When Should I Seek Out a Referral For An Occupational Therapist For My School Age Child?

An Occupational therapist can help your child reach their goals and optimize performance in daily tasks at home, in school, and out in the community. An OT (Occupational therapist) can help break down barriers that are affecting your child’s social, emotional, and physical well-being. All children are unique and develop skills at different times, but it can be concerning as a parent/caregiver when you aren’t sure if your child may be falling behind in some areas.

When a child is having struggles in one area, for example they are having difficulty keeping up with their schoolwork due to a weak pencil grip, it can often carry over into behavior which can start to affect all areas of their life. Let’s have a look at your child’s fine motor skills to see if there are areas which could benefit from some focused attention.

Red flags: What should I look for in my child’s fine motor skills?

Age 6-7

  • Uses a fisted/ awkward grasp (E.g. thumb wrapped tightly, pencil is wrapped in between their fingers)
  • Cannot print letters or numbers
  • Irregular spaces between words and letters (letters and squished together or too far apart)
  • Inconsistent sizing of letters
  • Complains of pain and fatigue with printing

Age 7-8

  • Uses a fisted/ awkward grasp (E.g. thumb wrapped tightly, pencil is wrapped in between their fingers)
  • Printing is messy, not legible
  • Printing is disorganized, poor use of margins
  • Irregular spacing between words and letters
  • Letters are not in the right spot (floating above the line)
  • Complains of pain and fatigue with printing

Age 8-9

  • Uses a fisted/ awkward grasp (E.g. thumb wrapped tightly, pencil is wrapped in between their fingers)
  • Imprecise letters (strokes appear unfinished)
  • Printing is slow and very effortful
  • Complains of pain and fatigue with printing

If you feel there are some areas that you would like to discuss further with one of our talented and compassionate Occupational therapists, please contact us. We would love to be a part of the journey to help your child thrive and grow!