Gross motor

Stability to Mobility – Postural Stability is needed to control function.

• To be able to reach out from a sitting position, a baby must first be able to maintain the sitting position or when reaching out, they would fall over.

Gross to Fine – Whole body to refined (Skilled function).

• When a baby is excited about a toy it is being shown the whole body will respond by all parts moving. Later they will be able to turn head and arms towards the toy and later again they will be able to reach out one or both hands to the toy and later again will be able to pick it up / manipulate it.

Head to toe – Cephalo to Caudal

• Head control – being able to turn to a stimulus when lying down comes first, then sitting up and finally standing and walking.

Inside to out – Proximal to Distal

• Trunk control, keeping the body still enough to reach out and grasp first in lying then sitting then standing comes before being able to purposefully direct one’s arms, legs, hands, feet. Shoulder and trunk stability is crucial for developing good fine motor and handwriting skills, but we often concentrate on the hands rather than the shoulder girdle, core stability or posture and positioning.

Motor Coordination

To achieve Motor Coordination we need to integrate sensory input and processing:

• Vision (Sight – including perception, the ability to interpret what we see)
• Touch (Tactile – level of touch from light to pressure, pain and temperature)
• Vestibular System (Balance – eye, head & body movement, position & speed)
• Proprioceptive System (Body Awareness – movement of muscles and joints (Unconscious)
• Kinaesthesia (Muscle Sense – body position, weight, muscle tension and movement (Conscious)

Children with motor coordination difficulties may experience problems in the following areas:

• Gross Motor Skills and Balance
• Fine Motor Skills and Handwriting / Recording
• Vision including Perception / Spatial Awareness
• Memory, Concentration, and Organisational Skills;
• Social Skills

Dyspraxia and Cerebral Palsy are the most recognisable medical conditions to cause motor coordination difficulties. There are other associated diagnoses e.g. Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Down’s Syndrome, Hypertonia, Lax Ligaments etc.

Many young children will display difficulties with coordination and benefit from additional activities and strategies, but most grow out of it as they mature. The child with Dyspraxia or Cerebral Palsy may learn to manage their difficulties better, but will not ‘grow out of it’.

Gross motor skills activities