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Why is a child's pencil grasp so important?

10/8/2011

1 Comment

 
Picture
Functional Grasp
I recently completed kindergarten screenings for a few private schools.  I look for age appropriate copying skills, pencil grasp, sensory motor, fine motor and self help skills.  One of the most "flagged" areas is pencil grasp.  Yes, about 50-70% of our kindergarten kids are not using a functional pencil grasp.  Why is holding your pencil correctly so important?  The way we hold a pencil determines how much pencil control we have as well as which muscles are being utilized during handwriting.   Holding a pencil ineffectively changes handwriting/coloring from a task using finger muscles to a task using the large muscles of the hand, arm and shoulder.   The latter causes muscle fatigue, especially as they reach 2nd grade.  How can you help?
Changing a child's pencil grasp gets more difficult as they get older. It is possible to implement a change in pencil grasp up to about 2nd grade given the child is motivated to do so.  The easiest way to change a poor grasp is by changing the tools they use to draw and write with.  Throw out those "choo-choo" pencils and crayons and stick to small crayons and pencils that are no more than 2" long.   Reducing the length of the shaft to 1-2" ensure that the child cannot get all their fingers on the shaft and requires them to practice a "pincer" grasp (thumb and index opposition) which leads to increased muscle strength in the small finger muscles of the hand.  Skip the pencil grips.  I haven't had good luck with those.  I feel it is best to train the muscles and the child to hold the pencil correctly, rather than rely on a pencil grip to help.  Besides, when they pick up a crayon at a restaurant it won't have that special grip on it, and you are back to square one.  For pictures of functional and not so functional grasps, go to our OT page near the bottom.  
1 Comment
Mike Gordon
2/10/2012 06:20:43 am

Our daughter is 22. She falls on the high end of the Autism Disorder Spectrum. She has always had difficulty writing. At 22 she really wants to be able to write more legibly and gets frustrated by her inability. She can spell the words and can putting words together that make sense. However, she forms individual letters poorly and they are bunched together rather than separated.

Is it too late to improve her handwriting skills? I understand that retraining muscles can be difficult and it makes sense that handwriting is controlled by the hand and finger muscles rather than the arm and shoulder. This might explain her tendency to press too hard on the pencil and paper.

How much of handwriting is muscles and how much of it it is hand/eye coordination? She has been seen by a doctor who suspects that one of her eyes functions poorly due to neurological damage.

Any suggestions or directions you can point us in would be appreciated.

Mike Gordon

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    About the blogger: Stephanie Wick is a pediatric occupational therapist that founded and is lead O.T. at Learning Charms. 

    Read past Blog here

     



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  • Home
    • Story
    • Testimonials
    • Who attends?
    • Fees / Policies/ Forms >
      • Forms
    • Staff
    • Contact / Map
    • Hours and Holidays
    • Blog
    • Charter Schools
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Handwriting Classes
    • On demand handwriting classes >
      • Going to Kindergarten results
    • OUTSCHOOL live class schedule
    • Materials for on line school
  • Summer Programs
  • Occupational Therapy
    • Occupational Therapy >
      • Occupational Therapy (O.T.)
      • Individual Occupational Therapy >
        • Handwriting >
          • Individual Handwriting Help
          • Handwriting for Teens and Adults
        • Sensory Processing Info
      • Handwriting Tutoring
      • O.T. Definitions
    • Early Preschool Intervention
    • Interactive Metronome
    • Handwriting