1. Fine Motor Development
Chapter 11
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

2. Fine Movements and Motor Skills
Integral to motor development in general
Sports, games, exercise, fitness
Integral to other areas of human development
Academics
Social development
Some aspects decline in the latter part of life
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

3. Development of Prehension
Manipulation: Hand use (reaching and grasping)
Prehension: The act of grasping, specifically
Approaching, grasping, and releasing an object
Critical to the development of many hand movements throughout the lifespan
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

4. Halverson’s Stages of Grasping Development (1931)
Viewed the development of prehension as an ordered, relatively fixed sequence of grip patterns predictably evolving with increasing age and maturity.
Methods:
Sweeping the hand and arm in a backhand manner toward the object
Scooping the hand and arm from different angles
Direct reach
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by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

5. Sequence of Grasping Behavior
Primitive squeeze
Squeeze grasp
Hand grasp
Palm grasp
Superior palm grasp
Inferior forefinger grasp
Forefinger grasp
Superior forefinger grasp
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by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

6. Alternate View of the Development of Prehension (1989)
Task constraints (e.g., object size) play a major role in grip patterns.
Children and adults use similar patterns for objects of similar size relative to their hand size.
Developmental progressions may be more flexible than those Halverson described.
The five most common grip patterns
encountered by Newell, Scully,
Tenenbaum, and Hardiman (1989).
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

7. Adjustment to Task Constraints in Grasping
Infants seem to differentiate the size and shape of objects as early as 4 months of age.
Employ various grip configurations for different objects
A child’s developmental sequence depends on the exact nature of the task at hand.
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

8. Anticipation and Object Control
Children must develop an ability to adjust for varying sizes, shapes, and weights of objects.
Prior to 9 months of age, a child’s application of force in the reach and grasp is unrelated to the weight of the object.
By the time they are 18 months old, children exhibit anticipation and can differentiate reaching and grasping responses.
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

9. by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers
Haptic Perception
Active use of hands to hold and explore an object in order to gain information
Properties that can be haptically perceived:
Temperature, size, texture, hardness, weight, and shape
Exploratory procedures
Unsupported holding
Haptic ability may not be fully developed until middle childhood or early adolescence
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

10. Phases in Object Manipulation
From birth to 3 months: Simply clutch objects in one’s fist
From 4 to 9 months: More hand movements
Poke, scratch, rub, wave, and bang objects
Move objects from hand to hand
Haptic sensitivity emerges
By 9 or 10 months: Ability to sit makes two-handed manipulation easier
Contour following
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

11. Fine Movement and Touch Perception in Adults
Age-related declines in touch and haptic ability begin around the age of 45 years.
More severe declines occur later in life.
But: No age-related differences in performance on haptic tasks that were more dependent on a cognitive element to determine object properties.
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

12. Handwriting and Drawing
Complicated motor skills involving:
Intellectual thought processes
Visual and perceptual processing
Movement control
Despite computers, knowing how to write is still necessary for many daily tasks.
Children who lag in handwriting development may lag behind in other areas.
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

13. Handwriting and Drawing Development
Simple scribbles evolve into ability to create shapes, which then evolve into letters.
Gender plays a role.
Quality of writing develops rapidly in first grade and then plateaus.
Handwriting becomes more automatic in third grade.
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

14. Critical External Factors in Handwriting Performance
Sitting position
Chair and desk configuration
Type of writing implement
Environmental factors (e.g., lighting, noise)
Type of instruction
Amount of practice
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by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

15. Development of Grasping Positions for Writing
Supinate grasp
Pronate grasp
Dynamic tripod

16. Handwriting Characteristics
Percentages of children aged 5.5 to 6.5 who exhibit certain behavior.
Copyright © 2016 by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

17. Phases in Drawing Development
Scribbling stage
Combine stage
Aggregate stage
Pictorial stage
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by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

18. Handwriting Development
Age 4: Can write letters, but not organized purposefully
Ages 5–6: Can write one’s name, but in large, irregularly shaped letters
Age 7: Can master upper and lower-case letters; single-stroke letters are easier to form
Age 9: Can space letters correctly
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

19. Handwriting and Drawing in Adulthood
Older adults (over age 40) do not write as legibly as younger adults
Women write more quickly than men
Speed begins to decrease in mid-20s
Mixed handwriting style—both cursive and printed letters
Drawing: Notable decline in performance after age 75
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

20. by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers
Keyboarding
s and texting
Some schools are eliminating lessons in cursive writing.
In studies of handwriting vs. keyboarding, speed and quality were higher with handwriting.
Younger participants had higher rates of keyboard performance.
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

21. Reflecting on Handwriting Development
Do you know anyone who is left handed (or are you left handed)?
How was the process of learning to write?
How did he/she (or you) adjust in order to writing legibly?
Does he/she (or do you) still have problems with holding a pen or positioning the paper correctly?
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

22. Video—Handwriting Development
This video shows different stages in handwriting development, including
Pronate grasp (0:00 – 0:21)
Supinate grasp (0:34 – 0:48)
Dynamic tripod grasp (1:05 – 1:28)
Copyright © 2016
by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers