Fine motor skills are the ability to use coordinated precise movements with the intrinsic (“smaller”) muscles of the hand for functional tasks.  Children who demonstrate fine motor weakness have difficulty with grasping and manipulation skills. They can show difficulties with tasks such as cutting, writing, buttoning, and moving/holding objects in one’s hand.  In the school setting for example, students can have an immature pencil grasp, not exert enough pressure when writing and have difficulty with grasping small objects (i.e. beads).

​

​

Some signs of fine motor weakness include:

​

• When a child uses shoulder movements (i.e. often seen by moving the whole arm) rather than isolating finger movements for writing/ coloring.

• An immature pencil grasp; by the age of 6 years old, a child should have a mature dynamic tripod grasp

• When a child has difficulty holding small objects with the pads of their fingers

• An elevated wrist when writing or coloring

• Weak pressure when writing/ coloring

• Poor handwriting