One of the most common problems occupational therapists in the school are consulted about is improper pencil grasp.  While the most efficient way to hold a pencil is the dynamic tripod grasp, many other patterns are commonly seen in children and it does not always require intervention or modification.  In the dynamic tripod grasp, the pencil is held between the thumb and index finger, with the pencil resting on the middle finger. 

Click here to see pictures of efficient and inefficient grasp patterns.

Children hold their pencils in patterns other than the dynamic tripod for a variety of reasons.  One common reason is participating in a lot of writing before their hands are developmentally ready for this activity.  For activities to develop hand skills, click here.

It is important to try to modify the pencil grasp as early as possible, since many students seem to have developed bad habits even before entering kindergarten.  Adaptive pencil grips may be helpful in teaching students to modify their grasp.  There are many different types of grips available.  For a pencil grip to be effective, the student needs to be involved in choosing the grip and to understand the importance of using it.