Typical Development of Grasping and Reaching Patterns
From birth to mature grasp
Birth to 1 month
- No reach
- Has random arm movements
- Moves arms symmetrically
2 months
- Recognizes hands
- Thumb usually outside of palm
- Asymmetrical reach
3 months
- Voluntary grasp when placed in hand- grasp reflex decreases
- Attempts to reach toward a toy
- Plays with fingers at chest in middle of body
4 months
- Leans toward reaching arm
- Symmetrical reach with both hands
- Brings hands to mouth and knees
- More open hand/fingers
5 months
- Reaches with one hand laying on belly
- Holds with palmar grasp for a couple of seconds
- Corrals objects (traps and pushes with open hand)
- Hands to feet
6 months
- Radial Palmar Grasp
- Bangs items
- Rakes small items (all fingers extend and flex when trying to grab)
7 months
- Reach and grasp with straight arm
- Palm faces self when bending elbow
- Moves wrist when holding toy or object
- Shakes and bangs items
8 months
- Holds two objects in one hand
- Hands and fingers conform to object’s shape
- Radial digital grasp
- Three jaw chuck
- Lateral pinch
11 months
- Can reach overhead
- Can hold outstretched arm to side with palm up
2-3 years
- Digital Pronate
- All fingers are pointed
4 years
Static Tripod
5-6 years
- Mature dynamic tripod
- More fine tune movements of joints in fingers
