Very poor pencil grip ds2 (6) - Anyone tried Stabilo Rollerball

[LargeLatte]

Ds2 has dyspraxia and is left handed. He has terrible handwriting which is not improving with practice or Occupational Therapy. We have tried all types of grip, and also Stabilo left handed pencils.

Part of his problem is that he is really only gripping with his thumb and on finger, rather than 2 fingers and so his control is very weak. Ideally he would use a claw gripper to help with that but he will not tolerate that at all.

Has anyone got experience of the Stabilo left handed roller balls or anything else they can recommend?

Is that the Easy range? We used them with our DS who had real problems with holding his pencil and they really helped.

There are wrist supports for pens you can get, meant to be very good!

I've been given one just as a left handed person, and I found them difficult to use as the grips didn't line up with where I had my fingers. Personally, I'd look at something that is generally soft around the grip area, rather than something that tries to specify where you grip the pen.

Yes DAISY - the chunky blue ones.

Thanks Turkish - I've not heard of that.

My DS is left-handed and the chunky blue stabilo really helped him to improve his handwriting, though he is working with the pencil--have not tried to the rollerball but imagine the effect would be similar. I like the fact that it specifies how to grip the pen because I think it encourages him to use a good grip from the beginning.

There's a pencil? Bother, just bought the pen. Will see how he gets on with that first then maybe buy the pencil version.

Stabilo pens don't help an awful lot with dd but I fear she'll never be a writer due to very weak hands/joints. Often an elastic band around the pencil works as well as anything especially if it's down to poor proprioception.

Does he have good support for his core muscles when sitting down writing or drawing? Often this can aid writing skills.

Stabilo rollerball are a bit bigger, more suited to DC's age 9yo+. My DS2 is 9yo, but with small hands, and finds them too unwieldy.

Stabilo S'Moove pens are far more fluid, and also smaller. Far better for younger DC's with dyspraxia and/or hypermobility IMO. They do a refillable pen and pencil.

I've found them to be OK, but personally the basic chunky triangular stabilo pencils (like normal pencils, but chunkier, triangle shaped, and with grips carved in, different for L and R handers, make sure you get the right one) to be far better.

In fact was at OT appointment only this morning!

A writing slope will probably help too - get a large ring binder and try that before you next go to OT.

DS2 won't tolerate a claw grip either. Have you tried the squidgy grips? Im not sure where they are from, DS2 got his from the SenCo, but the OT had them too.

Then you have the triangular grips that you can get from ELC.

To give you a bit of hope, my DS2's writing became far more readable when he was about 8 and a half, so about a year ago.

The school DID do an intensive Read, Write, Inc. program with him for 6 months prior to that though, which DID really help.

It's a Smoove pen I've ordered. We have tried about 6 different pencil grips and those triangle R / L pencils from Stabilo. Haven't tried elastic band though so will Google for some pictures.

He has low muscle tone, dyspraxia and cannot sit still for 2 seconds. OT describes him as 'complex'. Haven't tried a wiritng slope either. Had a wobble cushion but he just wouldn't stop fiddling with it, swinging it around in class etc. Exasperated, but appreciating your stories of improvement and hope.

Dd3 has the smoove too and the pencil, she is a lefty with hypermobile joints. She writes quite well, when she uses them

www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Pack-Claw-Pencil-Grip/dp/B004YDQH0Q/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1370971937&sr=8-6&keywords=pencil+grips

or

www.amazon.co.uk/Ring-Pen-Ergonomic/dp/B001VNJYPC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370972026&sr=8-1&keywords=ring+pen

Thanks mrz - he won't use the claw, but I haven't seen the ring pen before - might help as the pen slopes away from him which makes it very difficult to control.

LargeLatte:

DD1 had success with pink leftie Stabilo pen. But agree with PeterParkerSays, we also found spongy grips for pencils helped a lot.

We went to an ordinary office supply place and got sponge pencil grips which slide over ordinary pencils, mechanical pencils or biros.

She used these a lot at first (Y2/Y3) and now seems fine without them (Y5).

HTH

a lump of blu tac around the pencil as a handgrip is really good.

Waferthinmint- grip could be a problem in the longer term you are right. Using the wrong muscles and tension in the fingers can cause pressure in the radial nerve. This is why my dd will ultimately need to use a computer for writing.

You may be able to work on grip through strengthening the muscles using theraputty etc.

Stabilo move easy right handed was really good for DD1. We tried a number of pens before for her and only this one worked.

Have tried Stabilo propelling pencils and stabilo move easy pen for DD2. She is 8 but is small for age with small hands. I think they are a bit 'fat' for her, and the pen needs to be held at the correct angle (ie not upright) which would be good, but she can't get the hang of it at the moment.

DS grips his pen with his right hand but holds it almost like some left handed people hold their pen, with the pen sticking out at 90 degrees rather than in line (IYKWIM...!). He is really struggling with joined up writing (he's 7.5)

Would a ring pen help, do you think?

Apologies for hijacking the thread!