Hand therapy
Support for fine motor skills, graphomotor development, and daily independence in preschool and early school children
We start with an assessment of grip, muscle tone and handwriting. We practise exactly the skills the child finds hard. We work one to one, one child with one therapist, and you repeat short exercises at home.
What We Target in Hand Therapy
We train skills needed at school and in everyday routines.
Fine Motor Skills
We work on the precision of grip and hand-finger movements a child needs for eating, play and later handwriting. We practise threading beads, cutting with scissors and age-matched manipulation tasks, and you repeat short exercises at home. Grasp matures gradually through the early years, so if a whole-hand grasp persists well past a child's peers, it is worth discussing with a paediatrician.
Hand-Eye Coordination
We work on hand-eye coordination, the teamwork of eye and hand needed for drawing and writing. The child traces lines and moves small items under visual control, and you repeat the exercises at home. In one study of such a programme, visual-motor integration held a month after it ended, while some manual dexterity regressed in at-risk children once exercises stopped.
Graphomotor Readiness
We prepare the hand for writing: we find a functional grip on the writing tool and work on pressure control and line fluency, not necessarily a classic tripod grasp. We practise on different surfaces, and you repeat short series at home between visits. Evidence most strongly supports practising the writing itself, and more weakly the programmes used in place of that practice.
Daily Independence
We practise everyday self-care tasks: getting dressed, doing up buttons and zips, and tying shoelaces, at the child's own pace. We break the task into small steps using backward chaining - the child finishes the last step first and gradually takes on more, so short repeats at home build a sense of success. Very marked difficulties or other concerning developmental signs are worth discussing with a paediatrician.
Support Options
The therapy scope is adjusted to your child's real needs and abilities.
Hand Therapy
Individual sessions supporting manual skills and coordination needed in preschool and school activities.
- Age-appropriate exercise plan
- Better precision and motor control
- Regular parent feedback
Manual Skills Assessment
Functional assessment of hand and graphomotor performance with a clear follow-up plan.
- Parent interview
- Functional child assessment
- Home recommendations
Functional Skills Training
Practical training of hand skills used in self-care and classroom tasks.
- Everyday task practice
- Better movement organization
- Growing child confidence
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions
Worth reading
Short articles from our therapists that go deeper
Hand therapy and speech: how a skilled hand helps a child talk and write
Difficulty holding a pencil, tiring quickly while drawing, and untidy handwriting often go hand in hand with delayed speech or communication difficulties. We explain how hand therapy, speech therapy and pedagogical therapy can work together to help a child talk and write with more ease.
How to prepare a child for learning to read and write - the role of the speech therapist and pedagogical therapy
Readiness for learning to read and write is more than knowing the letters. It includes developed language, a skilled hand and the ability to concentrate. This article shows how to support your child at home and when to involve a speech therapist and pedagogical therapy.
See other services
More therapies we offer
Pedagogical therapy
Support with reading, writing and math difficulties.
- Individual educational goals
- Practical learning techniques
- Regular parent feedback
Sensory integration
Controlled sensory stimulation supporting development.
- SI assessment
- Sensorimotor exercises
- Speech development support
Speech therapy
Communication, articulation and speech fluency.
- Goals after assessment
- Age-matched exercises
- Home practice guidance
Book a Diagnostic Consultation
Let's identify which hand and graphomotor support will be the best next step for your child.