Editor's note: This is part one of a two-part series looking at the Fine Motor Olympics program currently being offered on the Sunshine Coast. Part two will appear in the March 14 edition of Coast Reporter.
Through a pilot program grant from the Vancouver Children's Fund and matching funds from Bridges, the Fine Motor Olympics (FMO) program was selected as a way to screen preschoolers who may otherwise be overlooked as having delayed hand skills before entering school.
On the Sunshine Coast, rising numbers of children from Kindergarten to Grade 2 are being identified with underdeveloped hand skills. Basically more kids are coming to school not ready to use their hands.
It is well documented that the most important tools that children can bring to school are their hands for developing numerical and early analytical skills and writing and keyboard skills.
FMO screens children for specific hand skill functions and uses 65 simple and fun activities to help children strengthen specific areas that may be underdeveloped. It is important to intervene at an early age, because children will get into bad habits to compensate for specific missing hand skills. For example, you may see a child wrap his/her thumb around a pencil to stabilize it, compensating for poor strength or co-ordination. In October 2007, 71 children were screened using this program and of these, 31 were identified as needing additional support to develop better hand function. There have also been five families who requested further assistance in supporting their children's development. The program is currently being used by nine preschools and daycares from Gibsons to Pender Harbour. Each participating preschool and daycare received the manual, activity booklet and supplies to perform all 65 activities. Twenty-seven members of staff and seven parents participated in two instructional workshops. Home kits comprising a condensed version of the FMO were offered to participating parents.
Although the preschools provide excellent programming to develop hand skills, Bridges felt the FMO program would provide valuable additional resources. Many experienced teachers, support workers and parents have commented positively on this new method of screening and developing a child's hand skills. The program will run till the end of April. We continue to collect useful feedback from parents and staff and next week we will share with you a summary of the pilot program, including strengths and weaknesses and its potential future on the Sunshine Coast.
Bridges is a program under the umbrella of Sunshine Coast Community Services Society, and offers pediatric physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
Occupational therapists Sarah Doherty and Melanie Miller can be reached at 604-885-5881, ext. 243 for more information about Fine Motor Olympics or any other questions about your child's fine motor development.
