Bilateral Motor Coordination, Fine Motor Skills and Handwriting: Connections, Assessment and Intervention

Presented by: Teresa A. May-Benson, ScD, OTR/L, FAOTA
originally recorded June 13, 2019

Webinars are video presentations and include the recorded PowerPoint and lecture and a .pdf copy of the PowerPoint notes.

Description: Primary bilateral motor movements, patterns and skills provide a necessary and vital foundation for the development of postural and fine motor skills. Competency in these foundational patterns and skills is necessary for skilled fine motor activities such as handwriting. This webinar will examine how primary bilateral motor coordination patterns impact functional skills such as fine motor skills and handwriting development. Observations for identification of challenges in these bilateral coordination and postural control patterns will be presented and key intervention strategies to address difficulties in these foundational areas will be addressed.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this webinar viewers will be able to:

1. Describe how primary bilateral motor movements and patterns impact development of postural control and fine motor skills development.
2. Identify four primary bilateral motor coordination and postural control observations that indicate challenges in these areas.
3. Identify four intervention strategies to address foundational challenges in bilateral coordination that impact hand skills and handwriting development.

Course Level: Intermediate. There are no prerequisites for this course.

Suitable For: Occupational therapists, OT assistants

AOTA
Domain: Performance Skills
Process: Intervention

Contact Hours: This course is worth 1.5 contact hours or .15 AOTA CEUs.

Completion Requirements: To receive contact hours for this course you must listen to the recorded webinar in its entirety and complete the accompanying assessment

About the Speaker: Teresa A. May-Benson, Sc.D., OTR/L, FAOTA, Executive Director of the Spiral Foundation, is a well-known lecturer and researcher on sensory integration.  She has authored numerous book chapters and articles on praxis, ideation, and sensory integration and is a co-collaborator on development of the SAFE PLACE and FOCUS Programs.  She has extensive experience with children and adults with autism and a diverse clinical background having worked in private and public school settings as well as private practice.  She is past Chairperson of the Sensory Integration Special Interest Section of the American Occupational Therapy Association.  She is the recipient of the Virginia Scardinia Award of Excellence from AOTF, The Alice S. Bachman Award from Pediatric Therapy Network, and the Catherine Trombly Award from the Massachusetts Association of Occupational Therapy.  

ADA/Section 504: If you require special accommodations, please contact the Spiral Foundation at admin@thespiralfoundation.org or (617) 969 – 4410 ext. 231.

Continuing Education:

Occupational Therapy Practitioners/ Occupational Therapy Assistants:  The Spiral Foundation is an Approved Provider of Continuing Education for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants by the American Occupational Therapy Association.  The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.