Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: coordination + sons + improve  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)

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How can I improve my son's coordination?

 All children have to learn co-ordination but some learn faster than others. This can lead to people, including some professionals, insisting that all young clumsy children will 'grow out of it'.

This may be true for the majority but even so some children remain clumsy for much longer and benefit from intervention.

I'm not sure what your son's exact symptoms are but clumsiness can be obvious in big movements (so called gross motor skills) like difficulties with throwing a ball or with running where he may fall over a lot.

Alternatively more fiddly skills (fine motor skills) may be affected causing difficulty with for example writing and colouring, cutting with scissors or doing up buttons. He may have problems with rhythm such as dancing and skipping activities. It can be difficult to organise and plan movements so that everything he does seems disjointed and takes a long time.

Tasks which need to be done in an ordered sequence, such as getting dressed, can present a big obstacle, leading for example to shoes being put on before trousers and needing to be taken off again. All this can make him feel flustered and frustrated. As a result he may lose confidence and children of his own age group may not wait for him or may ignore him leading to a lack of friends.

There are several causes of clumsiness. Occasionally there can be a problem with vision so it is worth having your son's vision tested by an orthoptist (your health visitor can arrange this).

The main problem is usually that the part of the brain dealing with balance and co-ordination is not working as efficiently as in other children. This should not be confused with brain damage or cerebral palsy. Although these conditions can cause clumsiness there are usually other problems with development and movement which doctors will probably have detected by now.

You ask about what you can do to help at home. The occupational therapists assessment is essential before treatment as such can start as no two clumsy children are the same. They all have different strengths and weaknesses and need an individual plan of what will help both at home and at nursery or school. However there are a few general ground rules which apply to helping all clumsy children:

1:There is a danger that people who do not know your son may think he is backward and that he may come to believe this himself. There is no truth in this, most children with clumsiness have completely normal intellects. It is important to maintain his confidence by spending time with him on things that he can do and praising him for any success however small.

2:If he is weak with certain tasks, such as throwing or kicking a ball or drawing or cutting out you may want to encourage him to practice these tasks. Keep such practice to short periods. Break up any long tasks into short manageable steps. Allow him to go at his own rate and stop as soon as he has had enough with lots of praise for what he has done.

3:Never ask him to do something beyond his ability. It will only humiliate him and make him feel even more inadequate.

4:Don't compare him with other children or talk about his problems or your anxieties within earshot. This sounds obvious but your son will pick up on every word you say about him and this will only serve to drag his self-esteem down.

5:Do seek help if he seems to lose skills that he previously had or develops new problems for example with his behaviour, movement or learning skills. There is always a danger that children waiting to see the occupational therapist develop new symptoms which may be ignored. Discuss any such changes with your GP as your son may need fast track referral to the occupational therapist or may need to see a paediatrician.

We recommend readers seek personal medical attention in appropriate circumstances.