Building the strength, coordination and confidence children need for play, school and everyday life.
Motor skills let children explore, play and do things for themselves. Gross motor skills such as running, climbing and balancing use the large muscles; fine motor skills such as holding a pencil, doing up buttons or using scissors use the small muscles of the hands. Both depend on strength, coordination, planning and how the brain links what the eyes see with what the body does.
When motor skills are slow to develop, children may avoid physical games, tire quickly, find handwriting a struggle or need help with tasks their peers manage alone. Occupational therapy breaks these skills into achievable steps and practises them through purposeful play, so progress is fun and lasting.
13 needs explained in plain language
These descriptions help you understand terms you may hear. They are not a diagnosis, which can only come from a qualified clinician.
Fine motor skills use the small muscles of the hands and fingers for tasks such as holding a pencil, buttoning, using scissors or picking up small objects. Occupational therapy builds hand strength, control and dexterity through purposeful play.
Gross motor skills use the large muscles for walking, running, jumping, climbing and balancing. Difficulties can affect play, confidence and sport. Structured movement activities build strength, balance and coordination.
Coordination is making different parts of the body work together smoothly, for example catching a ball or riding a tricycle. A child may seem awkward or avoid physical games. Therapy breaks movements into steps and practises them until they become easier.
Praxis is the ability to think of, plan and carry out a new movement. A child with praxis difficulties may know what they want to do but struggle to work out how. We teach new actions step by step, with plenty of repetition and variety.
Hand-eye coordination lets the eyes guide the hands, which is needed for catching, threading, drawing and writing. We practise it through targeted games matched to the child’s level.
Bilateral coordination means using both sides of the body together, such as holding paper with one hand while cutting with the other, or jumping with both feet. We build it through play that needs both hands or both sides working together.
Balance and postural control let a child sit upright at a table, stand on one leg or walk on uneven ground. Weak postural control can make sitting for learning tiring. Therapy strengthens core muscles and balance.
Visual-motor integration is coordinating what the eyes see with movement, such as copying shapes or letters. It is closely linked to handwriting. We use drawing, tracing and construction activities to build it.
Visual perception is how the brain makes sense of what the eyes see: telling shapes apart, finding an object in a busy picture or recognising letters. Difficulties can affect reading, writing and puzzles, and targeted activities help strengthen these skills.
Before formal handwriting, children need hand strength, a functional pencil grasp and pre-writing strokes such as lines and circles. We prepare these foundations so writing is less effortful when school asks for it.
Using scissors needs hand strength, bilateral coordination and visual control. We progress from snipping to cutting along lines and around shapes, using adapted scissors where they help.
Buttons, zips, press studs and laces demand fine motor control and sequencing. We teach each fastener step by step, so children can dress more independently.
Object manipulation is handling and turning objects skilfully in the hands, such as turning a key, opening containers or using cutlery. Therapy builds the hand skills these daily tasks need.
