Occupational Therapy Activity Plan for Fine Motor Writing Skills

Introduction and Progress Goals

The progress expected from this intervention is that the student will demonstrate the ability to recreate increasingly difficult figures as he progresses through activity therapy. Showing him that he is able to create the simple individual figures of letters out of context — on paper, with a paintbrush, a preferred method for him — will give him the confidence to eventually transition to a more traditional writing model. This approach supports the finding that one of his biggest challenges is not his actual ability to do the work, but rather his ability to hold a pencil and paper appropriately in order to write (Occupational Therapy Evaluation, 2000, p. 7).

The goals of the activity are to help the student develop the ability to perform both fine and gross motor tasks that are age-appropriate and will support his success in the classroom. The student needs to be given simple, sequential steps to follow for tasks that many children find straightforward (see example of doorways, p. 4). When given the opportunity to perform these tasks in a way that he finds interesting and engaging, this approach will assist him in making the physical match the intellectual (p. 7).

The hoped-for progress, based upon the goals stated above, is that the student will be able to participate in age-appropriate writing activities within six months to one year of beginning the process of learning how to copy symbols, figures, letters, and numbers on an easel with a paintbrush. Transitioning the student through the stages — from simple shapes to more complicated shapes, then letters and numbers, then short words, and finally short sentences — will assist him in developing a better physical understanding of the writing process. Doing so in a setting and manner in which he can succeed will help build his self-esteem with regard to writing in a traditional manner, and may facilitate a better understanding of the physical properties of writing. Breaking down the particular steps of completing simple and complex tasks will likely greatly help the student's ability to complete such tasks in the future (p. 7).

Therapeutic Rationale

The student's teacher has expressed that he has a difficult time focusing and sitting still when distracted or disengaged from a learning task (pp. 5–6). Creating a learning environment that is less distracting and more conducive to his physical strengths will increase his ability to successfully complete important tasks, such as writing, which will in turn improve his self-esteem with regard to demonstrating his learning effectively (pp. 8–9).

Single-color shape and figure painting — with the color of the student's choice — will be the activity added to his occupational therapy program. The student's ability to perform fine motor tasks is limited by several weaknesses associated with proprioceptive input (p. 3), as well as fine motor difficulties related to writing. His assessment notes several times that he tightly grips the pencil and presses very hard upon the paper, causing rapid and frequent fatigue, and therefore a dislike of and difficulty with writing (p. 6). Furthermore, the student does show a propensity toward painting as a favorite pastime (p. 2).

The Painting Activity

Transferring writing basics to a paintbrush could give the student a better sense of how to hold an instrument appropriately in order to create his intended result on the paper. The painting will also be done on a sheet of paper held on an easel to better facilitate the student's ability to properly see his work, as visual cues are essential to his success (p. 5). The tendency to press hard upon the paper will be naturally reduced, since standing at the easel requires him to press only enough to make a mark with the paintbrush — but not so hard as to push the easel over.

The activity will begin with two warm-up exercises. The first is a short session with theraputty, to get the student's fingers warmed up, as the assessor notes this can be helpful for him (p. 7). The second warm-up will be a freeform painting session, in which the student is offered supplies and asked to be creative (p. 2). If the structured painting of figures and shapes proves very difficult, this freeform painting may be used as a physical break between each figure or shape, giving him the opportunity to rest and express himself creatively.

Each session will then begin — after the warm-up — with the imitation of a geometric shape, using a single color and paintbrush on paper. The therapist will place a copy of the shape on a directly adjacent easel, positioned on the student's dominant right side, to ease his transition from viewing the model to reproducing it on his own paper. The therapist will also offer verbal instruction to facilitate ease in performing the task (p. 5).

Conclusion and Transition to Traditional Writing

Once these tasks have begun to be successful, a marker and then a pencil will be offered to the student to transfer the learning from the paintbrush to a similar tool — one that has proven difficult in a traditional setting. Upon completion of the alphabet, short words will be copied and sounded out phonetically to facilitate the transition from letters to words, and eventually to sentences.