Pen Again ergonomic pen/pencil for 8 year old with messy writing and poor pencil grip. Opinions please!

[screamingabdab]

Hi, my 8 year old son is doing well in all other respects at school (his reading is very good), but his writing is messy, and he has got into a bad habit of holding his pen incorrectly. I gather that this is relatively common in boys, and would take a wait and see approach , except it is beginning to frustrate him.

He finds writing slow and laborious, and says it hurts his hand. At school he is getting a bit frustrated and is becoming avoidant of writing (it is affecting his written maths as well). His progress seems to have stalled. The teacher is also a bit concerned and is going to do a bit of extra writing practice with him.

I am working on the premise that it it is a motor problem at the moment, and we are doing a few minutes of writing practice a day at home.

Now to my question. We have some Pen Again ergonomic pencils, which help to hold the pencil correctly and reduce the need to grip so hard. Wondering if any parents/teachers/OT's out there had used them, and what you think about them?

Any other advice gratefully received.

Many thanks

I meant, I have lots of pens to try out (including your suggestion)- was worried it sounded like i was saying I have already got lots of pens to try out, so don't need yours

This thread is really interesting for me. My DS is 7, and whilst his reading and maths are fine, and he is also interested in all his other subjects, he just hates writing. He is left handed and finds it really difficult.

I am going now to order some of these special pens/pencils,the yoro ones I think.

Screaming, please can you update on how your DS gets on.

applepudding I will do.

My plan is to keep on with the PenAgain, order one of each of the others, and take it from there. Maybe get a writing slope too (Ikea do a really cheap one, I think)

When we go back to school I might see about getting the SEN co-ordinator to make referral for OT (I don't know if they will consider his problem is bad enough, though)

I will be very interested to hear your thoughts on these pen suggestions adab.
Ds2 7 but yr3, has appalling hand writing, totally illegible. He is only allowed to use a pencil at school whilst most of his class use a pen. I think there is a good chance he is dyspraxic (can't swim, ride a bike etc) the school don't seem to think there is much of a problem so I'm not really sure what to do next.

Daffy hiya. This is all new to me too. I wonder if it's worth you posting on the Special Needs section (if you haven't already). It does not sound at all right to me that the school doesn't take your son's issues up.

From what I hear on the grapevine, so many people end up organising their own, private assessments for these things.

Hi screaming I am LOVING IT! I love it so much I feel guilty that I am being paid for it.

The kids I have met are amazing and I feel such a huge responsiblity to do the right thing by them. I am dead nervous that I will say the wrong thing to the parents. I suppose thats because I have been on the receiving end of a few choice comments from professionals!

You are so sweet to ask.

I have looked at the thread (still havent gone to bed) and notice the pen has been mentioned already . Its easy to get and not to dear so its worth a try though.

Good luck

Thanks adab
Not sure how much of it is me worrying though, he is young in the year and quite immature and the school is very good.

Hi, che - That's great ! You won't say anything wrong because you know what it's like from the other side (and you are very sensible).

I have found going back to work i am a much better listener than I was before I had kids (I used to be a mental health professional before).

This is the first time I have posted for advice, and I feel very touched at the time everyone has taken to help. Feel more positive now.

Night all !

We've tried the Stabilo and the Yoro with ds, but neither seemed to make much odds. Last year his teachers got him some fiddles which helped them (they are twiddly things for pencils/pens for kids who cannot help but fiddle with things). He had an OT referral in yr1 which said he had a higher need for physical stimulus but no major issues, and physio for postural instability, which they said was just the way he was made. We've just kicked off another OT referral because his handwriting just hasn't improved (he is coming up 10) and it is starting to be a real block. Also when he was diagnosed with dyslexia and we got him special synthetic phonics tutoring it made such an incredible difference (he is now a really confident reader) that intervention seems really worth it. Otherwise he's going to be moving to one of those little computers at school, but I really think the ability to make notes that at least you you can read back is a fairly fundamental one.

nooka Thanks for your experience. Glad some things have improved. The writing's a worry though, isn't it?

