Fine Motor Delay/Low Muscle Tone in Toddler

I can only speak to my experience with fine motor.
First of all, keep in mind that kids develop fine motor at different times.
Our son got OT for fine motor (very slight) when his Pre-K teacher noticed what a hard time he was having grasping a pencil, crayons, etc.
She's barely 2.5...that's young.
Google fine motor activities--lots of fun, age appropriate activities. Get the OT services. Ours was paid through our regular health insurance--in full.
Oh--O. question--did she crawl a lot or go right to walking? I'm gonna bet right to walking. Our OT told me just a quirky thing she's noticed over the years...kids who did little crawling (mine--early walker) seem to lack the hand strength that is, apparently partially developed when crawling on HANDS and knees! Does that fit your daughter?

Mild delay usually equals gone in 6 mo.

No... it's nothing you did wrong (but quite frankly, even if you did, what good would it do fretting? But no. A MILD delay in ONE area??? Breeeathe, mama.).

You know how they say all kids develop differently? That's because they don't develop in a straight line. They leapfrog about. it's why you can have a 2yo speaking with hundreds of words in complete sentances, but not so good at the whole gross motor stuff, right next to a non-talking 2yo who is a little gymnast. But sooooo much more complex. And EACH of those two 2yos are NORMAL. Nothing wrong with them. They've just been really focusing on one area of their development BEFORE the other one. Kids skip about a bit, regress, and have 'explosions' (language explosions, cognitive explosions, etc.) Here's a short list of SOME of the areas their brains are working on. And NOT simultaeneously:

Audial
Visual
Cognitive
Emotional
Gross Motor
Fine Motor
Sensory receiving
Sensory integration
... and a couple things I'm forgetting.

Fine motor, so ya know, includes TALKING (tongue, lips, throat), facial expression, head angle, eating... and many many other things.

It sounds like there's only ONE area she'd a little behind the curve (probably because she;s AHEAD in other areas), and that's easily remedied:

- finger painting
- reverse finger painting (like drawing a shape in chocolate syrup on a plate, or shaving cream on a mirror or glass door)
- brush painting
- button pushing
- button fastening
- zipper pulling
- finger counting
- popcorn/cheerio eating
- CHOPSTICK using
- Coins in vending machine / toy cash register
- typing
- piano playing
- scissor cutting
- cooking prep (REAL kitchen, not a play one you just whack about giant pieces that can't even be held with just fingers)
- knot untying
- snap pinching
- finger puppets
- sorting trays

Most likely, she's never NEEDED to use fingers individually... her whole hand is fine, so that's what she uses.

Check out Montessori Sensory / Early Childhood development. A gazillion and one free "albums" are out there that work on fine & gross motor movement, spatial recognition, sensory integration, etc.

Here's a place to start:
http://jojoebi.blogspot.com/2009/07/montessori-links.html

& NOT free... but so you can get an idea about what certain things look like that are meant to handle thousands of kids using them over 50 years (neinhaus is holy grail montessori materials, TOTALLY unnecessary for home use)
http://www.nienhuis.com/index.php?target=categories&c...

I used to work in ECI. I would definitely say you are not to blame, so give yourself a break. We used a scrub brush technique that had great results. Ask the OT about it. You can do it at home. And, she should qualify for the services.
My own son had sensory issues and very low muscle tone. We did the scrub brushing for him and had very good results. Now at 17, he has phenomenal fine motor skills and is a very talented artist.

Please put the idea that you did something wrong in your pregnancy out of your mind. If that is the case, all the other moms whose children have sensory issues and OT issues also did something wrong. And I promise you, they didn't.

Even if you don't qualify for services, she needs OT. Your insurance should help with it. OT's who have a lot of experience with SI can make a huge difference in a child's life.

You also might try working with a play therapist. They can help you figure out how to work with your child.

Good luck,
Dawn

I wouldnt worry to much. My son has pretty low muscle tone all over. If you have not discovered this until now, then it must be pretty mild. OT can be very helpful for both sensory problems and for fine motor work. In fact in my search for the reason why my son has low muscle tone I discovered that some kids with sensory problems can have low muscle tone. Who knows...there are so many causes to low muscle tone, but usually if it is not discovered until after 1 years of age a cause is never found. Dont worry about it too much. I don't know if you will qualify for services. There has to be a certain amount of delay to qualify for E.I services.

I'm no expert. But I've had a lot of kids with all kinds of more pronounced delays. I doubt very much you could have done anything wrong. Even if so, how would you know and why beat yourself up now?

Every child that I have ever known for any length of time has improved greately even with no formal help. It seems as if these days help is out there for most everything. Try not to worry. I'm sure it's going to be just fine.

NO, you did nothing wrong and don't be upset, its minor. my son has this but has gotten better. Don't worry, it could be way worse. OT had a brush they used and they'll give you some techniques to use at home. It sounds like she has a mild case where my sons was more severe. I have to laugh because I've been through it and I know you'll be just fine.