 5-6 years of age: copies triangle, prints name, copies most upper and lower case letters

8. Considerations for Success • Is this a ‘just-right’ challenge? Skill level of an activity: goal is to provide a ‘just-right’ challenge (i.e., a good match between a child’s current abilities and the activity, with an appropriate level of challenge)

9. Considerations for Success 2) Does the child understand the sequence of events and/or what the finished product is to look like? Visual schedules, ‘to do’ list, example of finished product, support with transitions

10. Considerations for Success 3) Is the child in a position that is comfortable, supportive, and free from distractions? Ideal position: sitting in a chair with feet flat on the floor, back supported, appropriate table height • alternate seating options will need to be explored for children with exceptionalities

11. Considerations for Success 4) Are the methods of getting and maintaining the child’s attentionworking? Paying attention to the first three considerations for success will promote attention to the activity at hand. • decrease distractions, provide appropriate physical, visual and verbal cues, provide multi-sensory activities, be realistic about length of activity

12. Considerations for Success 5) Are the child’s efforts being reinforced? Is there motivation for the child to complete the activity? • Addressing the first 4 considerations for success, turn-taking, model steps, verbal praise, rate own performance, show off final product

13. Approaches for Exceptional Children • Developmental delays -work at the child’s developmental stage; make sure that expectations are realistic (name stamp) • Motor planning issues -multisensory approach; consistency, repetition, 1:1 guidance and coaching

14. Approaches for Exceptional Children • Developmental Coordination Disorder -Cognitive approach (CO-OP: Cognitive Orientation to Occupational Performance; CanChild resources) • Physical disabilities -adaptive equipment; augmenting written communication with technology

15. Troubleshooting: Printing

16. Troubleshooting: Printing

17. Troubleshooting: Cutting

18. Troubleshooting: Cutting

19. Discussion • Questions • Sharing Ideas