43 Finger Dexterity Exercises in Occupational Therapy

Finger Dexterity Exercises Occupational Therapy

Finger dexterity exercises in occupational therapy are a routine part of my job working with children. Hand or finger dexterity exercises are a great way to improve skills for fine motor activities. These hand skills help improve manipulation of small objects (in-hand manipulation skills) and they improve movement and control during handwriting. I encourage finger dexterity exercises with kids that I directly work with as an occupational therapist but I also share fun ways for parents and teachers to have ALL kids practice them during everyday activities.

Our hands are complex and unique!

Proper hand function is reliant on good posture, core strength, shoulder stability, an opposable thumb, and a child’s hand strength.

Children need grip strength, thumb stability, finger strength, range of motion, and finger dexterity in order to use their hands for fine motor activities and for self-help tasks. The many bones and small muscles in the hands allow for a variety of finger movements.

In order to successfully move objects within our hands without dropping them, we need dexterity.

As an occupational therapist, I often encourage frequent opportunities for finger dexterity exercises.

Why Are Finger Dexterity Exercises Important in Occupational Therapy?

Finger dexterity exercises in occupational therapy are important for fine motor skill development. They support in-hand manipulation skills needed for daily activities.

Finger dexterity and hand dexterity (sometimes also referred to as manual dexterity) allow for proper and functional movements in the hands. They support manipulation skills which is the ability to move objects within the palm and fingertips with good control. (This means without using the other hand to help, without dropping the items, and without using another surface or object to help.)

I see many kids with weak hands and decreased dexterity try to use their chest, a table surface, gravity, or even their chin to help control small objects within their hands! They lack dexterity within the fingers and hands and they need to find help in some way to control the small items.

As an adult, you use these skills to adjust or reposition a debit card within your fingertips, to rotate keys to start an engine, or to unlock a door with a key. You also may use them when putting on delicate jewelry. Or, when taking apart or assembling an exercise machine with many screws, nuts, and bolts. (I had to do this recently!)

When Do Children Use Finger Dexterity?

In kids, finger dexterity and in-hand manipulation skills are used with many daily living activities at school and at home. For example, picking up small math manipulatives, adjusting papers to fit into a folder, or moving paper during cutting.

These fine motor skills are used when kids manage clothing fasteners (small buttons, zippers, shoe laces, belts) and when using utensils. Dexterity is also needed for small movements when coloring inside small areas or filling in small bubbles on those lovely state tests!

During writing is when I see a great impact. A child needs dexterity in the thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger to shift and adjust a pencil during writing or to turn the pencil around to erase. Kids also need finger dexterity in order move the pencil to write small, age-appropriately sized letters that sit on the writing lines.

If kids don’t have good finger dexterity, they can have difficulty with daily tasks at home and at school. Finger exercises help!

What Types of In-Hand Manipulation Skills do Kids Need?

In order to use our hands efficiently, children need core stability and shoulder stability.

[Check out 40 Core Strength Exercises for Kids and Benefits of Vertical Surface Activities. Both blog posts contain free printables.]

Core and shoulder stability support the development of forearm and wrist movements. Forearm and wrist stability support finger movements and finger dexterity.

Dexterity in the fingers requires stability in the forearm, wrist, and thumb. It also requires fine motor strength, skill finger development (the tripod fingers) and control of the arches of the hands. This allows for a variety of movement patterns when manipulating small objects.

Thumb stability, thumb mobility, and skill finger development are needed in order for kids to have more success with in-hand manipulation. (These skills are explained in Development of Pencil Grasp.)

There are three types of functional in-hand manipulation skills that I look at as an occupational therapist:

Translation (finger to palm and palm to finger) – moving an object in a straight line by bending and straightening the fingers
Rotation (simple and complex) – turning an object with the fingertips or using the fingers to rotate an object end over end
Shift – using the pads of the skill fingers to move along an object in a linear motion

These skills are needed for completing self-care and fine motor activities at school. When promoting finger dexterity, the ring finger and little finger typically curl in toward the palm, and the skill fingers (tripod fingers) are the ones that perform most of the work: the thumb, the pointer finger, and the middle finger.

When Do Finger Dexterity and In-Hand Manipulation Skills Develop in Children?

Babies and toddlers begin to use finger to palm translation between 12 and 15 months. They begin to use palm to finger translation and simple rotation between 2 years and 2 1/2 years. They continue to develop complex rotation and can have success by age 4.

Between 3 1/2 and 5 years, children develop rotation and shift (with shift starting to begin between 3 and 3 1/2 years.) In preschool (after age 3) kids start to use in-hand manipulation skills more consistently.

This fine motor development continues into kindergarten and first grade. Between ages 6-7, kids use a variety of in-hand manipulation skills during play, daily routines, and learning activities. These fine motor skills continue to develop up to age 10.

By age 12, kids are still refining their dexterity. Many students that I work with need practice with in-hand manipulation skills. I see many school-age students who have difficulty with skills that should have developed when they were toddlers.

