Mature Postural & Movement Control
This area of development involves how well a child can move, control, and stabilize their body. It’s about how parts of the body work together and independently for smooth, coordinated movement.
When these skills are immature, children may look clumsy, have trouble sitting still, or struggle with tasks like handwriting, catching a ball, or dressing themselves.
Body Segmentation
(Left vs Right, Back vs Front, Upper Body vs Lower Body)
- What it means: Knowing and controlling different parts of the body independently.
- How it affects function: Kids who haven’t developed body awareness may have trouble telling left from right, struggle to follow movement directions or move their whole body when only part is needed.
- How it affects handwriting: Poor body segmentation can make it hard to sit still with the lower body while writing with the hands. You might see “full-body writing†where the child leans or moves their entire body with each stroke.
Visual Motor Integration
- What it means: Using the eyes and hands together to guide movement.
- How it affects function: This is key for catching, building, drawing, and copying.
- How it affects handwriting: A child may copy letters incorrectly, struggle to write on lines, or mix up the size and placement of words. They may also have difficulty with spacing or writing from left to right.
Figure Ground: the ability to visually see one item in a field of multiple objects
Shifting gaze: the ability to look from one object to another (e.g., reading from left to right).
Fixation: the ability to keep looking at an object (with or independent of head movement).
Convergence: the simultaneous inward movement of both eyes to work together to look at nearby objects (i.e., experience difficulty reading/writing, double vision, become tired or experience difficulty concentrating).
Divergence: simultaneous outward movement of both eyes away from each other to look at far away objects (i.e., experience difficulty reading/writing, double vision, become tired or experience difficulty concentrating).Tracking (H O): the ability of both eyes to follow vertical, horizontal, and circular movements to visually track an object.
Crossing Midline
- What it means: Reaching across the middle of the body with the opposite hand or foot.
- How it affects function: Important for dressing, reading, sports, and coordinated movement.
- How it affects handwriting: A child might switch hands when writing across the page, or only write on one side. This breaks fluid motion and can affect handwriting speed and consistency.