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

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

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

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 Copyright © 2016 by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

Sequence of Grasping Behavior Primitive squeeze Squeeze grasp Hand grasp Palm grasp Superior palm grasp Inferior forefinger grasp Forefinger grasp Superior forefinger grasp Copyright © 2016 by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Copyright © 2016 by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

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

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

Phases in Drawing Development Scribbling stage Combine stage Aggregate stage Pictorial stage Copyright © 2016 by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers

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

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

by Holcomb Hathaway Publishers Keyboarding Emails 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

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

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