United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Anyone have some sort of thing that helps our kids to hold their pencils/crayons better?
Sarah started kindergarten this year and I am worried about her handwriting!

Thanks in advance!

We had the same problem with Brandon, she holds he holds his pencil properly, but he gets tired fast from holding the paper down with his affected arm. WE use a clipboard since 1st grade and this seems to help !!!Believe me I was worried about his writing, but now in fourh grade he has the best cursive in his class, when he uses his clipboard !!
GAYLE

Sarah writes with her affected arm. So holding the paper isn't the issue with her. I was thinking....maybe those gripper thingies will help...the triangle ones... hmmm

any other ideas?

Mandie,
They do have special pencils at my son's school to teach them how to hold the pencil correctly. Or maybe those grip things would work expecialy if she cannot get a good grip because of her injury. I ave seen a whole bunch of different ones at Wal-Mart(My favorite store) this year!~!!

GAYLE

Check on peterson-handwriting.com for a great collection of grippers. I order from them every year for my students. If your child has free choice, they are more likely to use it. Pick the variety pack... I still use the jumbo gripper myself.
Check out the handwriting program Handwriting Without Tears which is recommended by OTs. My students love it.
If the paper does move, check out a product called disen (I think that's how to spell it). It is a flat piece of plastic that has a sticky texture. It is reuseable.
Your school's OT should be able to hook you up or at least tell you where to get it.
Nancy Ann

There are different issues and different grips and other tools to help with the different issues. I would suggest that you make an appointment with an OT who is a handwriting specialist to assess what the issues are and what specific tools to use.

We had to change Maia's dominant hand and it tooks years of handwriting therapy that I started with her when she was very young. But at age 3 or so, we had a fantastic OT who knew exactly what her issues were and we went through many different tools.... and as things progressed we changed tools....and it still continues on.