12/24/2023 0 Comments Write dudes pencil grips![]() If you’re not sure that this is an issue, have the child walk their fingers up and down a pencil to evaluate their in-hand manipulation skill focusing on shift. If you don’t see this, or notice that the child uses their whole hand to form letters, this is another inefficient pattern that you’ll want to address in your treatment. ![]() Mature patterns will allow for the thumb, index and ring fingers to move in synchronized flexion/extension patterns to great dynamic movements. ![]() Similar to wrist and hand mobility, you will also want to assess finger movements and joint isolation. Occupational Therapists Look at Finger Mobility in a Handwriting Eval Write in small spaces, form multi-step lower case letters and produce smaller Movements have developed, it is exponentially easier for the kiddo to color or Dynamic movements also allow for more control of the utensil within a If the hand or wrist move as a unit, fatigue and endurance significantly Dynamic Finger Movements and Pencil Gripĭynamic finger movement is a big key to preventing fatigue. If you notice that a skill is consistent, even if it’s an immature pattern, you can determine what is due to poor muscle strength and fatigue (inconsistent patterns) versus an established pattern or compensatory pattern (consistent patterns) that’s going to be difficult to change. ![]() It may also be an indicator that there is poor separation of the two sides of the hand, under development of the arches of the hand, and finger to thumb opposition, and even potentially poor web space development.īonus Tip! Watch for consistency of skills. If you notice grasp pattern regressions, fidgeting or switching of grasp positions frequently, it’s a sign of fatigue related to poor muscle endurance and strength. Make sure that you watch throughout the evaluation to see if they have any regression to a primitive pattern or switch how they hold the writing utensil frequently. The occupational therapist asks themselves what does this look like while the child is writing? Is it a dynamic tripod? Static tripod? Or some form of primitive grasp pattern like a fingertip pattern or a gross grasp? When an occupational therapist conducts an OT handwriting assessment, they look at the grasp pattern the student is using when writing. Grasp pattern in a handwriting Assessment Occupational Therapy Here are some important things that therapists wish parents and teachers knew about pencil grasp. Yikes! The major points of clinical observations of pencil grips to keep in mind are that you watch for dynamic finger movement, hyperextension of joints and overall functionality. This one seems like an obvious one, but there have been many times that I have sat down to write an evaluation and realized that I didn’t note anything about the grip pattern. Visual motor skills (segmental line skills).We’ve broken these skills down into categories below. Let’s break down the components that are assessed in a handwriting evaluation. From grasp patterns, to which hand they use, to endurance and in-hand manipulation skills-there’s a lot to make sure you are checking off during your observations and evaluations. One major component to handwriting is fine motor skills, and this motor aspect is assessed in the handwriting assessment occupational therapy practitioners conduct.įine motor skills play a HUGE role in a child’s ability to participate in writing activities. These are clinical observations that can impact the legibility of written work.įine Motor Skills in an Occupational Therapy Handwriting Eval Working on handwriting and pencil grasp? Be sure to join the Pencil Grasp Challenge…a FREE five day challenge loaded with information, strategies, and resources related to a functional pencil grasp.īelow are strategies to use in analyzing handwriting. Check out the list of clinical observations below. Since practicing on my own, I have developed a set of clinical observations that are relevant to the handwriting process as it relates to OT and what they meant in terms of function. What prohibited kid’s from learning to write, and to then decipher those I later had some great exposure to handwriting during my Level 2įieldwork in a school setting, but still felt unprepared to really dive into ![]() When I was in school, we briefly touched on fundamentals of handwriting, These are the skilled components that are necessary for figuring out what’s going on. In a handwriting assessment occupational therapy providers look at specific areas. ![]()
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