It's a really fundamental issue (although not quite as much as reading I think). Trouble is ds gives up on things he thinks are too hard/he's not good at, so we aren't sure if he's not trying or can't do it right now. Poor kid, he is also hugely homesick right now, so life's not great for him.

I think practice at home and extra support really is key, and different sorts of pens/pencils etc at least makes them think you are on their side, which is also very important, even if none of them make much difference.

nooka That's exactly what my DS is like. It's so hard to work out exactly what's going on. If he tries hard, he can make his writing better, but it's so much of an effort compared to everything else, that he just gives up, bless him.

So far I have not wanted to push him at home because I haven't wanted to make it an issue between us, but during the holidays, he has been doing just 5 minutes copying a day (out of the Lego catalogue), so fingers crossed it will help!

Off out now, back later this afternoon

hi screaming, have finally got round to reading. I find the whole situation with DS incredibl frustrating.

We've had lots of comments about his writing from primary, but very little support. Now he's at secondary, other than the untidyness they don't seem bothered. He can't even make out what he's written in his homework planner sometimes. We pushed for a referral to the secondary SENCO as soon as he was in year 7 (I suspected dyslexia, he can't spell, muddles words - we have had crying over reading and writing), she said most people display dyslexic tendancies and he was no more so than a lot of her TAs, and the tests came out good (I still suspect over-compensating, but no-one believes me). We have justhad his first yr& report and his English teachers don't seem concerned, just mention lack of confidence with reading and writing.
Fair enough, but what do I do about that?
I bought him a handwriting practice book from wilkos, he is meant to do 5mins a day. We also had one of those stabilo pens, but he lost it at school.
my strategy currently is to get him to use block capitals for his planner (he says this takes too long) (when I was at school we were taught to do labels for DT etc in block caps, they don't seem to do that any more) and I will probably order some of the different pens that have been linked on here. I am going to see both his english teachers at parents evening too.

Your post from yesterday though -

"screamingabdab on Fri 10-Apr-09 16:04:31
AAh MuffinBaker

I do find it a bit hard to be honest, because as a little girl (like a lot of girls, I think) I loved writing for it's own sake.

DS doesn't really see the point of it - or is just demoralised because he finds it hard. It's hard to disentangle what's going on. I don't want to make DS any more anxious about it than he already is, but he can't really go on avoiding writing, can he?

DH doesn't worry about it so much as he says his writing was poor as well."

• I identify with all of that (I think my DH has mild dyslexia too)

sorry for mammoth post

Handiwriters are quite good - my son used one. The child holds a little charm in their hand and that combined with a strap round their wrist and pencil gets the pencil angle perfect.

My only criticism is that the charms are either dolpins or footballs. Sadly they don't do penguins

...

Yes I am a primary teacher and SENCO

Activities To Develop Handwriting Skills

The following activities support and promote fine motor and visual motor development:

Body Stability
The joints of the body need to be stable before the hands can be free to focus on specific skilled fine motor tasks.
Wheelbarrow walking, crab walking, and wall push-ups.
Toys: Orbiter, silly putty, and monkey bars on the playground.

Fine Motor Skills
When a certain amount of body stability has developed, the hands and fingers begin to work on movements of dexterity and isolation as well as different kinds of grasps. Children will develop fine motor skills best when they work on a VERTICAL or near vertical surface as much as possible. In particular, the wrist must be in extension. (Bent back in the direction of the hand)
Attach a large piece of drawing paper to the wall. Have the child use a large marker and try the following exercises to develop visual motor skills:Make an outline of a one at a time. Have the child trace over your line from left to right, or from top to bottom. Trace each figure at least 10 times . Then have the child draw the figure next to your model several times.
Play connect the dots. Again make sure the child's strokes connect dots fromleft to right, and from top to bottom.
Trace around stencils - the non-dominant hand should hold the stencil flat and stable against the paper, while the dominant hand pushes the pencil firmly against the edge of the stencil. The stencil must be held firmly.
Attach a large piece of felt to the wall, or use a felt board. The child can use felt shapes to make pictures. Magnetic boards can be used the same way.
Have the child work on a chalkboard, using chalk instead of a marker. Do the same kinds of tracing and modeling activities as suggested above.
Paint at an easel. Some of the modeling activities as suggested above can be done at the easel.
Magna Doodle- turn it upside down so that the erasing lever is on the . Experiment making vertical, horizontal, and parallel lines.

