Functional Scissor Skills
Children need to be able to use scissors to succeed in many school activities. Most children develop scissor skills by age 6-7. The chart below details the order the skills are developed.
What hinders the development of scissor skills?
Some children have difficulty holding and manipulating scissors. Some reasons are:
Low frustration tolerance - A child can become easily frustrated when learning a new task or doing something they do not want to do. Children with this problem may act out when cutting something.
Weak muscles - Some children have weaker muscles than others. Using scissors requires a fair amount of hand strength, especially when cutting heavier papers such as cardstock.
Poor muscle control - Some children, such as those with cerebral palsy, may have difficulty controlling their muscle movements. This can make it difficult to open and close scissors and move a paper while cutting it.
Poor muscle tone - Children may have too much muscle tone or too little muscle tone. Poor muscle tone can look like weak muscles. Excessive muscle tone can make it difficult for a child to open or close their hand because it becomes stuck in one position.
Poor posture - If a child has poor posture, they may find it difficult to cut due to limited space to manipulate their scissors. This can be a symptom of weak core muscles.
Poor grasp - If a child does not grasp scissors or paper properly, it is difficult to maneuvor while cutting.
Poor coordination - If a child has poor coordination they may be unable to open and close scissors smoothing or coordinate the movement of the hand holding the paper with the scissors.
Visual deficits - Some children have a variety of visual deficits that may make it difficult to cut. The can include difficulty distinguishing between similar colors, blurry vision, difficulty recognizing shapes, difficulty tracking objects with their eyes, and difficulty processing visual information.
Sensory processing deficits - Some children have sensory processing disorders that can make it difficult to emotionally regulate in the classroom.
Primitive reflexes have not integrated - Infants have reflexes that help them develop motor skills such as crawling and reaching. However, some infants retain these reflexes and it can make voluntary movement more difficult and uncoordinated. A common reflex that can make cutting difficult is ATNR. This reflex makes both arms move into a position (shown in the image below) with an infant turns their head.
Exposure - If children are not exposed to scissors, they may fall below the curve of scissor skill development. If the deficit is cause by limited exposure, skills will progress quickly.
Low frustration tolerance - A child can become easily frustrated when learning a new task or doing something they do not want to do. Children with this problem may act out when cutting something.
Weak muscles - Some children have weaker muscles than others. Using scissors requires a fair amount of hand strength, especially when cutting heavier papers such as cardstock.
Poor muscle control - Some children, such as those with cerebral palsy, may have difficulty controlling their muscle movements. This can make it difficult to open and close scissors and move a paper while cutting it.
Poor muscle tone - Children may have too much muscle tone or too little muscle tone. Poor muscle tone can look like weak muscles. Excessive muscle tone can make it difficult for a child to open or close their hand because it becomes stuck in one position.
Poor posture - If a child has poor posture, they may find it difficult to cut due to limited space to manipulate their scissors. This can be a symptom of weak core muscles.
Poor grasp - If a child does not grasp scissors or paper properly, it is difficult to maneuvor while cutting.
Poor coordination - If a child has poor coordination they may be unable to open and close scissors smoothing or coordinate the movement of the hand holding the paper with the scissors.
Visual deficits - Some children have a variety of visual deficits that may make it difficult to cut. The can include difficulty distinguishing between similar colors, blurry vision, difficulty recognizing shapes, difficulty tracking objects with their eyes, and difficulty processing visual information.
Sensory processing deficits - Some children have sensory processing disorders that can make it difficult to emotionally regulate in the classroom.
Primitive reflexes have not integrated - Infants have reflexes that help them develop motor skills such as crawling and reaching. However, some infants retain these reflexes and it can make voluntary movement more difficult and uncoordinated. A common reflex that can make cutting difficult is ATNR. This reflex makes both arms move into a position (shown in the image below) with an infant turns their head.
Exposure - If children are not exposed to scissors, they may fall below the curve of scissor skill development. If the deficit is cause by limited exposure, skills will progress quickly.
ATNR Reflex
Interventions
Addressing posture/positioning during cutting tasks
Repetition is the key to developing scissor skills.
Information obtained from Occupational Therapy for Children and Adolescents by Jane Case-Smith and Jane Clifford O'Brien
Picture from https://eleanorcawleymsot.com/tag/atnr/
- This website has tips from proper posture for handwriting, which is the same posture that should be used for cutting occupationaltherapy.com.au/2015/10/the-importance-of-good-sitting-posture-for-handwriting/
- Set up child with their spine naturally aligned
- Position child in midline
- Sit them on a firm, solid, stable surface
- Use phone books or blocks to stabilize feet if they do not touch the floor
- Child should be in a relaxed position
- Child should feel stable
- Core strengthening activities (sit ups, yoga poses)
- Tummy time activities (coloring, video games, etc.)
- Crawling
- www.gonoodle.com has several videos that help kids build their core muscles
- Dancing
- Sports
- Tummy time (coloring, video games, etc.)
- Crawling (make it fun by pretending to be animals or do a relay race)
- Wall push ups
- Yoga poses (This website has videos of different poses that help with this: sites.google.com/a/westwood.k12.ma.us/lisa-fass-occupational-therapist/yoga-poses
- Cutting out shapes that interest the child, such as a favorite cartoon character. If a shape is too difficult, try drawing a simpler shape around it, such as a circle or square.
- Put on lotion
- Finger painting
- Shaving cream
- Crazy Foam
- Pushing shapes out of perforated cardboard
- Tear open packages or boxes
- Pressing parts of hand into clay or therapy putty
- Roll clay into a ball
- Tug of war
- Pushing heavy objects
- Cut play dough or straws
- Turn pages in a book
- Card games
- Tinker toys
- Holding a pen and pushing the cap off with the same hand
- Buttoning or snapping clothing
- Stringing beads
- Magic tricks (hiding penny in hand)
- Squeezing water out of a sponge or washcloth
- Moving pennies from palm to fingers
- Playing a board game
- Picking up small pieces of food
- Crumpling paper
- Craft activities
- Unlocking doors
- Puzzles
- Putting on and taking off nuts and bolts
- Play catch
- Take frequent breaks during activities to calm a child
- Use a behavioral plan, if the child has one
- Ask the OT for sensory strategies to help your child, every child has different sensory needs
- Use calming music
- Use a quiet room with very little visual stimuli (table only has the present task on it, few pictures on the wall, bookshelves covered up)
- Do not be afraid to ask a child what stimulus is bothering them, and remove the stimulus if possible.
- www.gonoodle.com/ is an excellent website that has videos for meditation activities
- www.calm.com/ has excellent videos for calming overstimulated students
- Visit an optometrist for an evaluation
- Use a surface with a high color contrast to the paper being cut (black and white)
- Do activities that require eye movement, such as reading a story
- Complete mazes
- I-Spy type activities
- Find the difference pictures
- Writing tasks
- Wall push ups before an activity
- Tummy time before an activity
- Putting weight through the affected arm before an activity
Repetition is the key to developing scissor skills.
Information obtained from Occupational Therapy for Children and Adolescents by Jane Case-Smith and Jane Clifford O'Brien
Picture from https://eleanorcawleymsot.com/tag/atnr/