Thumb Wrap Pencil Grip

 

Does your child wrap their thumb around their pencil when writing or coloring? They may benefit from using the tripod trainer grip. To...

Reduce hand fatigue

Help give more control 

Encourage tripod pencil grip, which is the most functional grip for legible handwriting 

When beginning to use pencil grips to correct this grip, have your child start with coloring by number pictures or mazes to get them used to using the grip prior to handwriting.These will improve your child’s visual motor skills and fine motor skills. When utilizing the pencil grip you will see that your child develops more control of their writing utensil.

Here are two pencil grips I have found great success using...

cross over pencil grip

Zones of Regulations

Today we are discussing how we can help a child self-reflect and regulate their emotions in the classroom and at home. Self-regulation means well “you” and the ability to regulate or be in control of your emotions. The Zones of Regulations are tool used to determine a child’s emotional state, identify their feelings, understand how their behavior impacts those around them, and learn how to manage their feelings. There are four zones; our feeling and states determine what zone you are in. Below is a description of each zone, what signs to look for to determine what zone a child is in, and what to do if you are not in the green zone. However, the thing to take away is that there is no such thing as a bad zone, if the child is eliciting the proper reaction to a situation. The main focus is for the child to self-soothe or calm him/her self-down. 

• The Red Zone is used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness and intense emotions.  A person may be elated or experiencing anger, rage, devastation, or terror when in the Red Zone.  
• The Yellow Zone is also used to describe a heightened state of alertness and elevated emotions; however, one has more control when they are in the Yellow Zone.  A person may be experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness, the wiggles, or nervousness when in the Yellow Zone.  
• The Green Zone is used to describe a calm state of alertness. A person may be described as happy, focused, content, or ready to learn when in the Green Zone.  This is the zone where optimal learning occurs. This is where you want to be!! 

• The Blue Zone is used to describe low states of alertness and down feelings such as when one feels sad, tired, sick, or bored. 
  
  

  
  These are a list of OT interventions to get a child back to the green zone: 

  
  

  1.     Deep Breathing  

  2.     Manipulating hand fidgets  

  3.     Engaging in heavy work (lifting, pushing, and pulling activities)  

  4.     Jumping (knees to chest)  

  5.     Yoga   

  6.     Take a walk  

  7.     Using a weighted blanket/vest  

  8.     Count backwards from 20  

  9.     Getting a drink of water 

  10.  Wall/chair push-ups 

  11.  Listen to music 

  12.  Write about it 

  13.  Chew gum and other hard and chewy food/candy 

  14.  Aromatherapy (lavender, lemongrass, orange, frankincense, and bergamot essential oil) 

  
  

  Patel Samir, OTA/Student

  
  

  Tiffany Powers-Reid, OTR/L

Reasons why I love my ...

Tools to promote a mature pencil grip

With winter break over, and a new decade upon us, school is back in session! Kids that struggle with handwriting commonly come down to how they grasp their writing utensil. There are many products out there that parents can get for their kids to promote mature grasp. Also, there are accommodations for kids with weak hand muscles who fatigue easily after writing for an extended period. Below is a list of tools you can find to help your child if they struggle in any of these areas.

·     HandiWriter

o   This device helps those that fatigue quickly from prolonged writing. The device promotes proper pencil grip and relaxes the pencil on the webspace between the thumb and index finger.

·     PenAgain "Twist & Write" Pencils

o   These pencils promote mature tripod grasp to hold a pencil properly. This device is also useful for kids that use a lot of pressure when they write or those that hook their hand while writing.

·     Claw Grips

o   3-finger cup design that naturally places fingers in a functional tripod grasp and open web space position. The claw grip is an excellent tool to teach kids the proper way to grip and pencil correctly.

Patel Samir, OTA/student

Tiffany Powers-Reid, OTR/L

HAPPY NEW YEAR: A Year of Progress

As the year comes to an end, I enjoy reviewing my students' progress. This year I would love to highlight samples from one of my 7-year old students.  When I started working with him, he refused to write no more than a few words during our sessions. He's now able to write complete paragraphs. His parents and teachers are pleased with his progress.  Looking back at the below samples, even he was shocked about the progress he had made.

October 2018 (sample on wide line yellow highlighter paper)...

April 2019 (sample on wide line yellow highlighter paper)...

December 2019 (sample on narrow line yellow highlighter paper)...

Summer Success Stories

Our students' summer proved to be full of growth. As always, it's a delight to share my clients' success. The before and after samples below belong to a 1st-grade boy from this year's week-long summer camp.

The below sample is from a 7-year-old boy with ADHD who was unable to copy a sentence with legible handwriting just 6 months ago.

The sample below is from a 7-year-old girl who struggled with letter formation, letter size, and word spacing. 

Meet Ms. Arianna

My name is Arianna and I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. I earned my degree from Wilbur Wright College with high honors in January 2019. I am a recent graduate who is eager and passionate about occupational therapy in pediatric settings. 

I joined Write Now OT Services in February 2019. I received training in the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum and have worked as a handwriting tutor alongside Ms. Tiffany.  I have tutored school-age children in various settings enjoying every session. While working as a handwriting tutor, I completed requirements to become certified and licensed in the state of Illinois to practice as an occupational therapy assistant (COTA). I am excited and ready to start my career as a pediatric COTA and form a collaborative team with Ms. Tiffany to provide the best quality services.