Understanding and addressing children’s motor skills is vital for their overall development and success in different stages of life. Motor skills encompass a wide range of abilities, including auditory and visual perception, balance, coordination, and spatial awareness. Children who struggle in one or more of these areas, like those with dyspraxia or developmental coordination disorder (DCD), might have difficulties with their handwriting, their self-esteem and even managing their daily chores. However, there is hope.

Focusing on targeted interventions and engaging activities maximizes the possibility of improving balance, coordination, and confidence. This idea will eventually enhance not only physical abilities but also cognitive skills like concentration and sequencing. Let’s have a deeper look into these abilities:

“Auditory and Visual Perception” 

We have to process thousands of auditory and visual stimuli every day. When this information is brought to the brain, auditory and visual perception help us make a better sense of the world around us. Hearing or seeing something does not necessarily mean our brain is able to throw light on the visual or auditory input. 

Auditory and visual perception are divided into various classifications. We might find ourselves having imbalances in just one or more of these areas. Auditory and Visual Perception consists entirely of five subcategories, namely, Auditory/Visual Memory, Sequential Memory, Auditory/Visual Figure Ground, Visual Discrimination, and Visual Closure. Here are a few examples for each of these subcategories:

• Remembering what we heard or saw when an instruction was given, or remembering the shape of every letter (auditory or visual memory). 
• Remembering the specific order of information, such as spelling a word (sequential memory).
• Picking up information from a busy environment or background, such as listening to someone over the general noise of the environment or finding a detailed piece of information in a complex or busy picture (auditory or visual figure),
• Recognizing the differences among the same shapes and letters. For instance, “b,” “d,” “p,” and “q” are different letters even though they all have the same shape (visual discrimination).
• Filling in the incomplete information without seeing it completely or having the ability to speed read (visual closure) 

“Balance and Core Stability”

Moving from a stable to an unstable position or maintaining that unstable position for a specific time falls under category of balance. Such movements and positions can be either static (keeping still) or dynamic (moving through space).

Core stability, on the other hand, refers to creating a stable base using the abilities of the body’s joints and muscles. The key point here is to keep a straight posture against gravity. 

“Bi-lateral Coordination”

Bilateral coordination emphasizes the ability to utilize two sides of the body simultaneously in a coordinated way. Body integration, or coordinated movements of two sides of the body, stems from a brain function called bilateral integration. Children who are lacking in this area have difficulties using cutlery (such as a knife, fork, and spoon), tying shoelaces, dressing, drawing diagonal lines and shapes, and cutting skills.

This function advances in the following direction; First, children learn to use both sides to do the same thing. For instance, they might catch a large ball with both hands. Then, they need to master reciprocal movements, which involve alternating activities such as playing the xylophone with one hand and then switch to other hand or patting a ball with alternate hands. Lastly, they should be able to get a hang of differentiated movements in which each hand does something different, such as cutting a certain shape or picture, string, slicing, and sifting. 

“Crossing the Midline” 

Crossing the midline is a bilateral skill that should be mastered by a 3–4-year-old child, and it refers to moving one hand, foot, or eye into the space of the other hand, foot, and eye. A few instances of such movement include crossing ankles, reading left to right, and scratching an elbow. Some children may have difficulties in which crossing the midline and using both body sides are necessary. Children with issues crossing the midline might try to avoid these tasks and have confusion about establishing a hand preference. This can be observed when they are engaged in activities such as eating, painting, drawing, writing, and throwing, where they shift from one hand to another.

Offering the pencils, brushes, balls, etc. at the child’s visual midline provides opportunities for children with delayed hand preference development to choose which hand they are favored to use. 

“Eye Tracking” 

Attending to or following objects or people in the environment requires smooth, coordinated eye movement. When merged with other visual skills, it facilitates reading without losing track, copying work from a whiteboard or a screen, and following objects in motion (such as a thrown ball), which we should react to—either get out of the path, redirect them, or stop them. Hand-eye coordination and foot-eye coordination Small movements that require an individual’s attention and skills to manipulate objects are classified under fine motor skills.

Working with scissors, rubbers, and fastening or unfastening buttons, zippers, snaps, etc. only refers to a few examples under this classification. Even though these activities rely mainly on using hands, coordination of the rest of the body is required for succession in completing the task. One’s ability to use hands and fingers simultaneously in a purposeful and skilled way is what professionals refer to as manual dexterity. 

“Proprioception, Kinanesthesia, and Body Awareness”

Proprioception and kinanesthesia are senses that allow our muscles and joints to receive information about the movements and/or position of the body and send it to the brain. Additionally, they make progressive corrections and adjustments to adapt to the required task. Sitting on a chair, holding a pen or pencil correctly, or aiming the ball at a specific target. 

Body awareness represents location identification and conscious awareness of an individual’s body position and movement in relation to space or the environment. 

“Rhythm, Visual, and Auditory Sequencing”

A sense of rhythm not only equips our children with the developmentally necessary flow of movements and speech but also contributes to their enjoyment of music and singing. Visual and auditory sequencing are considered perceptual skills that allow us to recall the received information (whether seen or heard) in order. This is vital when we want to spell out the words or remember the sequence of our daily activities, such as getting dressed. Another example would be remembering the order given in the classroom when it is expected to complete a task or an experiment in a specific order. 

“Spatial Awareness” 

This perceptual skill allows us to figure out where we are placed in relation to our environment or everything that has surrounded us. Additionally, it provides information on how other objects or people are located in relation to one another as well as the space around them. In other words, this skill refers to understanding the perceptions of “on,” “in,” “under,” “next to/beside,” “on top of,” “underneath,” etc. while gauging spaces and distances. When spatial awareness is not well-established in children, we often observe them bumping into things or walls, knocking things over or dropping objects more than average children, having difficulties copying block patterns, displaying frustration and confusion when following a construction toy instruction, forgetting finger spaces, and showing irregularities in their handwriting (having no or limited concept of letter orientation in relation to the line).

“Tactile Awareness”

Our sense of touch is what represents the skill of tactile awareness. The primary information we receive from the world around us is through a sense of touch. The development and appropriate function of our nervous system depend on our correct perception of touch. For instance, infants first see objects in 2D. Comprehension of the 3D aspect only begins with tactile exploration—feeling objects with hands, mouth, and other parts of the body. A child with dysfunctional tactile awareness exhibits difficulties learning fine motor skills.

Addressing the issue of children’s motor skills extends far beyond the physical realm. Handwriting, dexterity, organizational skills, and even classroom participation may all be improved through tailored and accurate interventions that mainly revolve around fun and engaging activities. By developing these fundamental skills, children can overcome obstacles that once limited their learning and social interactions. From improving balance and coordination to strengthening spatial awareness and sequencing abilities, the benefits ripple through various aspects of a child’s life, setting them on a path towards increased success and confidence in both academic and social settings.

References 

1. Adolph, K. E., Karasik, L. B., & Tamis-Lemonda, C. S. (2010). Motor Skill. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of cultural developmental science (pp. 61–88). Psychology Press.
2. Trumbo, D. (1969). Instrumentation in motor skills research. American Psychologist, 24(3), 289–292. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0028355.
3. Caçola P. & Lage G, 2019, ‘Developmental coordination disorder (DCD): An overview of the condition and research evidence’, Motriz. Revista de Educacao Fisica 25(2), e101923 10.1590/s1980-6574201900020001 [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]