In this blog, Senior Occupational Therapist Gayle Hillen explores the steps to developing a functional pencil grasp.
What is a pencil grasp?
A pencil grasp is the way a child holds their crayon, texta, paintbrush, or pencil. It is an important step towards being able to engage in crafting, creating, painting, drawing, colouring and ultimately forming letters for writing. As the child matures, they will progress naturally through different developmental stages and use a variety of pencil grasps before they settle on one that is comfortable and effective for their needs.
Steps to developing a functional pencil grasp
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Step 1: Whole hand grasp |
Step 2: Transitional or static grasp |
Step 3: Functional grasp |
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All five fingers are used to hold the pencil in a ‘power grasp.’ Movements of the whole arm, including the shoulder, are used for pencil control. |
Pencil is supported on 2 sides i.e., held between the pad of the thumb opposite the pads of the fingers. Fingers are ‘fixed’ on the pencil, so movements of the forearm and wrist are used for pencil control. |
Pencil is supported on 3 sides i.e., thumb and finger pads are on opposite sides of the pencil, which rests on the side of the middle or ring finger. This functional grasp allows for efficient, small finger movements for pencil control. |
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Rough age guide: 3 years * all children develop at own rate |
Rough age guide: 3 – 5+ years * all children develop at own rate |
Rough age guide: 5+ - 7+ years * all children develop at own rate |
What can impact functional pencil grasp development?
- Consider each child’s individual development. The child may simply not be ready in terms of both physical and emotional maturity. A child entering kindy may be as young as 3½ years of age. The expectation that every child uses a functional pencil grasp is unrealistic.
- Holding a pencil to colour, draw or write, may not fall within their scope of interest or motivation. This means that some children have less opportunities to practise and develop the smaller muscles in their fingers and hands.
- A typically developing child uses a functional pencil grasp anywhere between 4 – 7 years of age.
Why is a functional pencil grasp important?
- As the child develops they learn to use less effortful movements to control the tools that they want to manipulate efficiently, in their daily routines.
- The majority of children develop a grasp that suits their needs at the time.
- It is generally considered that a functional pencil grasp should allow a child to hold the pencil comfortably to draw, colour, paint, and ultimately write — without experiencing pain, fatigue, frustration, decreased fine motor control or lowered self-esteem.
- Research shows that an inefficient pencil grasp is not a predictor of poor handwriting.
Takeaway point: a tripod grasp is not the ‘best’ or ‘correct’ grasp; rather it is important for the child to hold the pencil on three sides, which allows for wrist movement to control the pencil, without pain or fatigue when writing.
Tips for developing a functional pencil grasp
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Strong muscles and stamina Support your child to engage in playing fun games to develop strong body, core, and shoulder muscles as an important first step. Then move on to arm, wrist and hand strengthening through play (e.g., swimming, jumping, playground play, riding trike, scooter, climbing etc.). |
Using two sides of body together Children develop hand preference/ dominance at different stages. Support your child to use hands in play where each hand/side of the body has a role. Generally, the preferred hand is the ‘doing hand,’ while the other hand is the ‘helper hand.’ This will ensure the development of precision movements necessary for functional pencil hold and control. |
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Sensory awareness Children rely on what the senses of the touch, body awareness and vision are telling them about how much pressure to use when holding an implement to draw, how hard to press etc., whether the texture feels acceptable; how the hand, arm and fingers need to be positioned for precision hold and control. Use sensory play to develop this awareness in keeping with your child’s preferences e.g., feely bags, texture/messy play – sand, goop, shaving foam, playdough, rice, sand, water play. |
Interests and strengths Always use a sense of fun, incorporating your child’s unique interests and strengths to play games that your child will enjoy. This will motivate them to engage in games and activities to build small hand muscle strength towards a functional pencil hold and control (e.g., building with blocks, Lego, magic pictures, painting, craft, cutting, creating with playdough, gardening, cooking). |
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Honing visual motor control When the visual and motor systems communicate efficiently this enables your child to develop the precision needed to draw, copy, and complete craft. This in turn is important for copying pre-writing shapes towards handwriting. A functional pencil grasp underpins this control. Engaging in fun games to build this coordination includes stacking blocks; posting; pouring liquids; Lego; puzzles, connecting the dots; Jenga; tracing shapes, letters, numbers etc. |
Adaptations/alternatives For young children using thicker barrelled drawing implements (e.g., egg crayons, thick pieces of chalk) can make it easier to hold. Using small and short writing tools (e.g., broken pieces of crayon) can be useful to encourage using fingertips towards a functional pencil grasp. For some children exploring pencil grips, use of an easel or slope board can be useful tools to promote a functional grasp when the child shows readiness. If you have any further concerns about your child’s pencil grasp, please discuss with your occupational therapist, member of the clinical team, therapist or contact CliniKids on (08) 6319 1133. |
If you think your child may benefit from Occupational Therapy at CliniKids, please phone (08) 6319 1133 or email clinikids.reception@telethonkids.org.au