Full Course Description

Transforming Visual Motor Skills for Academic Success

Handwriting skills are the foundational for academic success and overall development in children.

But identifying the underlying issues when a child is struggling can be complex and multifaceted, often involving fine motor skills, cognitive skills, visual perception, and more.

This comprehensive program provides essential strategies from assessment through intervention to help you make a significant impact. You’ll uncover engaging techniques to transform fine motor skill development into fun activities, eliminating the tedium of repetitive handwriting exercises.

Gain strategies to address handwriting issues linked with ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, SPD, and more.
Effective and play-based methods to build the necessary strength for writing
Recognize when and how to integrate assistive technology and shift focus from handwriting to other forms of communication, such as typing
Learn how to objectively measure and document progress

Our techniques are designed to be time-efficient and integrated into daily classroom routines, making them practical and easy to implement. Join us to enhance your skills and make a lasting impact on your students' handwriting abilities and overall development.

Program Information

Objectives

Assess and differentiate between common handwriting challenges linked to ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, SPD, and dysgraphia, using standardized assessment tools, with a focus on improving functional classroom performance.
Design and implement at least three play-based activities that effectively strengthen fine motor skills, demonstrated through improved handwriting legibility and reduced reversals in student work.
Apply bilateral coordination and core strength exercises, such as animal crawls and wheelbarrow walks, leading to measurable improvements in student posture and endurance during classroom writing tasks.
Determine appropriate intervention strategies based on age and development, shifting focus from handwriting to typing when necessary, and documenting the functional impact on academic performance.
Integrate at least two technological tools, such as apps or specialized grips, to enhance fine motor skills and handwriting practice, with measurable outcomes in student engagement and handwriting legibility.
Utilize objective documentation methods to track student progress in handwriting and motor skill development, ensuring continuity of care and effective communication with educators and parents.

Outline

Comprehensive Assessment Techniques for Visual, Motor, and Cognitive Factors

Graphomotor, ADD/ADHD, Dylsexia, SPD, dysgraphia
Improve skills in differentiating between similar presenting problems
Bilateral coordination
Core strength and trunk control
Visual assessment and ties to misdiagnosis of ADHD
What age is ‘too late’ to fix?

Assessing Common Legibility Errors

Proportion
Reversals
Alignment
Closing
Spacing
Formation

Get strong! Hand Strengthening How to Build Strength for Writing…Without Writing!

Top strategies for shoulder stability
Close chain UE exercises to build postural control
Engaging games for wrist and forearm strengthening
Sculpting, squirting, and other fun grip strengthening activities

Handwriting Foundations & Interventions

Focus on sizing to increase legibility
Grasp patterns
Line alignment
Letter size
Letter spacing
Letter orientation
Gain strategies to address handwriting issues linked with ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, SPD, and more
How to shift activities so that they provide meaning and value to child

Into Action: Outside the Box Ways to Improve Fine Motor Skills with FUN!

Tips to maximize engagement
Dry erase board games
Salt, shaving cream, and other multisensory strategies
Pencil and paper activities: developmental progression guidelines
5 fun activities for pincer grasp

Hot Topics, Technology and Tools

Apps that enhance fine motor skills
Documentation tips to continue treatment in school based settings

Target Audience

Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Physical Therapists
Physical Therapy Assistants
Educators
Teachers

Copyright : 04/11/2025

Fine Motor Success: Boost Skill Development with Hands-On and DIY Solutions

Achieving remarkable improvements in your patients’ fine motor skills and development doesn’t have to involve costly tools or complicated methods.

Sometimes, all it takes is a creative, hands-on approach with innovative interventions to transform your treatments and elevate outcomes.

Investing your time and resources in this training will provide you with practical, easy-to-implement strategies to enhance your clients’ fine motor skills and overall sensorimotor development.

Led by Kim Wiggins, OTR/L, a highly sought-after expert in the field, this 1-hour training will give you valuable insights into key areas such as posture, upper extremity stability, and bilateral coordination.

You’ll walk away with actionable tools that can be immediately applied in any setting, including:

Easy-to-implement strategies for developing essential fine motor skills, from hand dominance to functional grip!
Low-cost DIY adaptations that promote posture, shoulder stability, and hand function – without breaking the budget.
Evidence-backed strategies to enhance patient precision, dexterity, and functional hand movements.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to expand your skills and support your clients’ development more effectively while improving your practice.

Program Information

Objectives

1. Choose strategies to enhance posture, upper extremity stability, and bilateral coordination to aid in functional mobility.

2. Develop a plan of action to improve fine motor skills, wrist extension, and functional hand grasps to improve performance in ADLs, IADLs, and other occupations.

Outline

Foundations for Fine Motor Success

Posture: Adapting seating
Strategies for encouraging alternative seating/standing
Upper Extremity Stability: Strategies to strengthen the Shoulders and Arms

Core Coordination and Control

Activities to increase bilateral Coordination
Dominance: Determining and establishing Hand Preference
Wrist Extension: Supporting Functional Hand Movements

Fine Motor Mastery

Fine Motor Skills: Developing Precision and Dexterity
Grips: Achieving Functional and Effective Hand Grasps
Analyzing Sample Grips and Creating a Plan of Action
Review of tools and DIY strategies

Target Audience

Occupational Therapists
Occupational Therapy Assistants
Pediatric Occupational Therapists