Sára is a 4-year-old girl diagnosed with cerebral palsy and mild intellectual disability. Because of her illness, the girl lags behind in her locomotor and intellectual development. The parents have been searching for treatment for two years. Rehabilitation has been carried out and there is a progress afterwards – the girl is able to walk on her own but has difficulty walking up and down stairs. She cannot run and has difficulty keeping balance. She loves music and claps her hands when she hears a rhythmical melody. The most serious problem for the parents is that the girl is lagging behind in her intellectual development. She cannot speak and understands very little for her age. Also, she has difficulty in manipulating things with her hands. In this case, in order to develop motor skills, it is first of all important to build on the girl’s strengths. She loves music. Teachers can start by playing different musical instruments with her. Such an activity will be interesting to the girl and will also give her he opportunity to practice her fine motor skills. After that, teachers can start adding simple movements while playing on the musical instruments. It is important for the girl to be able to repeat them and to be appreciated for her attempts. In order to integrate the girl among other children, teachers can stimulate them to support Sára during the day. There should be an explanation about her state as well as how and why it is important to help her. For instance, children can play together on the musical instruments. They can take Sára by the hand when she walks up and down stairs so that she can feel their support. For Sára, it will be useful to participate in drawing activities – e.g. she can paint with her fingers, or play with plasticine. This will help the development of her fine motor skills. Teachers can also use massage techniques (for the girl’s hands, feet) with different tactile materials – rough, smooth, etc. This will increase her desire to explore the environment around her by using her body ac ively. To help the girl better understand, the teachers may create a system of visualization of the daily schedule, utilizing pictures representing individual activities. With a predictable daily schedule, Sára will be calmer. Uncertainty and a failure to comprehend what is expected of her could lead to increased anxiety and a refusal to participate in the proffered activities. It is also important for the teachers to remember that the final result is not always the most important thing. The mutual interaction with Sára is more important, and that also applies to positive encouragement. In this way trust is built between Sára and the teachers which is important for the next stages of her development in the kindergarten. 

Children with SEN have similar needs as children developing regularly. In order to fulfill the needs of all children, the teacher must understand how children naturally develop and be able to distinguish things the child will manage on their own and where they need help.
Jana is a five-year-old child with SEN, having been diagnosed with right-sided hemiparesis. Her right upper limb can only be used partially. It has inadequate grasp, cannot develop sufficient strength and has limited wrist movement. Her walk is autonomous – hemiparetic.
The girl is attending rehabilitation sessions, making measurable advances in gross motor skills – her walk has stabilized and the movement in her upper limbs has improved (shoulder and elbow).
The physiotherapist recommended activities which would stimulate the development of Jana’s fine motor skills. Her parents provided the kindergarten teacher with the results their daughter had achieved during rehabilitation and concerning activities developing fine motor skills.
Jana enjoys painting and modelling things out of clay or other modelling materials. The teacher therefore decided to motivate Jana to develop her fine motor skills via these activities. She preferred working with clay over other modelling materials. After group motivation the teacher also checks in with her individually, in order to make sure the girl understood the task. First of all Jana made a ball of clay, then flattened it and rolled it into a snake, then made it into a slug. The teacher motivated Jana to use both her hands when working – with the “better” hand helping out the “worse” one. Jana was fully engaged when modelling with clay. She worked independently, at her own pace and enjoyed showing her classmates what she had made. When painting, Jana used a sponge or finger painted instead of using a brush. She easily mastered basic color mixing, experimented with the paints and had no problem making shapes with color.