Our ability to coordinate both the movement in our bodies, as well as managing our vision is our visual motor integration skills at work.
We use these skills in everyday tasks without us even realising we do. When we get dressed, walk up stairs, eat, write, draw, build things, kick a ball, paint and so much more, we’re using our visual motor integration skills.
Our bodies work in so many wonderful ways and when we talk specifically about visual motor integration, we’re talking about our bodies systems working together. Our body has one system in control of movement and another system managing vision. Our ability to coordinate these two systems effectively together is the visual motor integration at work. If there’s a delay in either of the systems, when they integrate with one another, the skills to perform some tasks may be affected.
What happens when our auto pilot struggles a little?
Majority of the time our bodies do these things on auto pilot. But what happens when the auto pilot struggles a little? That’s where we come in as occupational therapists to put exercises in place to assist your child become better at assessing the
Possible impacts of a delay in our visual motor integration include:
- Handwriting appearing to be messy
- Difficulty in performing tests
- Writing between the lines is difficult
- Perform excessive erasing
- Longer time needed to complete assessments
- Observed to lean close to the paper
- Work found to have increased errors.
When our visual and motor systems do not integrate, it can even impact daily routines like tying shoes as well as impact areas like eye-hand coordination.
14 activities your child can do their own
Don’t get us wrong, it’s also fun to join in activities with your child, or even getting siblings involved as well. Here’s some clever suggestions you can do at home:
- Bowling a ball to skittles
- Wheelbarrows with throwing ball at objects
- Throwing and catching a balloon
- Drawing letters/patterns in shaving cream
- Bouncing on trampoline and throwing to family members
- String coloured beads
- Copying a word someone writes on a whiteboard
- Making shapes, letters, and numbers with playdough
- Placing stickers around the outline of shapes, letters, or numbers
- Building blocks according to pictures
- Throwing ball in small basketball hoop
- Drawing with a stick in a small sandpit
- Mazes/tracing/dot-to-dot drawings
- Imitate shapes using pop sticks.
For a little more help with your child’s visual motor integration skills, we’d love you to contact us for an appointment or assessment. Have a look around our website while you’re here, or feel free to contact us at OTFC.