Poor Hand-Eye Coordination

[ChrisB]

From a friend:

DS4.5's hand-eye coordination is terrible. He can't copy shapes to save his life. If I use the connect the dot method he can barely squeak out a triangle. He has very poor handwriting skills...even for a four year old, and it has taken an actual cutting with scissors program from Kumon for him to even be able to cut. I tested it out, and he appears to be left handed, but needs to be reminded a lot which hand to use for writing, cutting, and eating. I thought there might be some specific exercises for developing better motor skills.

What say the Hive? Any insights?

[Barb_]

From a friend:

What say the Hive? Any insights?

 

I'd say he's 4.5. It's too early to worry yet.

 

Barb

[FairProspects]

I'd have him evaluated by an Optometrist with a specialty in vision therapy and development. Fine motor skill delays are frequently related to vision problems and what your friend is describing are some of the first signs that we had that ds had vision tracking issues. The earlier these types of things are caught, the sooner therapy can help. And if nothing is wrong, then nothing is lost!

 

www.covd.org

[emeraldjoy]

I was thinking some sort of visual problem as well.

I also agree that 4.5 is pretty young.

[Barb_]

I'd have him evaluated by an Optometrist with a specialty in vision therapy and development. Fine motor skill delays are frequently related to vision problems and what your friend is describing are some of the first signs that we had that ds had vision tracking issues. The earlier these types of things are caught, the sooner therapy can help. And if nothing is wrong, then nothing is lost!

 

www.covd.org

 

BUT! These things, particularly when mild and tied to early development, can work themselves out without therapy. I have two that happened exactly that way. Vision therapy is very expensive and rarely covered by insurance. Even the initial eval runs upwards to $500. It is a little like speech therapy for a 2yo. Started early, you will see quick results. Then again, who's to say you wouldn't have seen results with time and patience?

 

Not to be argumentative, but to offer the OP other things to think about.

 

Barb

[lgm]

I'd take him for an early childhood screening. It's a little early for handedness to develop, but they can give the parents a good idea of where he's at in his bilateral integration and crossing-the-midline development. In my area, early childhood evals are done for free, usually between ages 3 and 4; but if he's not in public K they'll do it for a 4.5 yr old. It's not through the school district, but they may give a referral to the district for further eval or therapy.

 

Here's one opinion which includes several activity suggestions:

http://admin.babygym.co.za/articles/articles_uploaded/Crossing.pdf

[Mommyof4ks]

I was thinking some sort of visual problem as well.

I also agree that 4.5 is pretty young.

 

:iagree: and let him play Wii. My 6yr old had the same issue at 4, but within just a couple of months of getting a Wii he was greatly improved. It takes ALOT of coordination, and video games are a fun way to encourage practice.

[Kim in Appalachia]

My 4.5 year old can't copy shapes either. And I'll have to admit that my now 7 year old couldn't do it well until last year, and he still writes horribly. Some kids just take a little longer. I would focus on gross motor skills. Video games are good for hand-eye coordination. I would also play catch (with a large ball), basketball or other type game. Working with play dough is good for dexterity. Working on a chalkboard or whiteboard (hung up) is also good, since it uses different muscle groups than paper work. And don't forget practicing drawing in sand or rice. My kids have always found that to be a fun activity.

[katilac]

Very young, imo. I know many kids that age who can't copy shapes or letters.

 

I don't know that I'd definitely consider it an eye-hand coordination problem; it could simply be motor skills and strength in the hand. Try lots of play-dough, coloring, and playing with scissors.

 

Eye-hand, I think the Wii suggestion is a good one. Also stuff like pouring water or rice from one container to another.

 

She needs to quit telling him what hand to use. He'll sort that out on his own, and 'reminding' him to switch hands will only confuse matters further.

[Laurie4b]

I've had one ds whose fine motor skills were simply late in appearing; another whose fine motor skills problems are pretty much permanent. Having had one of each, I'm much more likely to suggest that you get an evaluation because if there is a problem that is not simply developmental, the earlier you get help, the better.

 

The correct professional to evaluate this is an occupational therapist.

[FairProspects]

BUT! These things, particularly when mild and tied to early development, can work themselves out without therapy. I have two that happened exactly that way. Vision therapy is very expensive and rarely covered by insurance. Even the initial eval runs upwards to $500. It is a little like speech therapy for a 2yo. Started early, you will see quick results. Then again, who's to say you wouldn't have seen results with time and patience?

 

Not to be argumentative, but to offer the OP other things to think about.

 

Barb

 

While I'm glad that things worked out for your kids, I do think it is hard to tell how serious or mild the problem is without the outside opinion of a professional. We started seeing problems at 3 (and were told by others), we felt that was too young and decided to give ds some time to mature, and finally got an evaluation at 5. The problems had not gone away, and may have even gotten worse since ds had avioded writing/drawing/anything fine motor like the plague in the 2 years in between. Since his docs told us his kind of delay typically takes about 2 years of therapy to resolve, I wish we had started earlier as we could have been done with therapy by now and saved ourselves a lot of grief this year when it came time to start teaching him early reading and writing (which I would never wish on anyone).

