Typical Pencil Grasp Development for Writing
Proper pencil grasp development for writing starts a lot earlier than you think in children. From the time your child starts grasping for objects with their hands, they are developing pencil grasp.
If your child has ever received or been evaluated for Occupational Therapy, this is one thing that the therapist will be looking at when assessing their handwriting skills.
Before we get started here are some term definitions that will help explain some of the hand grasps:
- Radial ? Thumb side of the hand
- Digital ? Finger or pinkie side of the hand ; can also mean digits as in fingers
- Palmar ? Palm side, or inside part of the hand
- Supinate ? Palm facing up or forwards
- Pronate ? Palm facing down or backwards
Typical Pencil Grasp Development in Kids
Let's start at the beginning. Again these are average ages ranges, every child is different. If you do suspect your child is behind in their development, please talk to your pediatrician or consult with your local Occupational Therapist.
Did You Know??
For a while, the tripod grasp was the only mature grasp to be considered a proper pencil grasp past the age of Kindergarten. However, an exception was made for the quadruped grasp, since so many people and children use that type of grasp (myself included) and are able to print neatly and at a decent writing speed.
I always encouraged a mature tripod grasp when working with my students, however if they used a quadruped grasp consistently and were able to produce legible work and good letter formations when writing I considered their handwriting/pencil grasp goals met.
Be sure to talk to your child's therapist to see what type of pencil grasp they will be looking for in order to consider that goal met, if your child has a pencil grasp goal in Occupational Therapy.
Again, these are average ages ranges and every child is different. However this gives you a good idea of what to look for as your child starts to explore the wonderful world of writing!
Πηγή: Growing Hands-on Kids