Where do you start? Take a quick look around the people you know, how do they hold their pencil or pen? There are some many ways, it is very individual. So what is good and what is bad?

Let's take a look at what is important.

Is handwriting important still in the 21st Century?

The answer to this is a very clear YES. Writing letters helps to consolidate learning the sounds in the early years, and in the later years we actually recall our written notes better than typed notes. There is lots of research behind this now.

What makes a good pencil grip?

A good "functional" pencil grip makes writing quick and efficient. It also does not cause pain in the hand or arm and has endurance. Can they write a whole page with that grip?

Traditionally, the tripod grip has been the preferred grip but other functional grips exist and are used effectively.

Ideally, there should be a circle between the thumb and first finger - the thumb web space. This allows the pencil to move and form the letters, without involving the whole arm or body.

What makes a bad pencil grip?

A closed pencil grip makes it harder to form the letters and then the whole arm has to be used to write which is very inefficient. A too tight or too lose grip will also produce too hard or too soft pencil grip. Some students, especially left handed students hook their hand. This way they can see what they write but it can be painful over time.

The wrap around grip - caused by weak thumb web muscles, restricts the movement of the pencil

The fist grip - seen in young children and an immature grip

An interesting grip - my friend at school wrote beautifully like this but not recommended

How to improve or correct pencil grip?

This is a really hard one to tackle once a child has been writing for a while it is really hard to change their grip. For some students a pencil grip can help to support their pencil grip so they can sustain the correct grip for longer and develop a better habit. It is important that the side of the hand is resting on the page as they write for support the hand.

Using thicker pens and pencils in the early years also helps to develop their correct pencil grip. I like to use larger triangular pencils as this supports their correct pencil grip.

Some students work with an OT to improve their finger, hand and core body strength which leads to improvements in their writing. An OT will be able tp carryout a thorough analysis of a child's pencil grip and related skills and design a program to address pencil grip and other prerequisites and supporting skills.

This blog will give some ideas how to build finger strength without doing handwriting activities

Handwriting Without A Pencil - TracyAshbridge.com

How to get the child to hold the pencil correctly

Thumb on the pencil

A key phrase I use with students is to get them to check that their thumb is on the pencil, not over the front. Look at the 2 pictures. The first shows correct pencil grip, with the thumb on the wood and the other is with the thumb wrapped over the front. Look at the size of the 2 thumb web circles. In the correct grip, the writer has lots of space to move the pencil as they write and the second will restrict the movement.

Hold counters

Take a coin, counter or special gem and hold it between you little finger, ring finger and your hand. Then add a pencil for the thumb and first finger. This keeps the other "helper fingers" out of the way.

Hold peg

Put a peg on the pencil and the child uses their ring finger and pinky to hold the peg. This works the same way as the coin.

Pencil Grips

There are many different pencil grips on the market and they all work in slightly different ways to support the child's grip. When choosing a pencil grip with a student, I try a few different ones to see which works best for the student. Some are more intuitive than others. These are my favourites:

Cross over pencil grip - this keeps the thumb and fingers on the pencil

Stetro Grip

This is a very common grip. Line up the arrow down the pencil and the place your thumb on the star. This works well on thin pencils but not the larger diameter ones.

Pinch Grip

There are 2 different sizes of this grip. I prefer the larger one as it really holds the thumb web open. Put it on the pencil with ball end up the pencil so it sits in the thumb web.

This very short video is a good way to encourage a child to pick up the pencil correctly.

Lay the pencil down, pointy end facing you, pick up with thumb and first finger, the pick and flick - you are ready to write.

Where next?

Once you have developed a good pencil grip, the next stage is to work on correct letter formation as this is the next factor in a functional and efficient writing technique. We need automatic formation of the letters so we can begin to focus on what we want to write not how to write.

Handwriting: The basics - TracyAshbridge.com