When do we recommend pencil grips to teachers?

by Msfortaleza
(Georgia)

A lot of teachers in kindergarten and 1st grade ask for pencil grips. I am not an advocate of this because in kindergarten, kids can still use the strength that they have and learn to hold a pencil properly without providing them the cues or being dependent on pencil grips.

What do ya'll think?

Comments for When do we recommend pencil grips to teachers?

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using pencil grips in the classroom
by: OT Mom

Good question!

I honestly believe that issuing pencil grips without addressing the underlying fine motor issues is like putting a sticky plaster on a festering wound! In the end, it does not help much!

I have seen so many kids being issued with pencil grips and they continue using their contorted grasps around the pencil grip itself!

However, if the child is receiving help to work on the fine motor difficulties such as these hand exercises and finger exercises, then I think it is ok to issue a pencil grip if it helps him to control the pencil better.

I also believe that kids don't need to have "perfect" grips, they need to have functional pencil grips that allow them to write legibly and complete their work without tiring.

When it is not possible to work on fine motor skills, a child may benefit from using a thick triangular pencil, or try the larger pencil grips such as the Crossover Grip or Grotto Grip (available from PFOT)

Hope this helps!
PENCIL GRIPS
by: Anonymous

I work in the schools and a lot of kids who need my services don't qualify for them. I then have to try to give a quick fix to the teachers. If the teachers stay on the child who is using the grip to make sure they are holding it correctly then I have seen great results, but if the teacher is not involved then they can continue to hold it with their inappropriate grasp even with the grip on.
try this idea...
by: Anonymous

rather than using spendy and easy to lose pencil grips....at my school, we have these black, squeeze type clips which come in many sizes and are used to clip to gether quantities of paper which are too big to be held by a paper clip. I attache the smallest one of thse black clips towards the end of the pencil...and have my kids align their index finger through the wires. It's not the most comfortable way to hold a pencil, but using the clip helps align the kids fingers on pencil. Yea, this needs a picture. sorry

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