Hand Exercises

© Babs@spdsupport

Some children with SPD may have a secondary diagnosis of dyspraxia/dyspraxic tendencies and have some mild/moderate fine motor skills problems which can make writing a bit difficult for them. The muscles in the thumb and the fingers may be unco-ordinated and weak, so when a child with fine motor difficulties tries to write, they may have problems with gripping, stabilizing and moving the pen or pencil.Their writing may often be illegible, and handwriting can often be a very laboured process.

This is because the child may have problems with feedback from his fingers to his brain and he/she may not be aware of where his/her fingers are in space. The motor units in the fingers can fail to provide enough information to the brain, so the child may hold a pencil in a fist like grip and press down hard so that the larger motor units in the hand and arm provide that information, making writing easier but much slower. The brain may also struggle with recall and the child may have problems remembering what letters and numbers look like and then how to put them together to form words.

Sometimes, a child showing problems of this nature will try to avoid writing, may tantrum, show refusal, sit and stare into space, or just take such a long time to produce anything in writing. The skills required to produce handwriting include visual-perceptual skills, orthographic coding, motor planning and execution, kinesthetic feedback and visual-motor coordination.

These hand exercises are designed to help with the development of writing and fine motor co-ordination. They have been written by Mrs Gill Thompson and are based on suggestions by Madeleine Portwood who has written extensively on Dyspraxia.

Mrs Gill Thompson is the author of Supporting Communication Disorders - A Handbook for Teachers and Teaching Assistants, which is published by David Fulton Publishers, ISBN:1-84312-030-5.She very kindly gave permission to use this information on this site.

• Draw round the child’s splayed hands on a piece of card or paper (this can be coloured by the child and laminated). Number the fingers from left to right (1-10).
  
  
  
  
  
  

  The child should place both hands face down on the table with fingers corresponding to the handprints. Touch one finger and the child should lift just that finger, leaving the rest ‘stuck’ to the table. Repeat for all fingers.
  
  

• The child puts both hands together as if praying. Ask him to bend in thumbs, then first, second, third and fourth fingers – straighten between each action.
  
  
• The child should pick up small beads, grains of rice etc. and place them in a pot. Do this for one hand and give the child a ball or bean bag to hold in the other hand. Swap over hands.
  
  
• The child should pick up a marble or bead between thumb and each finger in turn.
  
  
• Using thumb and first finger, remove and replace pegs from a ruler – repeat with thumb and each finger in turn.
  
  
• Place both hands on the table, palms down. Turn the left hand over. Now switch over, left hand turning palm down, right hand palm up. Start slowly and gradually increase speed and rhythm.
  
  
• Place both hands on the table. Clench left fist, right hand outstretched – swap hands. Start slowly and build up speed and rhythm.
  
  
• Hold a tennis ball in one hand and move each finger away from the ball, one at a time. Swap hands.
  
  
• Clapping games – work with adult or another child. Clap hands together and then clap your partners hands. Rhythm and sequence can be made more complex and the children can develop their own patterns.
  
  
• Regular writing exercises – roll "n" write letters, draw letter shapes in a tray of sand, trace each finger around sandpaper letters before attempting to write the letter or trace over a shape on paper.