In children, sychronised effort between the eyes and body movements helps lay the foundation for their ability to learn, perform daily skills and tasks, and participate in play, social and physical/sports activities, all of which are vital for success in school and beyond.
In this article, we will look at a foundational skill called ‘hand-eye coordination’, which, when developed successfully, will help your child thrive in their everyday adventures.
What is Hand-eye Coordination?
Hand-eye coordination is the ability to process information received through the eyes and use vision to perform movements using the hands. It is a type of perceptual-motor skill – where a child’s sensory system (i.e. sense of sight) and motor skills work together. An essential skill for your child’s development, hand-eye coordination impacts the everyday functioning of your child, including activities such as:
- Picking up or grasping an object
- Writing letters and numbers
- Building a tower of blocks
- Cutting along a line
- Reading/flipping pages
- Self-care tasks (e.g., tying shoelaces, zipping and unzipping, brushing hair, etc.)
- Eating with utensils
- Sports and play activities (e.g., throwing and catching, jump rope, football, etc.).
Signs of Poor Hand-eye Coordination
Children with poor hand-eye coordination often demonstrate avoidance or refusal to participate in many daily activities. Here are some signs that you can look out for:
- Difficulty in learning or displays messy handwriting or drawing skills
- Struggles to colour or draw within the lines
- Avoids attending to personal hygiene, or perform dressing/self-care
- Difficulty throwing or catching a ball
- Avoids exploring or playing with smaller objects such as blocks or action figures
- Appearing clumsy or uncoordinated
- Refuses to participate in sports activities
While these signs can be helpful, it’s still best to consider your child’s age and if these activities are appropriate for them. Also, it’s important to be mindful as your child might still be in the process of learning – and remember that children learn at different paces!
However, if you have noticed that your child is consistently struggling with accomplishing these tasks, one way to clarify your worries is to bring your little one for an Occupational Therapy evaluation. The therapists may question if previous eye-tests were conducted to rule out any vision concerns.
How does Occupational Therapy Help with Hand-eye Coordination?
Occupational Therapists are equipped to implement tailored activities and strategies that integrate visual information with hand movements, which specifically support the development of your child’s hand-eye coordination skills as well as strengthen the muscles in their child’s eyes and hands. Improving the child’s hand-eye coordination will involve a lot of thorough practice and repetition, thus occupational therapists ensure that the activities and exercises provided in the sessions are fun, therapeutic and motivating for the child. These include but are not limited to:
- Throwing and catching a ball of different sizes (e.g. tennis balls, basketballs, beach balls, etc.)
- Scribbling/drawing using various types of materials (e.g. pencils, crayons, pens, paint)
- Colouring using various methods and guiding to stay within the lines
- Threading and lacing
- Tracing shapes and pictures
- Puzzles
- Drawing specific shapes or lines (e.g. diagonals)
- Building blocks and Construction blocks
- Cutting and sticking items together
- Forming shapes using various materials (e.g. sticks, toothpicks)
- Tossing beanbags
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If you are eager to learn more about how Occupational Therapy can support to build your child’s hand-eye coordination, we are here to help and offer expert advice. Our occupational therapists are also trained to help your child in other important developmental areas such as core strength (Click here to read our separate blog on the importance of core strength and how occupational therapy can aid in this development), fine motor skills, gross motor skills and sensory-processing skills, among others.
Sensation Station Centre is one of the most reputable paediatric intervention and therapy centres that provide bespoke Paediatric Occupational Therapy in Dubai. Our highly qualified, experienced, and multi-cultural team of DHA-licensed therapists will work with your child to help them get a better grasp of daily living skills and develop new skills that will allow them to unlock their best potential. Our paediatric occupational therapy services are performed through evidence-based practices and are conducted in a fun, safe, and sensory-rich environment.
We need to remember that treatment options and duration of therapy will vary for each child. For specific questions about our services or to book a consultation with our therapist, reach out to us and we would be happy to assist you. Call us today at +971 4 277 6769 or WhatsApp us at +971 56 123 5002. You may also visit us at Ibn Battuta Gate Offices, Ground Floor, G-03, Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE.