Are you looking for fun activities to improve your child’s ocular motor skills? Keep on reading to see what you guys can do at home!
For more information on ocular motor skills and developmental optometry, please visit our blog post titled “What Is Developmental Optometry And Why Do We So Often Refer Children For An Evaluation?”
Convergence is the eyes’ ability to move inward to focus on an object close to us or coming towards us. Some activities strengthen convergence skills include:
Zoom Ball
Blow Pens
Scratch and Sniff stickers
Popping bubbles
Cheerios on a straw
Eating snacks with no hands! This one will make your child laugh
Smooth pursuits: The eyes’ ability to stay fixated on a moving object. Some activities to strengthen this skill include:
Mazes
Flashlight tag- shine a flashlight on the wall and have your child track it with their eyes
Elefun
Keep it up with a balloon
I Spy
Bubbles
Saccades: quick, simultaneous movements of the two eyes between two or more focus points. This skill is very important for reading. Some activities to strengthen this skill are:
Mad libs
Simon
Battleship
Lite Brite
Spot It
All of these skills are important for your child to engage in functional activities, including handwriting, activities of daily living, and sports.
If you would like to learn even more about ocular motor skills, check out our video on youtube!
Written by Katelyn Santos, MS OTR/L