Fine motor delay? Fine motor skill benchmarks to watch for in your child

This month’s Sensory Smart News is chock full of tips for developing fine motor skills in your child. I think it’s important to take a variety of approaches and keep working on those skills in fun ways to bring your child up to speed with her pre-handwriting and handwriting skills. Of course, language processing difficulties and short-term memory issues (which may include motor memory or visual memory problems) can factor into a child’s difficulty with handwriting, but very often, fine motor skills play a big role.

We don’t often think about handwriting before kids actually have to do it starting in kindergarten–I remember thinking, why is my son’s OT through the Early Intervention program concerned about whether he can draw with a crayon at 27 months old?–but the child who is behind in fine motor skills will need lots of extra help to catch up and be able to handwrite well in school. If your child is trying to compose his thoughts in a coherent way, the last thing he needs is to be struggling with writing them on paper using a pencil.

Fine motor skills play an important role in handwriting.

So where should your child be with fine motor skills? Here are some fine motor skill benchmarks from Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues (a complete list of skill benchmarks can be found in our chapter on Dealing with Developmental Delays).

7 months or so:

–can bang 2 objects together

–can poke objects with index finger

–good grasp and voluntary release

13 months or so:

–mark paper with crayon

–put 3 or more objects into a small container

16 months or so:

–points with index finger

–builds tower using 2 cubes

18 months or so:

–one hand holds object stable while the other manipulates it (Oops! That was a biggie I missed in my own child–fortunately, once he began early intervention at 27 months, I had my OT, Lindsey Biel,working with him hand over hand to develop this skill)

–scribbles spontaneously

24 months or so:

–snips with scissors

–strings one one-inch bead

–imitates vertical stroke and circular scribble

5 years old or so:

–prints first name

–writes numbers 1 through 5

If you are concerned with your child’s progress in fine motor skills (using fingers and hands), gross motor skills (using larger muscles), speech, socialization, or other skills, I urge you to investigate and get answers now. Don’t be afraid or intimidated! You can’t possibly tell if he will grow out of it or catch up on his own. Early intervention makes a HUGE difference because children’s brains are more easily trained when they are very young. When in doubt, check it out!

Here is a link to a list of early intervention providers in your state who can do a FREE evaluation of your child from birth to age 3 if you suspect developmental delays: http://sensorysmarts.com/ei_providers_by_state.html

You can also Google “early intervention” and your state’s name.

If your child qualifies for services, they will be FREE or on a sliding scale depending on your state’s policies. If your child is over age 3, or in school, ask your local school district to evaluate him. Reaffirm your request in writing by certified mail.

You can also consult a private OT for help with handwriting issues and fine motor skill delay. Be sure to ask about whether she is familiar with and experienced with working with children with sensory issues.

60 first graders, 4 teachers, one open classroom = Sensory Hell

Do I laugh or cry at the misguided professionals who borrowed an idea from an elite private prep school to create a overpopulated first-grade classroom  for public school children, a group that includes kids with sensory processing issues?  According to the New York Times article, the class is held in an open area with 60 first graders and 4 teachers who can all hear and see what’s going on with the other groups. Transitions that involve a change of activity and moving the children to a different part of the room are a nightmare, which is frustrating for the teaching team.

Up to ten percent of children have sensory processing differences that make everyday sensations such as background noise or visual clutter incredibly intense experiences that are difficult for the brain to process, distracting, and anxiety provoking. Although we can be grateful our own kids aren’t in the sensory hell of 60 kids, 4 teachers, no walls, this story is a good reminder of how important it is to be aware of how sensory kids experience auditory and visual clutter.

Neurotypical people and children have the ability to automatically “turn down the volume” on sensory input that isn’t important and “turn up the volume” (that is, pay attention to) priority sensory input. Neurotypical children can usually tune out the sound of a truck rolling by a classroom, a dog barking outside, a chair scraping as someone pulls it out, or the squeak of a marker on a whiteboard isn’t important noise–unless they’re bored or antsy because they’re hungry or tired of sitting. However, most of the time they probably won’t notice the sound or, if they do, they automatically know it’s unimportant and they don’t instantly break their focus. Of course, younger children do get distracted by sounds they find especially interesting–the sound of money jangling in a bag, described in the article, would probably excite a six-year-old eager to see how much money it is. The sound of a dog barking outside a classroom door might elicit excitement (“Ooo, there’s a doggie in the building? Can I see him? Can I pet him?) or anxiety (“Oh no, a dog. I’m scared! My aunt’s dog bit me once!”).

