How do Occupational Therapists Help Individuals Improve Their Fine Motor Skills?

Occupational therapists play a critical role in our society, helping children and adults develop and improve their fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are defined as the function of our hands and fingers to perform tasks–vital for everything we do with our hands in day-to-day life.

If an individual has an issue with these skills, you can only imagine how difficult it must be to overcome.

As an occupational therapist, you use a combination of task-based therapy and expertise to aid those who don’t have complete fine motor skill function. In this post, we discover what an occupational therapist does, what fine motor skills are, and how they help people.

We’ll also learn where occupational therapists work and if a career in the field is right for you.

What are fine motor skills?

Fine motor skills are the link between cognition and the movements we perform with our hands and fingers. These movements are critical for grasping, pinching, and grip tasks.

But a lot more goes into fine motor skills than basic hand function and the discipline can be broken down into various areas. As an occupational therapist, a considerable aspect of your role is identifying fine motor skill issues and developing a treatment/development plan.

The different fine motor skills

Most of us take it for granted, but all fine motor skills are critical to everything we do in day-to-day life, personally and professionally. For instance, each time you pick up a glass, write with a pen or type on a keyboard, these are all examples of fine motor skills in action. Some fine motor skills include:

• Bilateral hand coordination
• Gross grasp
• In hand manipulation
• Pinch grasp
• Neat pincer grasp
• Tripod grasp
• Strength
• Open thumb web
• Side-of-hand coordination
• Eye-hand coordination
• Wrist extension
• Wrist stability

The list of fine motor skills is extensive and occupational therapists look to improve some or all of them through a variety of techniques. Now we know what motor skills are, what is an occupational therapist and how they help people with fine motor skill issues.

What is occupational therapy?

Occupational therapy is the art of aiding fine motor skill development or an area of healthcare that helps people overcome their cognitive fine motor skills issues regardless of age. Typically, this is in children, but occupational therapists help people of all ages and abilities.

Occupational therapists help individuals improve their fine motor skills through various activities and tasks.

Through a combination of everyday activities, exercises, and therapies, occupational therapy helps people gain confidence in performing everyday tasks such as bathing, eating, drinking, and playing, improving their physical, mental, and emotional health.

How does occupational therapy help people?

Occupational therapy helps individuals in a myriad of ways. Some of the tasks you might use as an occupational therapist include the following:

• Grip and release function
• Handwriting
• Computer skills
• Improved hand-eye coordination
• Basic life skills

These are just a handful of the ways an OT helps people. While occupational therapists are most commonly associated with child development, they help adults too!

For example, if someone has had a stroke or brain injury and loss of cognitive function. Occupational therapy helps adults learn/re-learn their skills, giving them more confidence and control.

So which tasks might an occupational therapist have someone perform to improve these skills? Drawing, writing, squeezing dough, opening bottles, using scissors, and threading objects through a string.

All of which are super basic tasks that look to improve/strengthen muscles, develop coordination, and allow individuals to take control of basic life tasks, improving their confidence in the process.

Where may occupational therapists work?

Occupational therapists work in various settings to help people gain more control and independence in their lives. Occupational therapists working with children may work in; schools, hospitals, pharmacies, private practices, community health centers, and private healthcare centers.

For occupational therapists working with adults, some typical workplaces include; hospitals, pharmacies, home care services, and aged care facilities. Now we know where an occupational therapist works, what characteristics are needed for success in the field?

What skills and characteristics do you need for a career in occupational therapy?

As you would expect, becoming a great occupational therapist requires many different skills and personality traits. After all, you are changing people’s lives in this field. Here are some essential attributes for success as an occupational therapist:

• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Empathy
• Patience
• Organization
• Determination
• Teamwork

Does becoming an occupational therapist sound good to you? Are you someone who genuinely wants to help people gain control of their lives? Well, a career in occupational therapy could be for you!

Consider a doctorate in occupational therapy programs to learn everything you need to know as an occupational therapist. With a combination of clinical practice, education, research, and advocacy, the course is a comprehensive experience that slips you seamlessly into an occupational therapy career.

This course, created by the American International College, is a nationally ranked and academically recognized course designed specifically for working as an occupational therapist.

Final words

There’s no doubt that occupational therapy plays a vital role in helping people regain the function of their fine motor skills. Skills that help people live more independently and confidently while simultaneously improving their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

We hope this article has given you some insights into what occupational therapy is, what a practitioner does, and whether it could be the right career path for you. A career where you help make a genuine difference in the lives of those who need it most!