Ocular Motor Control
This refers to the ability of the eyes to work together to follow and hold an object in the line of vision as needed.
Use a flashlight against the ceiling. Have the child lie on his/her back or tummy and visually follow the moving light from left to right, to bottom, and diagonally.
Find hidden pictures in books. (There are special books for this.)
Maze activities.

Eye-hand Coordination
This involves accuracy in placement, direction, and spatial awareness.
Throw bean bags/kooshi balls into a hula hoop placed flat on the floor. Gradually increase the distance.
Play throw and catch with a ball . Start with a large ball and work toward a smaller ball. (Kooshi balls are easier to catch than a tennis ball.)
Practice hitting bowling pins with a ball. (You can purchase these games or make your own with pop bottles and a small ball.)
Play "Hit the Balloon" with a medium-sized balloon.

I also teach my children letter formation jingles which they recite to ensure they form letters correctly in a smooth single motion

Curly caterpillar family
Anticlockwise movements
c round

o round, round and join

a round, up, down and flick

d round, up, up, down, down and flick

g round, up, down, down and round

q round, up, down, down and tick

s round and round the other way

f round, down, down and round ? across

e across and round
one armed robot family
down, up and over movements

r down, up and over a bit

n down, up, over, down and flick

m down, up, over and down, up, over, down and flick

h down, down, up a bit, over, down and flick

b down, down, up a bit, over and round

p down, down, up, up, over and round

k down, down, up a bit, over, round, out and flick

long ladder family
mainly down and round movements

l down, down and flick

i down and flick ? dot

t down and flick ? across

j down, down and round ? dot

u down, round, up, down and flick

y down, round, up, down, down and round

zig zag monster
diagonal movements

v down, up

w down, up, down, up

x down, stop ? down, stop

z across, down, across

for joined writing we add a "whoosh" to the beginning

Thanks everyone!

vaRIA : I feel your frustration! I don't want this to be going on into secondary. I don't think there is enough emphasis on writing at primary level (at DSs school at least).

BottySpottom thanks for finding me over here. Another pen to check out! lol at penguin

mrz that's incredibly useful (and above and beyond the call of duty - you are meant to be on holiday )

I don't think either of my kids have been drilled enough in the correct letter formation to begin with, as you describe

Ds is 10 years old and has a diagnosis of dyspraxia (and also on the autistic spectrum) and has has loads of problems with handwriting. He got some PenAgain pencils for Christmas and at first he didn't really take to them. I took them to school and gave them to the learning support assistants in case they were useful for any other children and a few days later, ds said he has started to use them and that they are helping him. I am not sure if there has been a noticeable improvement in his handwriting but I like the pencils because they are a lot less tiring to use for children, who like ds, tend to have a vice-like grip on their pens and pencils.

Thanks sis. I like the look of them for that reason.

Good luck!

sorry not got time to read all, this might help

DD aged 6 used a pencil grip and was holding the pencil correctly within a week with no further need for the grip - amazing - only cost a few pence from e-bay shop. Would really recommend giving it a try!

pippi thanks- what shape was the grip ? I have had a look on some websites and there are all sorts, from straight, to triangular, to funny pebble-shaped

plusonemore Ta !

They were triangular - like this

cgi.ebay.co.uk/TRIANGULAR-PEN-OR-PENCIL-GRIP-PACK-OF-5-FREE-P-P_W0QQitemZ140310073547QQcmdZViewItemQ QptZUKHomeGardenPensPencilsWritingEquipmentSM?hash=item140310073547&trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkpa rms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318