Imagine, though, that your brain simply can’t block out the sound of children’s feet as they move across the room, or the teacher talking to a different class. Imagine that your brain is taking in the sight of 60 kids all moving, some of them moving suddenly, or bursting into giggles that pierce your ears because of your auditory sensitivities. Your brain can’t process all this information quickly enough and some of it is being processed as danger signals. Sudden high-pitched sound? Sudden movement to your right? Your body responds with panic: the fight or flight response. You start chewing your fingertips and rocking, shutting down and not hearing the teacher’s instructions. You feel yourself getting agitated, and when another child moves too close to you, you take a swing at her. You feel yourself so excited by all the stimulation that you start hand flapping and making silly noises–which the other kids laugh at, which makes you more excited, so you start bopping your head side to side and rolling on the ground. Fight, flight, sensory overload–these are not responses that will help you learn in this environment. And if you have poor self-regulation, which many sensory kids have much longer than neurotypical children do, you’re not going to come back to a calm and alert state simply because the teacher says, “Tommy, calm down now.”

Does this sound familiar? Are you seeing these behaviors and situations in a classroom of just 20-25 kids? If there’s a child with SPD in that classroom, and statistics tell us there is, the answer is “absolutely.”

So what’s a parent or teacher to do?

In general, kids with sensory issues function better in smaller classrooms because of the lower amount of stimulation. Any time you can reduce sensory stimulation and sudden transitions, it will be easier for all children, but especially those with sensory processing differences, to focus and remain calm and alert. Many parents have found that having their child with SPD in a private school classroom with 8 children is more supportive of him than a public school classroom with 30 children, but then there’s the issue of can you get special educational services (such as OT for sensory issues) paid for by the school district if your child is in private school? It’s very difficult.

Small private school classroom but no services, large public school classroom but services, including in-class services? It’s a tough call for many parents. Whatever choices you have before you, do check out the information on my website, SensorySmartParent.com, about helping your child at school (start HERE) and the chapter on Advocating for Your Child at School in Raising a Sensory Smart Child. There are MANY ways to make classrooms more user friendly for children with sensory processing issues, and many of the accommodations are simple, low cost, or no cost. You can begin to set up a sensory diet for your child today (hopefully, with the help of a sensory smart OT). No child should be put in “sensory hell.”

GIVEAWAY of Raising a Sensory Smart Child!

I’m in a giveaway mood! Two random subscribers to Sensory Smart News will each receive a FREE copy of the award-winning book Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues. If you haven’t signed up, go to SensorySmartNews.com and sign up before Dec. 10 when the lucky winners will be chosen!

Hurry! Contest ends December 10, 2010!

Pick up a copy of the newly revised Raising a Sensory Smart Child, cheap

For a limited time, Amazon.com is selling slightly damaged copies of Raising a Sensory Smart Child (the revised and updated version) for cheap. If you’d like to pick up a copy for yourself or perhaps for your child’s teacher or caretaker, you might want to act now. I’m told these have “shelf ware” or slightly bent or soiled paperback covers–nothing that would make it difficult to actually read the book.

Meanwhile, pristine copies are available too! You might want to pick one up in your local bookstore on the Special Needs parenting shelf.

Summer Reading–How About Raising a Sensory Smart Child?

I know, I know…on first glance, my book Raising a Sensory Smart Child, coauthored by Lindsey Biel OTR/L with a foreword by Temple Grandin, does NOT look like summer reading. It’s got a lot of pages and a lot of type (although if you page through, you’ll see we really broke it up with lots of headers and bullet points). But it may be the perfect summer reading for you.

Why?

1. Summer is a time when the pressure is off with you and your child. No homework notices, suspensions, calls from the school about unacceptable behaviors and frustrated explanations by you of the sensory issues underlying those behaviors–you get a few months off from those headaches. What’s more, if you’ve got a simple routine going for your child, he or she may be able to be less dependent and clingy than during the school year. That buys you more time to hunker down and do what you’d like to do for yourself. And I am sure that learning some keys strategies for making your life MUCH easier is on your To Do list.

2. Summer’s a time when you want to read a book that doesn’t demand your full attention. Personally, I struggle to dip in and out of fiction and keep track of all those characters, but a book I can read for 1 minute here, 5 minutes there? Love love love it. That’s what Raising a Sensory Smart Child is. Sure, read the first chapter or two to get an overview (why not read a page at a time every time you go to the bathroom? Seriously–I got through the entire first Harry Potter this way! Stay hydrated this summer, pee a lot, and work your way through those pages!). But then just dip into the Practical Solutions for Everyday Problems chapter anywhere and pick up a few tips. Page through til a header grabs your eye and read a page or so. Check out those bulleted lists. You might be surprised at how easy it is to understand the material in the book even without reading an entire chapter, or reading the book front to back.

