Visual-Motor Skills
Visual-motor skills involve taking in visual information from the environment and translating it into a motor action (e.g., hand-eye coordination). Tasks that involve visual motor skills include producing accurate letters when handwriting and copying sentences from a board. Challenges in this area can manifest as illegible handwriting (large or reversed letters, lack of spaces in between words) or difficulty copying shapes. (Clark et al., 2019; O'Brien & Kuhaneck, 2019)
Handwriting
Key Milestones
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3-4 years: Approximates first name
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4-5 years: Prints first name
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5-6 years: Prints simple recognizable words
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6+ years: Writes legibly with age-appropriate sizing and spacing
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Strategies to Support This Area
Adaptive paper
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Examples include:
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Highlighted
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Spacer lines
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Raised lines
Tactile/verbal cues
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Use finger for spaces between words
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Use highlighter to mark bottom writing line & remind that letters need to “bump” the line, or that they can’t “fall” below the line.
Multi-sensory handwriting learning
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Practice writing letters in finger paint, shaving cream, or play dough/clay
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Use wiki stix to create raised top and bottom lines
Handwriting curriculum
Scissor Skills
​Key Milestones
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1-2 years: Snips, holding paper with other hand
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2-3 years: Snips moving forward
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3-4 years: Cuts on straight line
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4-5 years: Cuts on straight/curved lines, circles/square
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5+ years: Cuts out complex shapes
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Strategies to Support This Area
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Adaptive scissors (see right)
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Provide thicker paper (e.g., construction paper) or smaller sections of paper.
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Assist with proper orientation/setup (fingers and thumb in correct loops, cut with thumb facing up, hold paper with helper hand).
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Provide verbal/visual cues.
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Practice cutting various objects (paper strips, clay, straws).
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Start with cutting on thick straight lines, progress to curved lines, then circles and other simple shapes.
Push down mounted scissors
Dual control training scissors
Loop scissors
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Spring-loaded scissors​