Thursday, July 5, 2012

Pencil Grasp and Handwriting


The Australian Occupational Therapy Journal published research on the effect of pencil grasp on handwriting speed and legibility in 120 fourth grade students after a 10 minute copy task.  A standardized handwriting assessment was completed before and after a 10 minute copy task by typically developing students and students with handwriting issues.

The results indicated decreased legibility after the 10 minute copy task but increased handwriting speed in both groups.  Although there was decreased quality of handwriting, there was no difference among four different pencil grasps.  The dynamic tripod pencil grasp did not provide an advantage over the lateral tripod or the dynamic or lateral quadrupod pencil grasps.

The researchers question the practice of having students adopt the dynamic tripod pencil grasp.

Reference: Heidi Schwellnus, Heather Carnahan, Azadeh Kushki, Helene Polatajko, Cheryl Missiuna and Tom Chau. Effect of pencil grasp on the speed and legibility of handwriting after a 10-minute copy task in Grade 4 children. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal June 2012 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1630.2012.01014.x

2 comments:

Nan jay Barchowsky said...

Regarding pen(cil) hold, often overlooked is tension. It is far more important that the hand be relaxed than the finger position. However, a relaxed tripod hold may be most effective if consideration is given to all other fine motor activities. A specific hand/finger position is required for playing a musical instrument or for a chef slicing vegetables. And always relaxed!
Nan Jay Barchowsky, Handwriting Specialist
www.bfhhandwriting.com

Unknown said...

Hello,

I have gone through your post is really nice and so much informative. I like Jingle Bell Pencil most is cool.

Thanks For Sharing.

Regards Handwriting

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