Visual Motor Skills Treatment
in Massapequa & East Northport, NY
The ability to see, recognize, and interact with the environment is vital for many daily activities. But some children struggle with these skills, and that can impact their ability to participate in many areas of life. At Sensational Development, our mission is to provide expert care for children, teens, and young adults who are struggling with any area of their development.
If you’ve noticed your child struggling with hand-eye coordination or recognizing things in their environment, they may have a visual motor skill delay. Keep reading to learn more about visual motor skills, developmental delays, and how pediatric occupational therapy can help.
What Are Visual Motor Skills?
Visual motor skills involve the coordination between what you see and the movement you make with your body in response. This is how you can use your eyes and hands together efficiently to drive a car, write, type, and even cook a meal.
Visual motor skills are complex, but they can be broken down into three main areas
Visual Processing
The way the eyes move to gather information from the environment for the brain to process. For example, can you see and track the movement of a ball being thrown at you?
Visual Perception
How the eyes and brain work together to understand what they are seeing in order to react to or interact with the environment. For example, can you recognize that the ball that was thrown is about to be close enough for you to catch?
Hand-Eye Coordination
The ability to coordinate visual information with the appropriate movement. For example, can you catch the ball that was thrown at you and throw it back in the right direction?
What Is a Developmental Delay?
A developmental delay occurs when a child does not reach developmental milestones within the expected timeframe. In the case of visual motor skills, a delay would mean that the child has difficulty handling activities that require seeing, understanding, and interacting with their environment such as playing catch.
Signs and Symptoms of a Visual Motor Skill Delay
Common signs of a visual motor skill delay may include:
- Messy or inconsistent handwriting
- Difficulty copying from the board or a book
- Challenges in coloring inside the lines
- Difficulty catching or throwing a ball
- Trouble with fine motor tasks like tying shoes
- Struggles with recognizing differences and similarities in objects
- Frequently mixing up left and right
- Difficulty remembering the letters of the alphabet or numbers
How Pediatric Therapy Helps Children with Visual Motor Skill Delays
At Sensational Development, our skilled pediatric therapists conduct thorough evaluations to determine if a child is experiencing a visual motor skill delay. From there, we develop a personalized occupational therapy plan designed to improve fine motor control, hand-eye coordination, and visual motor skills. We’ll work with your child to build their visual motor skills for increased independence and better ability to handle daily tasks like self-care, school, and play.
Schedule an Appointment Today
If you suspect your child is experiencing a visual motor skill delay, give us a call at (516) 799-2900 to schedule an evaluation. Our experienced pediatric therapists will work with you and your child to build their visual motor skills and empower them to achieve a sensational future.
