Correcting pencil grip in 4yo

[Gwenny]

My son holds a pencil (and eating utensils) in an overhand grip. The length of the pencil is against the palm. I'm having a hard time correcting this and I don't want to let it go any longer as he spends a good deal of time every day scribbling with his sister. I have the HWOT teachers manual and have tried the suggestions in there to fix the grip, but no such luck yet. Of course I realize that this will time to correct and we have only just started. When he holds it pinched between the fingers in the proper position, the pencil will flop forward. I've done the rubber band around the wrist to help hold it in place, but the grip is still unnatural.

 

I've also tried a couple different pencil grips, but even with those, the pencil will still fall forward. Also, even when holding bits of crayon or chalk, he holds them in the same overhand way (which is supposed to be impossible to do, according to HWOT)

 

Any suggestions, or websites that offer help?

 

Thanks,

Gwen

[Cindyz]

My 5 year old had a poor grip. We used rubber grips (the kind that prevent cross over), and I put them very very low on the pencil. The grip has to be moved and repositioned each time the pencils are sharpend. I helped him put his fingers in the correct position each time he picked up the pencil, and verbally told him how to hold it properly. At first he said he could not write if he held it the proper way and did a lot of complaining. It only took about a month of constant physical correction and now he can pick it up and hold it properly himself but only while using the grip. If he holds a marker or colored pencil, I have to watch and verbally prompt him to hold it properly.

[Gwenny]

Anyone else?

[FO4UR]

Break the crayons down to tinier bits...about an inch. Remove all other writing utensils from his reach. Another option is those big ball-shaped markers by Crayola...these don't teach proper grip, but will not allow an improper grip on a pencil.

 

Play some tweezer games...moving bits of paper/pebbles/beans from one bowl to the next. (This works those finger muscles.) Medicine droppers are good for this too...take him outside with finger paints and let him squirt the paper with the dropper...:D Hide buttons (or other small items) in a big glob of play-doh. Get him out at the playground on the monkey bars and play "wheelbarrow" races. These things are #1 priority imHo.

 

 

Don't actually write for handwriting practice. Have him use his pointer finger to trace in sand. (I use a plastic container with colored sand for this.) Learn the strokes for HWOT all in sand. I like the sandpaper letters too. (You can make these with 3x5 cards, glue and sand.) When he's ready for paper/pencil, it'll be a seamless transition.

 

Then....for my (now 7yo) who had some early fm delays and now writes very well...I taught him a silly little way to remember how to hold a pencil. I had him "karate chop" with his right hand, "eraser out" (b/c I had to specify which direction the pencil should go :lol:), "and grip" (and I had a gripper on his pencil so that was easier).

 

hth

 

ETA: My 4yo is my 3rd dc...and I've come to the conclusion that removing the opportunity for bad habits to form and giving plenty of pressure-free fm building play is the most productive use of this time. Learning to write is a fairly complex skill for a 4yo, so break it all down into it's parts (strokes, fm control, proper grip, etc) and build each part separately and it will all come together. I waited until my (now 7yo) ds began writing with paper/pencil spontaneously on his own before *requiring* pencil/paper work. By mid-K, he was both writing in cursive and print...and this was my dc who was sent to an OT for fm delay at 4yo.

Edited July 24, 2010 by 3blessingmom

[Dinsfamily]

My 5 year old had a poor grip. We used rubber grips (the kind that prevent cross over), and I put them very very low on the pencil. The grip has to be moved and repositioned each time the pencils are sharpend. I helped him put his fingers in the correct position each time he picked up the pencil, and verbally told him how to hold it properly. At first he said he could not write if he held it the proper way and did a lot of complaining. It only took about a month of constant physical correction and now he can pick it up and hold it properly himself but only while using the grip. If he holds a marker or colored pencil, I have to watch and verbally prompt him to hold it properly.

 

This what I did for my now 6yo when he'd just turned 5. I bought several different grips and let him choose his favorite. I didn't really have to help him with them, the grips naturally corrected him. After a couple of months, he gradually stopped using them on his own. I still had to remind him to use a proper grip with crayons for awhile, but we don't have any problems now.

 

I've started using one of the grips with my 4yo now just to head off any problems. His grip is developing nicely.

[Diana B]

I actually found some pencils that help correct the grip. They are 'Y' shaped and force the child to put the index finger through the 'Y'. We did that and used short/broken crayons and then transitioned into golf pencils. With that and age his grip straightened out. At almost 7, we are still using mostly golf pencils (that happens when you have a box of 200!). He can use a regular size pencil OK, but has a tendency to hold it up too high, so the golf pencil helps his handwriting be clearer.

 

I'm going to see if I can find you the 'Y' shaped pencil online.

 

ETA: Here's the pencil we found. I was able to find a 2-Pack of them somewhere. They worked REALLY well for my ds. http://www.penagain.com/twistnwrite.html

Edited July 24, 2010 by djbartch
added link

[anotherblessingus]

These are what worked for all of my children. I don't know if you have tried these or not. http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/Pencil+Grip+%28Glitter%29/012273/1279999538-1519438

[strawberry]

Break the crayons down to tinier bits...about an inch.

 

 

 

This is what the therapists use. It was my suggestion, too. We used these 1.5 inch colored pencils, too.

[Mert]

I used triangle shaped pencils and crayons to help ds see where each finger was supposed to be. I just realized the other day that he's now holding pencils correctly without any prompting from me. :001_smile:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lyra-Ferby-Pencils/dp/B002JLWIXK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1280001181&sr=1-1