Fine motor skill delays can occur for a variety of reasons, but is not always related to a specific diagnosis. Children with fine motor delays often have difficulty with fasteners (buttons, snaps, zippers, shoe tying), feeding (using utensils, drinking from an open face cup), coloring and drawing (difficulty maintaining grasp or using an appropriate grasp), cutting with scissors, and manipulating objects within their environment.
Fine motor delays are typically a result of deficits in the following areas:
- Core weakness or instability
- Shoulder weakness/instability (scapular winging, shoulder elevation)
- Generalized weakness (arms, hands, fingers)
- Joint hyper-mobility
- Tone differences (low tone, high tone, and/or fluctuating tone)
- Vision deficits