3. Do the bibliomancy trick. (Excuse the big words–as a writer, I just love to use an obscure word! Bibliomancy is a way of randomly using a book to find information you need). Close your eyes, open Raising a Sensory Smart Child to a random page, plunk down your index finger, open your eyes, and read what you are pointing to. Does it have meaning for you? Don’t be surprised if it is exactly what you need to read today.

Developing sensory smarts doesn’t have to be some big overwhelming project that you mean to get around to and feel guilty about because time has a way of getting away from you. All it requires is learning a little bit, then a little more, then a little more, and applying what you’ve learned. Frankly, it takes time to process it all. You can’t just “inhale” all there is to know about sensory processing disorder and related issues and become an expert overnight (although being prone to anxiety, that’s what I tried to do years ago–the result was a fabulous book and the realization that shoot, it takes time to really “get it”!).  I found that even just watching my son play offered the perfect opportunity to relax and begin to muse about what I was learning from my OT and other moms as I was first developing sensory smarts. You have to have time to take it all in, to observe your child, and start finding ways to do just a little better today than you did yesterday. So relax, have a great summer, and dip into Raising a Sensory Smart Child as you would a bag of M&Ms or potato chips–only without the guilt!

Summer is a great time to read the revised and expanded Raising a Sensory Smart Child!

Raising a Sensory Smart Child Giveaway and Interview with Nancy Peske

I was just interviewed at the Welcome to Normal blog about how the award-winning book Raising a Sensory Smart Child, which I coauthored, came about, and how I came to be involved in advocating for kids with SPD. If you comment on their blog, you have a chance to win a free copy of the revised and updated edition of Raising a Sensory Smart Child (blue cover). Check it out!

Win a free copy of the revised and updated Raising a Sensory Smart Child! Hurry!

New Sensory Smart Parent Site Coming!

Many of you are familiar with the site Lindsey Biel runs for the book we coauthored, Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with Sensory Processing Issues.

The award-winning Raising a Sensory Smart Child, recently revised and expanded

This month, I will be launching a new site for parents, with tons of great info on SPD and how to help your child at home and at school, but with special sections on parenting issues. This site will be http://www.sensorysmartparent.com  Look for the announcement here! The new site will also be connected to this blog so that you can easily go back and forth between the two. I hope all of you will come check it out!

Helping Kids with SPD at school especially with handwriting

While this Pedia Staff interview with my coauthor Lindsey Biel, OTR/L is aimed at professionals, her straightforward way of explaining how she helps kids with handwriting, and setting up accommodations for helping kids with SPD (sensory processing disorder) at school, and more are helpful for any parent.

Does your child receive OT for handwriting? Remember, handwriting and composing written work are two different skills. Your child may need the two separated out from each other in order if her poor handwriting abilities are holding her back from expressing her thoughts “in writing.”

This week I got an ultra ergonomic keyboard and mouse and dictation software to help reduce the stress on my hands from keyboarding. I stopped handwriting anything other than short grocery lists long ago, and yet I am a full-time writer. Perhaps that’s why I totally get why kids need the skills of handwriting and composing separated out, not mushed together as if they were one thing! Ask your school about handwriting help via occupational therapy services and ask for an evaluation (follow up your request in writing by certified mail to ensure they follow through promptly). Ask about keyboarding and assistive technology, and an IEP accommodation that allows the child to dictate her answers.

Interview with Temple Grandin

I loved this interview with Temple Grandin, advocate for people with autism, bestselling author, and designer of half of the cattle handling facilities in the U.S. It was an honor to have her write the foreword to Raising a Sensory Smart Child and learn what she had to say specifically about sensory issues and autism.

Revised and Expanded RAISING A SENSORY SMART CHILD

If you’re new to sensory processing disorder, also known as sensory integration dysfunction, or plain old “sensory issues,” you can learn the basics at the website for the book Raising a Sensory Smart Child: The Definitive Handbook for Helping Your Child with sensory processing issues: www.sensorysmarts.com

The book, written by a mom (me!) and an OT (Lindsey Biel), has a foreword from Temple Grandin, has won two major awards (iParenting and NAPPA), garnered rave reviews from Larry Silvers, M.D. and Mary Sheedy Kurcinka among others, and was recently updated and expanded with a new chapter on autism and sensory issues as well as more practical tips for families and for teenagers. Get the new edition today!