Fine motor skills involve the use of the smaller muscle of the hands, commonly in activities at school like using pencils, scissors, construction with lego or duplo, using math manipulative, buttoning buttons and opening lunch boxes 

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Fine motor skill efficiency significantly influences the quality of the task outcome as well as the speed of task performance. Efficient fine motor skills require a number of independent skills (touch perception, muscle/joint perception, finger "body scheme", motor control) to work together to appropriately manipulate the object or perform the task.

Students may have difficulty acquiring and mastering  curriculum and academic skills that are dependent on efficient fine motor skills if this is an area of difficulty for the student. For example, if control of the pencil is reduced, writing tasks take longer and require more sustained effort and attention as cognitive effort is directed to the pencil control and handwriting vs. the academic aspect of the task. Managing backpack and clothing routines can be effortful and require additional time due to the fine motor requirements within these routines. Completing the coloring, cutting and gluing portions of tasks can demonstrate visibly reduced quality and presentation. All of these activities can impact a student's ability to sustain positive self regulation, self esteem and independence. 

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Developmentally, fine motor skills progress from being based  in shoulder movement, to elbow movement, forearm rotation, to wrist movement and stability, and then to using isolated finger movements on each side of the hand and each side in combination. These final fine motor movements are precise, coordinated, and well timed to match the activity a student is completing.