Fine and Gross Motor Delays

Fine Motor Delays

Fine motor delays relate to the children’s inability to function with their hands according to their age. They include difficulty in planning and coordinating the actions required to do the task, as well as the decreased motor skills of the hands and the fingers, often referred to as “dexterity”.

For example, the development of fine motor skills allows children between the ages below to complete the following tasks (please note that as children develop at different rates, the ages below are not an exact timeline):

• 2-3 years old: Put on and take off simple articles of clothing (including those with zippers), string together beads with large holes, use spoons, and open doors with doorknobs.
• 3-4 years old: Manipulate clothing with larger buttons, copy simple lined shapes using a pencil and use scissors to cut paper.
• 4-5 years old: Dress and undress themselves without any help, use a fork, cut around shapes using a pair of scissors.
• 5-6 years old: Cut softer foods with a knife, tie his/her shoes.

Some children require help as they develop their fine motor skills. Occupational therapists are experts in this field. If you believe that your child may have trouble developing his fine motor skills, our licensed occupational therapists can help. 

Gross Motor Delays

Gross motor delays involve lack of coordination of large muscle groups and whole body movement. Therefore, motor coordination in everyday activities is below the capabilities of a typical person of the same age. This may manifest itself as issues in sitting, walking, or crawling, or it can cause a child to be clumsy or have poor balance. It may also be seen in poor motor planning, where a child has difficulty combining movements in a sequence, especially with non-learned movements.