- Rodgers School
- Eye Hand Coordination
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Eye Hand CoordinationAlso referred to as Visual Motor Integration, this is the ability to control hand movements guided by vision. A child who is challenged in this area has difficulty coordinating body movements in response to what he/she is seeing.The skill areas affected in this area are vast. Eye hand coordination affects our ability to color, draw basic shapes and pictures,solve mazes, and connect the dot pictures, write by hand, catch a ball, bat a ball,create art, put together a puzzle, tie our shoes, build with blocks, thread a needle, and use scissors to name a few!Visual motor (eye-hand coordination) problems in children are often not discovered until a child is in elementary school. Problems with learning to write, draw simple pictures, and use classroom tools may be the first signs that there is a problem. When visual motor problems are identified through testing, there is not necessarily a deficit in vision.That is, visual acuity and visual perception may be in tact. There may not be a problem with motor control, either.Strength, coordination, and range of motion may be sufficient.Thus, the systems are not communicating with each other.Visual motor skills can still be enhanced through lots of practice in the activity itself.It is also addressed by breaking down the activity into its component parts or building blocks.The building blocks for developing the skill are worked on and added to as each part is mastered. Thirdly, strategies can be learned that help to compensate for the deficit.A common example of this is learning to use a computer for writing and do less by hand.Please click the link on the left to learn about activities that work on eye hand coordination, or visual motor skills!
Last Modified on June 24, 2014