The Eye Bone Is Connected To The Hand Bone?
Visual motor skills, or eye hand coordination, is the foundation of most functional activities such as coloring, cutting, drawing, writing and constructing. We use our vision to understand what is in our environment in order to plan how to move. As we are moving, we are constantly using our vision to provide our brain with feedback on how accurate or successful our movements are. Our brain then uses this information to make any changes in movement, such as reaching further, lifting harder, gripping larger.
The first step in eye-hand coordination is having efficient vision skills. This involves basic eye movement skills or Ocular Motor Skills, as well as, eye-brain skills or Visual Perceptual Skills. The second step is having efficient Fine Motor Skills. The last step is being able to integrate those skills to perform visual motor tasks.
The first step in eye-hand coordination is having efficient vision skills. This involves basic eye movement skills or Ocular Motor Skills, as well as, eye-brain skills or Visual Perceptual Skills. The second step is having efficient Fine Motor Skills. The last step is being able to integrate those skills to perform visual motor tasks.
Eye-Hand Coordination
An infant begins to develop visual motor skills by simply making eye contact with an object. At first, eye-hand coordination is actually the result of a reflex. Here you can see my little man demonstrating the ATNR at 2 months by looking at his rubber ducking in the bathtub. This reflex is what starts the wheels turning in that little brain - "Whoa! I have a hand! Whoa! I can get things I want with my hand!" As the reflex fades, the infant begins to demonstrate controlled reach. Through exploration, trial and error, they learn that they can reach for items in their environment by looking at them to judge how far away they are. They also learn that they may have to change the way their fingers are positioned or the strength thay they use to lift it depending on what it looks like. They use their eyes and hands together to explore their new world.
As the child approaches the toddler stage, they begin to build on reaching skills, where the object is stable and the arm is moving - to obtaining the object and then moving the object with the hand to perform a desired tasks, such as stacking blocks on top of each other, placing shapes into the correct insertion holes. When the vision system and motor system are communication efficiently, the child can make even the smallest changes in movement to complete a tasks, such as aligning one block symmetrically with another or turning a puzzle piece ever so slightly to fit into a hole. However, if the communication between the two systems is off, then a child will appear clumsy and uncoordinated. It is important to figure out where the communication is breaking down, and an Occupational Therapist would be the best person for the job. The OT will assess whether the problem is an Ocular Motor issues, a Fine Motor issue or true communication (Visual Motor Integration) issue, and they will be able to recommend activities accordingly. If you have determined that the problem lies in the integration of the two systems, there are many Visual Motor Activities that you can work on to improve these skills.
As the child approaches the toddler stage, they begin to build on reaching skills, where the object is stable and the arm is moving - to obtaining the object and then moving the object with the hand to perform a desired tasks, such as stacking blocks on top of each other, placing shapes into the correct insertion holes. When the vision system and motor system are communication efficiently, the child can make even the smallest changes in movement to complete a tasks, such as aligning one block symmetrically with another or turning a puzzle piece ever so slightly to fit into a hole. However, if the communication between the two systems is off, then a child will appear clumsy and uncoordinated. It is important to figure out where the communication is breaking down, and an Occupational Therapist would be the best person for the job. The OT will assess whether the problem is an Ocular Motor issues, a Fine Motor issue or true communication (Visual Motor Integration) issue, and they will be able to recommend activities accordingly. If you have determined that the problem lies in the integration of the two systems, there are many Visual Motor Activities that you can work on to improve these skills.
Pre-Writing Skills
Eye-hand coordination is an underlying skills when it comes to copying and drawing shapes. Shapes are the foundations of all letters, and the core of Graphomotor (or handwriting) skills. "Design copying", as it is called on many standardized tests, involved looking at an image, understanding how the image is formed using lines or curves, understanding how big or small the lines/curves are, understanding what direction they are in and how they are connected THEN having your brain tell your hand what direction to move in, how far to move, where to start and where to stop in order to reproduce the design. You can probably guess by now that Pre-Writing skills, like most other skills, follow a developmental sequence. And that sequence starts with just basic scribbling. Once a toddler can make a mark on a paper, they have reached the first step in pre-writing. Scribbling should be established by 1 1/2 years, although usually evolves earlier.
