As adults we can often see a child struggling with something seemingly simple, but it’s not always clear why.

We see the problem, but because the task’s so easy for us it’s almost impossible to understand how someone could struggle with that. You just…do it.

For example:

Why is your child finding it hard to hold a pen? You just hold it in your fingers.

Why is it so hard to put on a pair of trousers or brush their teeth properly?

This is a problem of course because without knowing the root cause of the issue, these unexplainable difficulties can become extremely frustrating for both parents and their little ones. We want to help, but we don’t know how.

I had a discussion with a parent a few weeks ago about some of the things their child was finding challenging.

They talked about their frustration with this exact issue, which would crop up every morning while they were trying to leave for school. Every small task in the morning took a ton of prompts and a lot of time. Even putting on their son’s shoes took ages and involved multiple instances of checking in from the parent while they were trying to do other things necessary to leave the house.

At times like this it’s important to focus less on the specific task at hand, and more at the broader picture of what could be going on so we can help our children gain the skills they need.

From the time I spent with the child I observed the following;

• He slouched a lot when he sat, meaning he may have low muscle tone. He compensated for this by leaning on others and changing his sitting position, all so he had additional support to maintain his position

• He was often poorly coordinated, struggling to move his body and do what he wanted to do with accuracy

• He had difficulty planning new motor movements, as evidenced by his apparent difficulty working tasks out and the amount of time it would take him to complete seemingly simple things

  
  

All of this combined to create a situation where he required a lot of conscious effort when completing tasks. Imagine the difference in the concentration required to drive now compared to when you were learning. An incredibly complex task that once needed every ounce of focus is now something you can do without thinking as you sing along to the radio on the way to work.

For this child, his sensory systems weren't working as effectively as they could be, meaning every task feels like a driving lesson.

By working to understand the broad issues at hand, it becomes possible to work out strategies to help not only a child’s ability to complete the specific tasks in question, but many other things they encounter day to day!

In this case, we worked on;

• Activities to develop his movement (vestibular) system and body awareness (proprioceptive) system to improve his posture body awareness and reduce fatigue so he is able to sit for longer periods of time. This mostly involved simple games he could play at home, especially ones that needed heavy pushing and pulling (which helps body awareness) like carrying heavy toys around or play fighting with his dad

• Implemented movement breaks at school and home to provide him with the input that he needed. Just a few minutes of moving around here and there allowed his sensory systems, which were crying out for movement, an opportunity to gain feedback

• Helping him to develop his planning skills to complete new movements with ease by playing obstacle course games

• Visual strategies to improve his independence when following daily routines through pictures of the steps of a dressing task

  
  

For some children even the seemingly smallest of tasks can be challenging when we aren't getting the right amount of sensory information, but there are always strategies we can use to help.

If your child is experiencing challenges with daily activities and you'd like some support then get in touch on hello@tinystridesot.com