year one and still struggling with pencil grip

[Dontrocktheboat]

I am feeling a bit despondent about my 5year old ds and some ongoing development issues. He has a speech disorder so struggles with a lot of sounds - though this has improved and is continuing to do his speech is still not always clear. His language is fine, both expressive and receptive. I was primarily worried last year in reception about socialising and making friends but in fact he has managed this really well which is a relief. He has struggled with reading though, he recognises all the letters and can sound out but really struggles to blend - I think this may be related to speech and phonological processing. He seems to find it easier to recognise whole words which he knows.

I have tried not to worry too much as he is very young, but I am worried about his reading and writing now going into year one. We had some friends visiting yesterday and their daughter, who is five months older spontaneously sat down and wrote a note to my daughter in beautiful joined up handwriting! My ds can still barely write his name as he really struggles with pencil grip and always looks awkward and finds it hard to control and press hard enough on the paper.

Just wondering if anyone else has had these problems particularly with the physical act of writing, and if they did resolve eventually?

It might sound a bit silly but have you had his eyesight checked? We had the same issues with DD2 and found out in year one that she needed glasses. She actually had a squint but it wasn't visible...so you know when you see a child with an obvious turn in their eye...well this was that but without the turn somehow...it happens sometimes and then it gets missed that the child needs glasses.

Meant to add...it honestly sounds like he's doing so well....it's hard in the UK because they're pushed pretty hard, when they're young. Don't worry too much.

Thanks - he had his eyes tested in reception so think they're OK. He just seems to have difficulty coordinating his hand around the pencil! I try not to compare as I think his difficulties are quite specific and he is otherwise bright in some respects - it is just hard when you see a slightly precocious child of the same age! I worry he is never going to be able to read and write properly. I also don't want to push him but then worry not doing enough.

My two sons have the most awful writing imaginable- they hold the pencil really oddly and form letters in a peculiar way. One of them does things like starts his '2's from the bottom. They are in their 20's

Theybwent to school overseas but the school did loads of handwriting practice so I can't blame them. I think it was just my sons. My daughters both have beautiful writing.

I couldn't ever get my boys to see that it mattered.

Over the years every meeting with a teacher started with them telling me how awful their writing was

Anyway, apart from the fact I'm sure they must have lost some marks in exams from their hideous writing it didn't matter long term. One is in his last year of medicine and the other is planning his PhD .

Help him by providing lots of toys and games which need fine motor skills.

Lego, beads, Plasticine and clay. Don't fret...some kids just take longer than others.

One of my DDs was bang on her academic stuff from day one, the other just wasn't interested.

The uninterested one is 8 now and has JUST begun to write and read fluently.

She's taken this long...before this last month, you couldn;t read what she'd written!

Thanks, he spends most of his time playing with Lego, so manages to manipulate that.

I hope he will catch up on his own time, as people have suggested - it is just hard not knowing and worrying about getting a balance between encouraging him whilst not pushing too hard and putting him off!

terrible product name but have you tried something like this? One of my children found the pen again very effective in securing their grip

No, thanks donkey will give that a try (yes is a pretty rubbish name!)

Pencil grip requires the bones in the hand to have hardened sufficiently t enable good control. Whilst this has usually happened by 5 years it's not unusual for girl's bones to harden as young as 3 and for boy's to not harden till 7. This is why girls tend to write earlier and more neatly than boys and is probably the likely cause of poor pencil grip for you ds. Keep going with fine motor practise such as lego, bead threading, using tweezers etc and at some point in the next couple of years it will naturally become easier for him.