Developing Skillful Hands

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated June 9, 2019

All students need to develop strength and dexterity to complete everyday tasks. This is especially important for future braille learners in order to be able to use the braillewriter and slate and stylus. Remember the Occupational Therapist can be a great resource for activities to develop these skills. The Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (TSBVI) has a great list of motor activities to encourage pre-braille skills. 

Importance of Fine Motor Skills

The development of fine motor skills is important for all students to develop, but is especially important for students who are visually impaired and blind as they rely on their hands to learn about their world.  Fine motor skills include palmar grasp, grasp with thumb and fingers, pincer grasp, release, rotary motion, finger isolation, bilateral hand use, hand and finger strength, proper finger position, light touch, and tactual tracking skills. It is important to play with and manipulate a variety of toys and materials that are tactually interesting and to talk to the student about what they are feeling.  Fine motor skills become refined through practice and participating in activities that require manipulation of hands and fingers. Learn more about the development of fine motor skills on the Developing Skillful Hands page of this website. ​

Finger Strength & Grip

Developing finger strength and grip are important skills for all students, particularly for students who will be braille readers/writers. The following are age-neutral activities to help develop finger strength and grip.
  • ​Squeeze water out of sponges in water play or to wash the table or a car.
  • Use a squeeze bulb syringe dropper to transfer water or as part of an art activity or science experiment.
  • Pop packing bubble wrap of various sizes (a personal favorite!)
  • Provide clothespins to clip on the edge of cans, boxes, rope or to close snack bags.
  • Pick up a variety of small items such as pompoms or marshmallows with toaster tongs.
  • Crumple paper of various weight and toss at a target or use in craft activities. Tearing paper is also a great finger strengthening activity.
  • Cut with scissors on a variety of textured papers or cut fabrics.
  • Use a paper-hole punch or craft punches to create different shapes.
  • Squeeze squirt bottles can be used with cleaning, water play, watering plants or for water painting.
  • Pick up small items such as cotton balls, small plastic toys, and mini-marshmallows with tweezers.
  • "Hide" materials within play-doh, putty or clay and encourage the student to locate and obtain these objects such as beads, pennies, bingo chips, or beans in putty or play-doh. After the student finds the objects, have him count and sort the items if you hide a variety of materials.
  • Kneading bread dough is a great hand strengthening activity that is very functional. Consider using a gluten-free dough if any students/staff have Celiac's disease or wheat sensitivity in your class.

Manipulate Objects

​Once students begin exploring objects, encourage them to begin to manipulate the objects by banging, shaking, squeezing, poking, pushing, pulling, and moving various parts. Provide a variety of shaped and sized containers for the students to explore. Place toys/objects inside and encourage the student to reach in and pull them out as well as put them back in. Give the student objects that can be put together and pulled apart. Provide toys and objects that are wrapped and have the students unwrap them. Encourage the students to use two hands in an organized manner to manipulate objects (e.g., grasp/release, twist/turn, rotate and examine, open/close, stack, nest). Demonstrate how to perform different actions with the objects to help expand their play skills.

Tasks to Develop Skillful Hands

Developing skillful hands is important skills for all students, especially for students who will be braille readers/writers. The following are age-neutral activities to help develop finger strength and grip. Students can also explore items to take apart and examine such as old toasters, flashlights or radios. 
  • Have students press the keys on a cash register or calculator.
  • Provide stickers or tags and have the student remove price tags or tape from groceries by picking or peel and stick stickers.
  • Fill a gumball machine with M&M's or other candy and have the student turn the lever for a reward.
  • Encourage students to race wind-up toys/characters to see which one is the fastest.
  • Have the student string beads on a reinforced string or on a pipe cleaner. Use decorative beads with a variety of textures and/or shapes.
  • Have students hammer pegs into a foam board to create a pattern or shape. Alternatively, have the students hammer on a workbench.
  • Have students with low vision create designs using a Lite Bright.
  • Have students assemble nuts and bolts of various sizes to match and connect. You may want to choose oversize toy ones for younger students to eliminate a choking hazard.
  • Encourage the student to make their own LEGO creations or follow directions to build a set.
  • Provide commercial sewing cards or create ones with old greeting cards to practice lacing.
  • Encourage students to sequence and place measuring spoons in order on a ring.
  • Have the student complete patterns using a pegboard with various shape pegs.
  • Provide jars with screw top lids or pop-up plastic lids. Extend the activity by having the student select the correct size lid.

Additional Resources

Motor Activities Handout
​Motor Activities to Develop Pre-Braille Skills
You are welcome to print and use this list of motor activities that can help develop tactual skills and pre-braille skills. 
Hands on Kit from APH
Hands On Kit: Functional Activities for Visually Impaired Preschoolers This kit, available from APH, provides suggestions on helping children develop skills such as concentration and hand and visual coordination. The work-play trays help define the work space.

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