Finesse of Fostering Fine Motor Skills with Neurodiverse Students

​During my work as a special educator, I've come to work with students with various degrees of ability and fine motor control.  More recently, I've spent several years teaching students on the autism spectrum and students with intellectual difficulties.   During one of my first years with this population I was appalled when it was suggested to me that I not worry about developing a Couple students’ fine motor skills as they would never achieve gains.  Both in my professional and personal life I find the word ‘never’ ridiculous.  I felt that putting a ceiling on their growth would automatically hold them back so I worked to make gains despite the recommendation to call it a day on developing student skills.   To improve student’s fine motor skills I embedded supporting activities throughout their day. 
 
One such activity I embedded in my specialized academic classroom routine. In this specific classroom students went to rotations that had specific skill objectives for each rotation. Once a month I ensured that one of these rotations included guided drawing. The specific activity I handed over to a paraprofessional this year who was very skilled at building relationships. She had a special knack for making connections and was able to coax students into working on non-preferred tasks. Side note, always remember to appreciate your great paraprofessionals, not all of them come with this soft skill that is so necessary in a self-contained classroom or when working with neurodiverse students in different settings.  The paraprofessional would model each part of the picture and encourage students to mirror on their paper.  The instructions were given one step at a time rather than showing a completed picture and then asking a student to copy the whole thing which could be defeating for some students.  See the pictures of March and April drawings for the most recent comparison of progress.

​The guided drawing activity was multi-objective.  In addition to being given an opportunity for fine motor practice it was also a time to demonstrate following positional directions using words like bottom, top, left right and next to.  Direct instruction in color matching could be a sub objective for some students.   Having multiple objectives or at least being able to take advantage of each instructional moment is key to making the most progress with all students but especially for neurodiverse students as sometimes it may take quite a bit of time to develop rapport or there may be multiple barriers such as communication and dysregulation.
 
I also utilized a once-a-month whole group guided painting activity as well.  For this activity a painting was photographed after each thing was added like the grass, the colors of the rainbow one at a time or clouds etc.   Each month the picture was themed for accompanying holiday events or seasonal weather.  The photos were added to a PowerPoint with simple text directions to support reading at their level.  The students worked on one slide at a time with the emphasis on mirroring what they saw.  For those who needed extra support a light pencil line could guide their path as an accommodation.  Students typically had a high rate of focus on this task as all but one enjoyed painting.  Students were always thrilled to see their new artworks on display in the hallway.  I had several comments as well from staff that they were amazed that the students had turned out such nice pictures.
 
To sum it up, guided drawing and painting can help support improved fine motor control which is a prerequisite for many other tasks they will encounter.  I encourage you to try it and let me know what you think from your experiences.  Here is a link to an article on additional ways to support fine motor skill.  And lastly, never say never about what a student can eventually be capable of, instead help them find the rung of the ladder closest to them and help them rise up.