Help needed: pencil grip

[desertmum]

Hi All,

Despite my best effort, ds is not holding the pencil right. Can you recomend a good pencil grip (or gripper) for a right-handed 5yo?

[desertmum]

:lurk5:

 

I saw these on amazon but I don't know which might work better.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Ergonomic-Assorted-TPG-11106/dp/B001SN8HOY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324221546&sr=8-1

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Crossover-Ergonomic-Metallic/dp/B001SN8HPI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1324221546&sr=8-2

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stetro-Pencil-Grips-Assorted-Colors/dp/B000KIEJKE/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1324221546&sr=8-15

[nansk]

My dd's thumb-over-index-finger grip was corrected with the Stetro pencil grip.

[dragons in the flower bed]

http://www.amazon.com/Stetro-Pencil-Grips-Assorted-Colors/dp/B000KIEJKE/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1324221546&sr=8-15

 

This one, the stetro, saved my relationship with my kindergartener. No kidding. The stetro is the only pencil grip that really moves a child's fingers into place, that really makes it trickier to hold the pencil incorrectly. The others make it squishy to hold it incorrectly, but not impossible.

[redsquirrel]

you might not need a grip. My son is working with an OT and one of the most useful things for helping his grip is a glass bead. By holding in the hand with the fourth and fifth finger (ring finger and pinkie) the hand moves into a much better position for writing. My son found most grips clunky and it seemed to cause more problems than they were worth.

 

Use a very small pencil. Like a golf pencil. I bought a box of them at the office supply store. The smaller the pencil the easier for little hands. It also gives less room to fist the pencil etc.

 

The bead we use are those flatish glass beads from the craft store. They are used in mosaics and sometimes to hold flowers in vases. My kids use them as game pieces sometimes. My younger son calls it his writing gem.

[desertmum]

My dd's thumb-over-index-finger grip was corrected with the Stetro pencil grip.

Thanks!

 

This one, the stetro, saved my relationship with my kindergartener. No kidding. The stetro is the only pencil grip that really moves a child's fingers into place, that really makes it trickier to hold the pencil incorrectly. The others make it squishy to hold it incorrectly, but not impossible.

Got it. No squishies.

 

you might not need a grip. My son is working with an OT and one of the most useful things for helping his grip is a glass bead. By holding in the hand with the fourth and fifth finger (ring finger and pinkie) the hand moves into a much better position for writing. My son found most grips clunky and it seemed to cause more problems than they were worth.

 

Use a very small pencil. Like a golf pencil. I bought a box of them at the office supply store. The smaller the pencil the easier for little hands. It also gives less room to fist the pencil etc.

 

The bead we use are those flatish glass beads from the craft store. They are used in mosaics and sometimes to hold flowers in vases. My kids use them as game pieces sometimes. My younger son calls it his writing gem.

I am in a part of the world where finding item like the glass bead is quite hard. However I CAN get smaller pencils -which will do tomorrow when the stationary shop open.

 

Thank you all so much for your responses. They've been a big help. I owe you. :grouphug:

[journey00]

Yey!!! This was driving me batty & I didn't know how to help my 6yo...I just ordered the stetro from Amazon. Thank you everyone!!!

[MeganW]

It really depends on what the problem is. What does the current grasp look like?

[MeganW]

If you will read through this thread, there is some info that may help.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=322452&highlight=claw+grotto+stetro

[MeganW]

Thanks!

 

Got it. No squishies.

 

I am in a part of the world where finding item like the glass bead is quite hard. However I CAN get smaller pencils -which will do tomorrow when the stationary shop open.

 

Thank you all so much for your responses. They've been a big help. I owe you. :grouphug:

 

 

Totally agree with NOT getting any squishy grips - they are useless. The best 3 we have found (and we have tried everything on the market!) are the Stetro, the Grotto, and the Claw. We also use a Handiwriter to keep the pencil back in the web of the hand, and to keep the ring finger & pinky out of the action. I would start with the Stetro, and if you need something more intense, buy some of BOTH the Grottos & the Claws and see which they do better with. (We started with Stetros and used those until the kids figured out how to get around them, and now 2 of my kids are using Grottos and 2 are using Claws.)

 

As far as the glass bead, it can be ANYTHING small - even a 1/2 a wadded up tissue would work. A small rock. A large bean. A teddy bear math manipulative. Any of those tiny plastic animals that are like 20 for a $1. The idea is just to give them something to hold to keep those fingers from being where they aren't supposed to be.

 

You also want to assess WHY your child's grasp is wrong. Is it just a bad habit? If so, it's just a matter of re-training - using a grip 100% of the time for a few months then weaning off it should do it. In our case, there are some underlying issues related to hand strength and fine motor delays, and so this is an issue that I need to work in other ways to resolve other than just adding a grip.

[desertmum]

My ds is holding the pencil with thumb and index in the right places but he doesn't rest the pencil on his middle finger. He puts his middle finger along the index. It means he can hardly put pressure on the page and the letters come out 'weak' (lack of a better expression moment here). My husband used to 'teach' ds to paint holding the brush like this so he could make light strokes, but now ds is using the same technique to hold the pencil.

 

p.s. I hate that sometimes I see anwers the following day after posting a message. Too many hours' difference in my part of the world.