The Twist ‘n Write as a training pencil
The Twist ‘n Write as a training pencil
Several of my students were given twist ‘n write pencils at the beginning of the school year to help correct an immature digital brace grasp. A digital brace grasp looks like this:
A twist ‘n write is the best choice to correct this type of grasp, if used properly, as the child really has ‘no other place to go” with this pencil in terms of finger position:
By now though, my students can all maintain a mature dynamic tripod grasp WITHOUT a twist ‘n write pencil, even the ones with the most severe digital brace grasps I had ever seen. Some of them are doing this with a stetro style pencil gripper to help maintain the mature dynamic tripod grasp, while some are simply using a regular pencil without any gripper at all. My friend Jasmine who has a severe instability of her thumb joint tried a grotto gripper for a while which sort of helped, but new she is on a stetro gripper. Jasmine also uses as soft thumb splint (we’re talkin’ hot pink polypropylene) for additional joint stability.
To achieve this kind of change, the child needs to use the twist ‘n write all the time so that a new motor plan can take shape when writing. This usually takes 1-4 months. I always leave 2-3 pencils with the teacher for spares/backups and one to go home with the student and I make sure i keep the teacher well stocked. The wonderful teachers I work with all support this growth!
Three cheers to the makers of the twist ‘n write for this wonderful pencil. It has had such a positive impact on the lives of so many children I work with.
When to use a bulb pencil gripper
When to use a bulb pencil gripper
Bulb grippers are sort of the “jack of all trades” gripper. I use them for a variety of grasps that I see mostly in kids who haven’t really established a proper grasp yet. Sometimes a kid will have a very immature supinate grasp (caveman grasp). Or they might have a vague idea of holding the pencil, but not where to hold it, and are holding it near the middle. What’s great about the bulb gripper is that it opens up the web space between thumb and index finger to allow for that space to form the tripod grasp. Here’s how it looks:
And into the dynamic tripod pose:
You will want to be sure to position the gripper so that the edge of the gripper is just where the wooden part of the pencil begins. The bulb gripper has 3 positions to choose from so kids can find the most comfortable position for their fingers to be in. The thick part goes toward the eraser to form the bulk in the thumb web space.
