Working on Scissor Skills Development with Children with Autism

Are you working on scissor skills development with your child or students? Scissor skills are one of the most important fine motor skills that need to be taught to children with autism. If you are looking for easy printable fine motor activities for kids with autism, take a look at my Fine Motor Activities Bundle and my Autism Activities Workbook Bundle (which includes an entire fine motor section).

Cutting Skills by Age

Scissor skills typically begin to develop around 2 1/2 years old and by the age of 4, children can cut along a curvy line.

Of course, we know that in the case of autism scissor skills development, along with all other development will most likely look quite different.

Activities for Scissor Skills Development

These are some of my favorite activities to help children with autism develop scissor skills.

Love Bug Printable Scissor Practice

This free Love Bug Printable Scissor Practice worksheet is one of my favorite activities for teaching scissor skills!

girl working on scissor skills development

Download your free Love Bug Printable Scissor Practice Printable here

Play Dough Cutting

Roll play dough along the table to make long strips of rolled play dough. Have your child or students use scissors to cut the rolled play dough into multiple pieces.

The video below will show you how its done!

Cutting Strips of Paper

Cut 1 inch thick strips of paper and have your little learner use scissor to cut them into several pieces. You may need to guide your child or student’s supporting hand to hold the paper strip and cut with the dominant hand at first, but over time, this will become an independent cutting activity.

Scissor Skills Development Videos

I love this video by an OT explaining the difference types of grip which apply to handwriting and scissor skills development.

Best Scissors for Teaching Scissor Skills

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Plastic Safety Scissors – you may want to start with the safest, plastic scissors.
Fiskars Animal Scissors – child safety scissors that are suitable for children who are both right and left handed.
Maped Kidicut Children’s Safety Scissors – these are really cute, easy-to-use safety scissors for kids.
Soft Rubber Han dled Childr en’s Scissors – these scissors are adorable and easy for children to grip and use.
Loop Scissors for Kids – these scissors are probably one of the safest on this list and have handles that can be squeezed together easily to help individuals with motor difficulty.

Why Are Scissor Skills Important?

Build bilateral integration which is the coordination of the right and left sides of the body.
Improve fine motor skills which are essential for every day activities, such as eating independently, drinking from a cup, getting dressed and more.

Safety when teaching scissor skills

Children with autism can have unpredictable behaviors and out bursts for a variety of reasons, so when using scissors you will need to take extra precautions.

These are some tips to stay safe while working on scissor skills development

Always work on scissor skills under adult supervision.
Work on scissor skills when your child or student is rested and in a good mood.
Follow your child or student’s interests to make this activity as motivating as possible which will keep your little one from acting out or wanting to run away when working on scissor skills.

More Autism Resources

Autism Activities Workbook Bundle – build communication skills, fine motor skills, sensory play skills and daily living skills, while helping your child or students to successfully manage any difficult behaviors, with these fun, educational, printable activities.
The Successful Interaction with a Child with Autism Course – learn to better understand your autistic child or students with this complete course.
Sensory Communication Workbook – Build communication skills with simple sensory activities.
How to Make a Communication Binder Guide & Workbook – Learn how to create a Communication Binder for your child or student with autism using real photos. Follow my expert guide to learn how to use it to increase communication skills.
Zoo Animals Play Dough Mats Bundle – use these printable play dough mat to work on the names of the animals, build language skills, and increase fine motor strength and precision in a fun, sensory way!