Finger Dexterity Exercises in Occupational Therapy

Finger dexterity exercises are an important part of my occupational therapy sessions. The three types of in-hand manipulation skills are translation, rotation, and shift.

There are several activities that support each skill area. The great thing about these hand exercises are that they also help with hand-eye coordination.

Translation Activities

Translation is the ability to move objects in straight, linear patterns. The fingers bend and straighten to move an object.

There are two types: finger to palm translation and palm to finger translation. Each one is pretty much self-explanatory!

For example, kids use finger to palm translation when picking up Cheerios one at a time with the fingertips and tucking them into the palm. Then, they use palm to finger translation to move a Cheerio from the palm back to the fingertips and into the mouth.

This is done successfully without dropping the food or without using the other hand (or anything else) to help. And it’s done successfully without turning the hand over to allow gravity to help the object fall into the palm.

Activities and finger dexterity exercises in occupational therapy that work on translation:

Picking up small coins one at a time, keeping them in the palm, and then placing them one at a time into a slot in a piggy bank
Sliding buttons or chips into a container with a slit in it
Picking up small beads one at a time to place on a string
Gathering 4-5 small pegs in the palm to place into a pegboard
Crumbling paper scraps into a tight ball
Feed a tennis ball (great to strengthen the hand as well!)

During translation, make sure your kiddos are using only one hand with the palm facing down as they pick up the small objects. Check to make sure they aren’t using anything else to help. If they drop objects frequently, decrease the amount that you ask them to pick up.

During palm to finger translation, I find it helpful to tell kids to “use your thumb to help slide one piece up to the tips of your fingers.” Show them, and encourage them to use the skill tripod fingers (thumb, index and middle) or the thumb and index finger.

Rotation Activities

Rotation is the ability to turn an object in circular motions with the fingertips or within the hand. There are two types: simple rotation and complex rotation.

Simple rotation involves using the pads of the thumb, index and middle fingers to turn an object. For example, removing a small cap from a bottle or rotating a shape to fit into a shape sorter.

Complex rotation is turning an object end over end. An example of this would be flipping a pencil around to use the eraser.

Finger dexterity exercises in occupational therapy that work on simple rotation:

Rolling small balls of playdoh with the fingertips
Puzzles with small pieces such as mini perfection
Spinning letter or design cubes around in the fingertips
Activating wind-up toys
Spinning tops
Removing and replacing small lids

Finger dexterity exercises and activities that work on complex rotation:

Spin a small baton with one hand
Pencil cartwheels – keep the arm still, hold the pencil in the middle and turn it end over end to make it spin in a circle
Spin a stick in clockwise, then counterclockwise directions
Flip a stick or straw around and placing it into an opening
Pick up large pegs, game or puzzle pieces and flip them over to put them in correctly
Spin large marbles or metal balls around in the palm

Shift Activities

Shift is the ability to use the pads of the skill fingers to move along an object in a linear motion.

This skill is used when fanning playing cards and when separating pieces of paper. It’s a really helpful skill for kids during cutting. The helper hand holds and moves along the paper fore better control with the cutting hand.

During writing, this hand skill is used when adjusting the position of the pencil within the hands. Small adjustments are often needed after picking up a pencil or after flipping it around to erase.

Occupational therapy finger dexterity exercises that work on shift:

Play card games
Lace paper clips onto string
Hold a paper or cardboard clock, spin it in the fingers around the numbers
Hold a pencil in the writing position, then walk the fingers up and down the pencil
String large beads, straws, or sewing spools (with string or pipe cleaner)
Use helper hand during cutting activities

During these types of finger dexterity activities, make sure that your kids are only using their fingers to move and control the objects. Some kids will use the table surface to give extra help. Or, they’ll use extra movements to allow gravity to help with coordination and control.

Finger Dexterity Exercises and Games Occupational Therapy

Finger Dexterity Exercises During GAMES (My School-Based Occupational Therapist Favorites!)

Fun ways to work on finger dexterity are by using games. Kids don’t know they’re exercising their hands when they play!

There are several games and fine motor activities that I use (or adapt) to encourage dexterity in the hands. For example, if I have a student play connect-4, I’ll have them pick up 4-5 small chips at a time. Then, they have to put them in one at a time with one hand, without dropping any.

A really fun activity is feeding a tennis ball. The child picks up 3-4 letter beads at a time and place them into the ball one at a time. I decrease or increase the challenge as needed for each child. I try to vary the sizes, textures, and shapes of small objects that I use.

Some games listed below involve combinations of in-hand manipulation skills. Many also address other fine motor skills that kids need when developing the hand muscles.

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Occupational therapy favorite games that improve finger dexterity:

Mini Spiral Glitter Wands
Boggle Jr
Mancala
Perfection
Mini Connect 4
Counting Pegs
Lite Brite
Card Game Set
Multi-Matrix (Therapeutic Block Game)
Lowercase Lacing Letters
Tennis Ball Animals (cut a small slit for a mouth, use small beads or buttons)
Piggy Bank
Fine Motor Hedgehog
Wooden Shape Sorter

43 Finger Dexterity Exercises in Occupational Therapy