Tiffany's Tips: Functional Pencil Grip

Does your child hold their pencil when weird pencil grip? They may benefit from using the tripod trainer grip. To...

• Reduce hand fatigue

• Help give more control 

• Encourage tripod pencil grip, the most functional grip for legible handwriting. 

When using pencil grips, have your child start coloring by connecting the dots or mazes activities to get them used to using the grip before handwriting. These will improve your child’s visual motor skills and fine motor skills. When utilizing the pencil grip, you will see your child developing more control of their writing utensil.

 

Benefits of floor writing

Writing while lying on the floor has many benefits to help improve your child’s handwriting.  This position improves shoulder stability, wrist extension, and forearm placement. Additionally, it may improve your child’s ability to focus by changing their positions.

Pencil Grip Training

This past summer has provided a perfect opportunity to teach pencil grip now that therapy sessions are back in person. During our session, my student worked on fine motor strengthening activities, placing pegs in modeling clay. Then he completed visual motor activities (connect the dot and mazes) using a silicone pencil grip and Handiwriter handwriting tool. Finally, practice without the grip. 
#Ready For School

Tiffany's Tip: Wrist Positioning

Holding your wrist in a slightly extended position pulls the tendons that connect the wrist to the fingers. Therefore, an extended wrist position 

can also move the fingers easier, resulting in better finger control for handwriting.

Try these tips to improve wrist extension when holding a writing utensil…

⇨ rest hand on paper while writing on an easel
⇨ tape mazes and connect the dots activities to refrigerator door to complete
⇨ complete color pattern sheets while lying on the floor prop up on forearms
⇨ wheelbarrow walking, donkey kicks, crab walking
⇨ practicing writing patterns on a vertical surface

⇨ completing written task on a slant board