Visual motor skills, also referred to as visual motor integration skills, are the skills that emerge from the integration of foundation visual skills, visual perceptual skills and motor and motor planning skills that allow us to use our eyes and hands in a coordinated and efficient way for specific tasks.

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     Typically, at school we think of the following participation skills as visual motor skills: tracing, coloring, cutting, copying, drawing, and handwriting. When supporting students in this area, O.T's typically use a multisensory approach to provide the student with additional sensory and motor experiences in the foundation skills noted above, and then targeted intervention and practice in the specific skills of tracing, copying, drawing, and handwriting during our in and out of class O.T. lessons. For example, in class, we may set up a Visual Motor Station with carryover activities from our in-class lessons in this area. The Bresnahan School has also adopted the Handwriting Without Tears Program in grades PK to 3 to provide consistent terminology, strategies, and methodology to teaching handwriting. During our therapy room lessons, students may participate in sensory and self-regulation activities and specific visual perceptual and motor activities, followed by direct instruction in tracing, coloring, cutting, copying, drawing, and handwriting.

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The following activities may be helpful and fun to support visual motor integration skills at home!                       Click on this button for printable version: 

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   Get Ready:) 

•  Wake up the body and eyes with a movement break (dance, jump, hop, windmill toe touches, roll like a log, somersault, sit-ups, cross crawl, airplanes, etc.)

•  Lay on belly on elbows with an angled notebook binder with narrow side facing you

•  Complete activities on a vertical surface to improve both visual and

•                   and fine motor skills: easel, binder, chalkboard or whiteboard paper   

•                   taped to wall

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    Activities:)

•  Puzzles - place pieces on left and puzzle on right

•  Tracing activities

•  Mazes - easiest to more difficult; make your own or use a printable:)

•  Connect the dots activities

•  Copying dot to dot designs

•  Copy shapes and designs with craft sticks 

•  Coloring ~ work simpler to more difficult, larger to smaller

•                ~ trace first - then color:)

•                ~ try to match finger motions to line form

•  Cutting straight and curvy lines and pictures - move easiest to more difficult

•                ~ using an angled binder to rest forearms/wrist on is helpful

•  Step by step drawing activities (there are many books)

•                 ~ complete the step by step drawing, then draw it from memory on

•                    another piece of paper

•  Copy shapes and designs

•  Draw and color for the fun of it:)

•  Handwriting: use the Handwriting Without Tears terminology, strategies, and 

•                 ~ activities (see separate Handwriting section for more details:)

•  Handwrite lists: groceries, things to do on the weekend, etc.

•  Send postcards and letters to family and friends

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 There are many sites that have printable activities and fun ideas:) Just type in the activity you want (i.e: dot-to-dot activities) and away you go!

       

         

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