This comprehensive resource and clinical guide for students and practicing pediatric therapists features current information on the neurological foundations of hand skills, the development of hand skills, and intervention with children who have problems related to hand skills. Covers foundation and development of hand skills, therapeutic intervention, and special problems and approaches. Is readable, concise, and well-organized with a consistent format throughout. Integrates recent research findings and current thinking throughout the text. Emphasizes neuroscience and the hand's sensory function and haptic perception. Applies neuroscience and development frames of reference throughout. Implications for practice included in each chapter. Presents concepts in the foundation/development chapters that are linked with the intervention chapters. Seven new chapters reflect current practice in the field and cover cognition & motor skills, handedness, fine-motor program for preschoolers, handwriting evaluation, splinting the upper extremity of the child, pediatric hand therapy, and efficacy of interventions. Extensively revised content throughout includes new research and theories, new techniques, current trends, and new information sources. 9 new contributors offer authoritative guidance in the field. Over 200 new illustrations demonstrate important concepts with new clinical photographs and line drawings. Over 50 new tables and boxes highlight important information. An updated and expanded glossary defines key terms.

Your Guide to Fine Motor Skill Development in the Home, Classroom, or Therapy Practice. Learn all of the basics of fine motor development and get age appropriate fine motor activity suggestions for kids of all ages. In Basics of Fine Motor Skills, you'll learn which skills are important for fine motor development, plus what fine motor development looks like in children at all age levels. Explore how gross motor, visual-motor, and sensory processing skills affect fine motor development. Plus learn what fine motor red flags to look for as your child develops. Get activity ideas and suggestions for all the different fine motor skills and also find age appropriate activities based on your child's skills and abilities. Your go-to-guide for everything fine motor related, it's the perfect resource for parents, teachers, and therapists.

The ACHS is a naturalistic observational instrument that assesses 2- to 12-year-old children's hand skill performance when engaged in various types of daily activities in everyday contexts. The ACHS is developed for occupational therapists, and potential users may also include other child-related professionals (eg, paediatricians, neurologists, physiotherapists, developmental psychologists, and educators) and researchers who are involved in completion of children's hand skill assessments. This User's manual presents detailed definitions, examples, and scoring criteria of a comprehensive range of hand skill items for therapists' learning about evaluating children's real-life hand skill performance. It also contains information about scoring interpretation of assessment results as well as development and validation of the ACHS.The key features of the ACHS include: 1. Reflect assessment of real-life hand skill performance 2. Include a comprehensive range of hand skills and activities for assessments 3. Be applicable for children with varied health conditions and a wide age range 4. Incorporate a family-centred approach to assessment 5. Be based on a naturalistic observational format

Written for parents, health professionals and teachers, this is a guide to understanding and developing fine motor skills in children with Down Syndrome. The author draws on her expertise as a occupational therapist and parent to show readers how to help children develop the hand skills required for such tasks as holding a pencil, cutting with scissors, or using a computer. The author is sensitive to the medical, physical and psychological characteristics of children with Down Syndrome and how these can effect motor development. Dozens of articles are provided, complete with photographs and step-by-step instructions, which are appropriate for children in infancy to early adolescence. In addition to hand skills, some cover basic gross motor skills, which help to lay the foundation for fine motor development. Readers can choose among different categories of skills - self-help, school activities, leisure and recreation - and easily incorporate most activities into daily home or school routines.

Teachers know how important it is to develop children's fine motor skills as a stepping stone to future learning, and Mighty Fine Motor Fun provides you with the tools and information you need to teach fine motor skills to children ages 3 to 5. The activities in Mighty Fine Motor Fun are organized by age; they are useful and creative, but most important, they are fun! With few materials needed, the activities are perfect for both large and small groups and are easy to integrate into any curriculum. Activities include; Moving Bubbles Hide-and-Seek Playdough Tape It Up! Shape Person Itsy Bitsy Writing Utensils Paper Mobile And many more! In the final chapter of the book, author and occupational therapist Christy Isbell answers questions from real preschool teachers, including; ''should preschoolers use 'fat' or 'skinny' pencils?'' ''What type of paper is best for cutting?'' ''When should a child use an adult-like grasp of the pencil?'' Teachers will appreciate the practical, real-world knowledge Isbell offers, and children will love the playful, absorbing activities!

This book is an excellent resource for occupational and physical therapists who are looking for ideas and reproducible handouts to give to parents or caregivers that are easy to understand. It breaks down each fine motor/gross motor developmental skill into four sections: "Desired movement, How does this movement help your child, How to incorporate this movement into your daily routine, and What to expect next." These milestones also have drawings to further explain and break down how each skill is achieved.