This is an area of concern for us. It is not unusual for children with DS to struggle with fine motor skill issues and my son is no exception. He is doing occupational therapy (OT) since he was 17 months old. We had to push our early intervention (EI) coordinator to get weekly OT sessions (they would have prefer to offer OT twice a month). There was a lot of progress during the years (there really was!), but definitely not as fast as we wished.
My son is eating by himself (started using a spoon around 2 years old with a lot of spills). He is still rotating the spoon, but got really good at controlling the spills. We are working on drinking from open cup. His preferred drinking method is with a straw (he mastered drinking through a straw when he was 1 years old). The current OT suggested using the small rinsing cup, so we are offering drinks in one of those cups during dinner. He will use it with help. He is using his "helper hand" to stabilize containers when eating soft foods. He is using a fork with some success.
He doesn't dress by himself (but, man, does he have an opinion on what he wants to wear!). He started taking his pants and diapers off independently. Working on removing his shirt. Tho months ago, he learned to put his coat on, using the dip-and-flip method! He is moving the zipper up and down appropriately to zip/unzip his coat.
We don't have and never had feeding issues. His swallowing is great. He eats a variety of food, lots of veggies. He tries new foods. His current favorite: cheese sandwich.
He is matching puzzles (the ones with knobs), but has trouble fitting the piece exactly in its slot. He has good pincer grasp. He is using writing utensils successfully holding them between his thumb and index finger. He can't use scissors yet. The OT reports he is imitating vertical/horizontal lines and circles. I should test this! He loves to paint. He loves books. He can turn the pages by himself on board books.
All this time I have been trying to use Maryanne Bruni's book, Fine Motor Skills for Children With Down Syndrome: A Guide for Parents And Professionals. I go back to it often because we could really use some help. I always end up frustrated. I don't know if it's the way the book is organized, if there is just too much terminology and not a lot of plain language, but I don't find it parent friendly. The book gave us some good ideas for what toys to buy. But reading the book, I still have no clue where my son is developmentally and where we should go next. My quest for a good fine motor skills book continues.
Updated 12/15/2018. My son is now 10. Reflecting back, here are my 5 favorite toys for fine motor skills and so much more.The links below are affiliate links, meaning that, at no cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase using these links. If you decide to use these links, thank you. I only recommend what I own, use, and love.
- Melissa and Doug Jumbo Knob Puzzles. There are so many of them! The farm animals puzzle was a favorite of ours, but explore them all. Great for little hands! Once they get better at it, move to puzzles with smaller knobs.
- Nuts and bolts of any kind! Not sure if it's a boy thing, but my son loved to screw things. It was hard for him, but it help with hand skills as well as with teaching patience. Again, start with ones that are big and chunky, then move to smaller ones and let them progress with the skill.
- Pegs. We bought our first peg board when my son was 3 and we used it for years. Great for sorting, counting, pushing in holes, stacking, taking turns, and so much more. We have the Stack it Peg Game and it was great, but I would probably recommend the Peg Board Games for Toddlers, because you get to work on shapes too.
- Nesting toys of any type. Working on balancing objects, comparison, colors, counting, and so much more. I usually buy toys that I can use for years, and that kind of grow with the kid. We have the cheapest possible ones, but it can find really fancy ones too. When my son started working on counting I used a permanent marker to write the numbers on the cups, starting from the smaller one. The bonus: you can teach number comparison, by associating the smaller number with the smaller cup, and showing the progression to bigger numbers/bigger cups.
- Whack a toy! Give my son a hammer and he can spend so much time with it. Melissa and Doug Pounding Bench does the job, but make sure to explore all the whack a mole toys.
There you have it. I hope this is useful. Please, let me know your favorites! I'm always looking for new ideas.
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