Fine Motor Skills | ADHD Information

ot/pt----my daughter gets this.  play-doh is good, catching & throwing balls are good......i have to try & remember what else the therapist does?  i'll type more later....kristyolk, I think this is pretty common with ADHD. Certainly is true with my 7-year-old son.

A couple of "OT-type" things we do that have helped:

Get a pad of "bumpy" paper -- elementary writing paper with raised lines so he can feel where the bottom of the line goes. I got this at a local dept. store.

Get some squeezable hand exercisers for pre-writing exercise. You can get those stress relief balls, or fill Zip-loc bags or balloons with interesting textures (I used rice, popcorn, Play-Doh, etc.)

Fat pencil grips -- there are some cool ones out there that kids like better than having the fat (baby!) pencils

Good luck!

Yeah, it's usually the OT who works with this in school.  It can really effect his writing skills, so the sooner you do interventions, the better.  Has he been evaluated by the school for OT services?We had OT. To this day, my son still can't write, but he can print all right. They are focusing on teaching him to keyboard. Does she also have speech delays or just motor problems?Andrew's (7)  teacher has commented that his fine motor skills are well below his peers.  I was wondering if anyone knows the things that we can do to help this out with him. 

My son's were this way, and after we started meds the imporovement was amazing.  His handwriting is great now.

 

For help maybe try an Occupational Therapist?  I know they work with hands, maybe even  PT.

they have just finished the  IEP evaluations and we have the meeting MAr 10.  I'm hoping he'll get some OT time at school with that.  He is not speech delayed at all but he can barely print legibly and often it is not so legible.  I have done the pencil grip thing but he chews on it instead.  So we have stopped that one.  I'm gonna try a stress ball and see what happens.....   Nothing can hurt right.If you get OT, ask for more than 1 hour a week (which is what my ds got).  That little time doesn't make a dent.  Also work with him at home.  Kristy, I know you've been trying to help your ds for a long time.  Have you had him dxed by a neuropsych?  That was the doc that dxed my son for dysgraphia.  Ds now keyboards most everything he does for school and started doing this when he was 10. 

You see this problem much more often in Autism than adhd.

 

Hwtears best hadwriting program done by a Plano tx. Ot therapist.

They'll come along as needed.

If he's interested in something, like video controllers, you'd be amazed at how skilled he can be with fine motor needs.

Don't worry, choose your battles.

Handwriting is not one of them.

Typing would be.

Why?

The whole world types, for now.
I am working my way throug the system and things are just going so very slow.  Right now we are trying to get some counseling to help us deal and I am trying to find a neuropsych.  Next I am going to move his care to a psych in the closest town that has a child's one.He does play game boy soetimes but hasn't been allowed to since that was a punishment for some pretty bad beavior.  The problem is that his printing is illegible most of the time and I just don't have the patience to make him drill on it all night. I am hoping that the IEP meeting goes well and that he gets some OT at the school soon.Your IEP meeting should go well.

Document everything he does, why he needs help, and justify your requests.

Use the same terminology they use, same phrases, key words, statements, concepts, etc.

Best wishes, and keep us posted.

David