 

I realize your post was intended to give the OP something to think about, and finances are definitely part of that reality, but please consider how insensitive it might sound to a parent of a child with developmental delays. It sounds an awful lot like you are saying if I was just more patient with ds, his problems would resolve with time. I can tell you emphatically that ds's eyes would NOT start working together on their own with more time. While I hope the OP's situation is different from our case, my original advice stands that it is worth looking into an evaluation if only to rule out any vision problems.

[gingersmom]

Do not wait.

 

Take him for an early intervention evaluation (if you want to go through public school system) or I highly recommend taking him for an Occupational Therapist evaluation.

 

The sooner you get help the sooner the problem is resolved. You can always decide to do nothing but you are much better off knowing what you are dealing with.

[gingersmom]

BUT! These things, particularly when mild and tied to early development, can work themselves out without therapy. I have two that happened exactly that way. Vision therapy is very expensive and rarely covered by insurance. Even the initial eval runs upwards to $500. It is a little like speech therapy for a 2yo. Started early, you will see quick results. Then again, who's to say you wouldn't have seen results with time and patience?

 

Not to be argumentative, but to offer the OP other things to think about.

 

Barb

 

My son started with speech therapy at 18 months. I did not see quick results. He did not say his first words till he was 4 years old. And that was with speech 5 days a week.

 

So waiting is not always the best option.

[Sputterduck]

At 4.5 my son couldn't do that either. That is too young to worry about that, especially for a boy. Boys develop fine motor coordination later. Some aren't ready to learn to write until they are 6. My son is 5 now and can do all that just fine.

[stripe]

But it's not clear if the child has, for example, normal vision -- if he has quite bad vision, that might explain it, for example. I would think an examination by an optometrist used to dealing with children would be warranted. Many children are not taken to an eye doctor until 6 or whatever, so it's better to go now, just to figure out this angle. It is not always obvious when there are major issues there.

 

I think there are plenty of exercises that could help, such as lacing/threading/stringing beads/weaving, picking up small items with that pinching motion (like buttons or beans or grains of rice), playing catch with a ball, throwing something (ball or hoops) to reach a target, playing with dough, and so on.

[Barb_]

I realize your post was intended to give the OP something to think about, and finances are definitely part of that reality, but please consider how insensitive it might sound to a parent of a child with developmental delays. It sounds an awful lot like you are saying if I was just more patient with ds, his problems would resolve with time. I can tell you emphatically that ds's eyes would NOT start working together on their own with more time. While I hope the OP's situation is different from our case, my original advice stands that it is worth looking into an evaluation if only to rule out any vision problems.

 

You are correct that I was bringing up a point that wasn't addressed. Finances are an important consideration and most people aren't aware that vision therapy usually costs thousands of dollars out of pocket until they are already hip-deep in it. I felt it was important for the OP to have all the information in order to weigh the costs vs. potential benefits. I don't believe (and never said) waiting is the right course of action in all cases, but I do believe it *is* as legitimate course of action. And in the particular case with the OP, I see no urgency to have a child evaluated because he can't cut or copy circles at age 4. Left-leaning children in particular tend to be wired a little differently and can take longer to catch on.

 

Barb

[Barb_]

My son started with speech therapy at 18 months. I did not see quick results. He did not say his first words till he was 4 years old. And that was with speech 5 days a week.

 

So waiting is not always the best option.

 

I never said waiting is always the best option...just that it is a legitimate option. A free or low-cost eval won't hurt if available, but I was blindsided by a $550 bill at checkout when I took my daughter for her VT eval. We were lucky that we could scramble and move money around to pay for it, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time. In some situations, waiting is the only option.

 

Barb

Edited October 26, 2009 by Barb F. PA in AZ

[Barb_]

I realize your post was intended to give the OP something to think about, and finances are definitely part of that reality, but please consider how insensitive it might sound to a parent of a child with developmental delays.

 

I am sensitive to children with delays. My daughter was evaluated by a developmental optometrist at age 8. She was diagnosed with a number of processing problems and delays of 1-3 years. But after much research and weighing of the costs and benefits I decided to work with her at home and give her a chance to mature. At the time, it had nothing to do with patience and everything to do with the fact that I was pregnant, getting ready to send one to college, and homeschooling a handful. We just didn't have enough time and resources to go around. A couple of years later, we are in a better position to deal with the cost and time equation, but the processing problems seem to have receded into the background. Instead of a disability they are more of a minor annoyance and getting better with practice. Sometimes issues that seem insurmountable when a child is very young actually *do* work themselves out with time and one on one attention. Sometimes they need more intensive therapy. In no way does my choice negate yours, but but your decision to go ahead with early therapy isn't the only option across the board in all cases. That was the only point I was making.

 

Barb

Edited October 26, 2009 by Barb F. PA in AZ

[stripe]

I was blindsided by a $550 bill at checkout when I took my daughter for her VT eval. We were lucky that we could scramble and move money around to pay for it, but it would have been nice to know ahead of time.

I would also recommend that if you'll be paying out of pocket, it's worth asking before / at the same time as making an appointment, what the estimated cost will be.