Around 2 years old, a child is able to imitate a vertical line (a line that goes up and down). "Imitate" means that you do the drawing first. In this manner, the child not only sees the image, but they also see where you started, how you moved your hand and where you stopped. Ocular Motor Skills and Sensory Processing Skills will inform you that at around 2 1/2, a child should be able to smoothly cross the middle of their bottom, not only with their arms, but also with the movement of their eyes. This is what prepares the child for the next step on the Pre-Writing road, imitating a horizontal line (a line that goes from left to right). Last, just before 3, a child should be able to imitate a circular shape. The ends might not be closed and it may resemble a scribble more than a mature circle, but it is the beginning of writing skills.
By age 3, a child should be able to copy these 3 foundational shapes (a vertical line, a horizontal line and a circle) from a visual model. They will still have trouble maintaining the same size, because they are still working on their Fine Motor Control. But by 4 years old, you should see improvementsin accuracy. At this time, you will also see more advanced Visual Perceptual Skills coming into play. A child should begin to be able to break down shapes that involve intersecting or overlapping components. By 4 1/2 they should be able to copy a cross "+" and a square. Also, advancements in their Visual Perceptual Skills also allows them to understand more subtle changes in direction, such as diagonal lines. At around 4 1/2, a child should be able to copy diagonal lines both to the left and to the right. Diagonals are often the most difficult line for children to form, so it is important to practice it as much as you can. Point out objects that have diagonal components (i.e. slides, swings, etc) and provide lots of mediums to practice making diagonal lines in (i.e. with playdoh, with paint, in shaving cream, with spaghetti noodles, etc). Once a child masters diagonal lines, the final Pre-Writing steps are the "X" and the triangle. Once your child has mastered these Pre-Writing shapes, you can move onto printing. Remember, motor skills are like climbing a ladder, you need to complete each step before getting to the top. Trying to teach a child to print who is not developmentally ready will no doubt result in failure. Make sure the child has these underlying skills to give them a good foundation to build upon.
Around 2 years old, a child is able to imitate a vertical line (a line that goes up and down). "Imitate" means that you do the drawing first. In this manner, the child not only sees the image, but they also see where you started, how you moved your hand and where you stopped. Ocular Motor Skills and Sensory Processing Skills will inform you that at around 2 1/2, a child should be able to smoothly cross the middle of their bottom, not only with their arms, but also with the movement of their eyes. This is what prepares the child for the next step on the Pre-Writing road, imitating a horizontal line (a line that goes from left to right). Last, just before 3, a child should be able to imitate a circular shape. The ends might not be closed and it may resemble a scribble more than a mature circle, but it is the beginning of writing skills.
By age 3, a child should be able to copy these 3 foundational shapes (a vertical line, a horizontal line and a circle) from a visual model. They will still have trouble maintaining the same size, because they are still working on their Fine Motor Control. But by 4 years old, you should see improvementsin accuracy. At this time, you will also see more advanced Visual Perceptual Skills coming into play. A child should begin to be able to break down shapes that involve intersecting or overlapping components. By 4 1/2 they should be able to copy a cross "+" and a square. Also, advancements in their Visual Perceptual Skills also allows them to understand more subtle changes in direction, such as diagonal lines. At around 4 1/2, a child should be able to copy diagonal lines both to the left and to the right. Diagonals are often the most difficult line for children to form, so it is important to practice it as much as you can. Point out objects that have diagonal components (i.e. slides, swings, etc) and provide lots of mediums to practice making diagonal lines in (i.e. with playdoh, with paint, in shaving cream, with spaghetti noodles, etc). Once a child masters diagonal lines, the final Pre-Writing steps are the "X" and the triangle. Once your child has mastered these Pre-Writing shapes, you can move onto printing. Remember, motor skills are like climbing a ladder, you need to complete each step before getting to the top. Trying to teach a child to print who is not developmentally ready will no doubt result in failure. Make sure the child has these underlying skills to give them a good foundation to build upon.
Visual Motor Activities
You can find some Visual Motor Activities by clicking on the image below.