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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Fine Motor Skill Help, or Low Muscle Tone Help
daycare 01:05 PM 10-20-2015
I have a child that has been with me since he was 18mo and is now 4.5 years old. The child has overcome lots of obstacles with learning and behavior.
One thing that I can't quite figure out is that the child shakes when asked to use fine/large motor skills. Basically any time you ask the child to control their muscles to complete a task.
The child did drool when she was younger, but that end over a year ago. I noticed the shaking right away when the child was young, but the parents always had an excuse for it. She is cold, she took asthma meds and etc.
Well here we are almost 3 years later and this is still going on. The times that I notice it the most are with writing. When she writes her name she shakes so bad that she can't make good contact with the pencil to the paper. Also when eating.
The parents claim they don't see it. I need some help on how to approach this with the parents. So far I have saved all of her writing from the last 4 months, it's actually getting worse, not better. I have taken video, but I have not showed them yet.
I don't even know how to go about talking about this or what this could be. One of the other things that I noticed was that if you ask her to walk on a straight line her limbs and head start shaking. she is a very large child for her age in both height and weight.
any thoughts on this??
thanks ladies
One thing that I can't quite figure out is that the child shakes when asked to use fine/large motor skills. Basically any time you ask the child to control their muscles to complete a task.
The child did drool when she was younger, but that end over a year ago. I noticed the shaking right away when the child was young, but the parents always had an excuse for it. She is cold, she took asthma meds and etc.
Well here we are almost 3 years later and this is still going on. The times that I notice it the most are with writing. When she writes her name she shakes so bad that she can't make good contact with the pencil to the paper. Also when eating.
The parents claim they don't see it. I need some help on how to approach this with the parents. So far I have saved all of her writing from the last 4 months, it's actually getting worse, not better. I have taken video, but I have not showed them yet.
I don't even know how to go about talking about this or what this could be. One of the other things that I noticed was that if you ask her to walk on a straight line her limbs and head start shaking. she is a very large child for her age in both height and weight.
any thoughts on this??
thanks ladies
Controlled Chaos 03:31 PM 10-20-2015
I don't have experience with this directly but as a former physical fitness instructor - I recommend 1. requiring a not from a physician by X date. 2. Coming up with exercises or activities and games that include a lot of challenging fine motor skills. Short of a specific diagnosis its a matter of repetition and building muscle. Maybe make small achievable goals with dcg - when you can do blank 3 times in a row you earn ____ (stickers, dollar store etc.).
Good luck.
Good luck.
Unregistered 04:13 PM 10-20-2015
That sounds pretty serious. Definitely agree you need to get the parents to talk to the doctor. The fact that you have writing samples and video would probably help the doctors a lot. I wouldn't make goals up for rewards. It seems like it could be really hard on the dcg, if she can't actually do it.
daycare 04:23 PM 10-20-2015
they have brought up to their doctor at each wellness check up, or so they tell me and every time they come back saying the doc is not concerned because we don't see it.
UGH
UGH
kendallina 05:17 PM 10-20-2015
Weird that the parents don't seem to notice it. My daughter, 6 years old, has low muscle tone and when she was young (2-3 years old), we would notice a lot of shaking, mostly in her legs. We actually cut out milk for an unrelated issue (gastro problems) and after about a month noticed that the shaking stopped...weird. Obviously, this is probably not what this little one has going on, but our bodies are strange and you just never know. Does she shake when she tries to point to something as well? If I remember correctly, that's what an Intention Tremor is called?
Also, to strengthen fine motor, it actually helps to work on core and upper arm muscles as well (per my daugther's kinder teacher). So, we did a lot of wheelbarrow walking with her (where she walks using her hands and I hold her feet up). And she spends a lot of time on the monkey bars (we have some in our house). Pushing a laundry basket around the house with heavy stuff in it can help and carrying heavy grocery bags for you can help her as well.
If the parents are refusing to acknowledge it and they say the doc doesn't seem concerned than there just isn't much you can do unless you want to try to help her gain strength yourself. Best of luck!!
Also, to strengthen fine motor, it actually helps to work on core and upper arm muscles as well (per my daugther's kinder teacher). So, we did a lot of wheelbarrow walking with her (where she walks using her hands and I hold her feet up). And she spends a lot of time on the monkey bars (we have some in our house). Pushing a laundry basket around the house with heavy stuff in it can help and carrying heavy grocery bags for you can help her as well.
If the parents are refusing to acknowledge it and they say the doc doesn't seem concerned than there just isn't much you can do unless you want to try to help her gain strength yourself. Best of luck!!
mommyneedsadayoff 05:29 PM 10-20-2015
I would do a lot of play dough, legos, manipulative play to try to strengthen her hands. It is best to see a doc to rule out anyour underlying issues, but any activities that help her hand strength may help too.
Thriftylady 07:47 PM 10-20-2015
Originally Posted by daycare:
they have brought up to their doctor at each wellness check up, or so they tell me and every time they come back saying the doc is not concerned because we don't see it.
UGH
Time for a second opinion. And maybe ask if they would take a letter from you to the doctor.they have brought up to their doctor at each wellness check up, or so they tell me and every time they come back saying the doc is not concerned because we don't see it.
UGH
spedmommy4 09:35 PM 10-20-2015
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0315/p697.html
I would actually be more concerned about the shaking falling into the realm of neurological. (See article). You should not attempt to address it until you know what the issue is.
If you have a video and a good rapport with the parents, I would share the video. Just say, "dcm, I was taking a video of the kids and happened to get the hand tremor I mentioned to you. Would you like me to send you a copy?"
After that, the ball is in her court. You can give the parents the information but you can't make them access the resources.
I would actually be more concerned about the shaking falling into the realm of neurological. (See article). You should not attempt to address it until you know what the issue is.
If you have a video and a good rapport with the parents, I would share the video. Just say, "dcm, I was taking a video of the kids and happened to get the hand tremor I mentioned to you. Would you like me to send you a copy?"
After that, the ball is in her court. You can give the parents the information but you can't make them access the resources.