Writing Aids, Adaptive Writing Tools, Weighted Pencils

What Do Pediatric Writing Aids Do?

Pediatric writing aids generally accomplish two things: they enable a child to produce more legible handwriting with greater ease, and they help train the child in proper hand and wrist positioning.

Some writing aids work to stabilize the hand, wrist or upper arm, offering support to weakened muscles and increasing control.

Other aids build hand strength. They help a child grasp and manipulate a pencil effectively.

Depending on the need being addressed and the construction of the particular device, pediatric writing aids may serve to:
● provide wrist and forearm support.
● strengthen and/or correct pencil grip
● make a pen or pencil easier to grasp
● help individuals move their arm across the paper as they write
● provide tactile input by adding weight or by other means
● control involuntary movements that interfere with handwriting

How Do These Aids Work?

When wrist and arm support is the goal, the child may either rest his/her arm on a device, or wear one directly on the arm. Both methods provide physical support during the act of writing.

Better pencil grip can be accomplished with a change to the pen or pencil itself. Weight or texture is added to a basic writing implement to provide sensory feedback, which aids in control.

The other alternative is to add a soft grip to the pencil. These grips usually fit a standard #2 pencil. They provide control, ease cramping and strengthen pencil grip.

Who Can Benefit From These Devices?

Children who can benefit from the use of a mechanical writing aid are those who experience either spasticity (overly contracted muscles) or low muscle tone (hypotonia), or suffer from tremors.

These conditions can result from cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy.

Children with dyspraxia (developmental coordination disorder) can benefit from devices that offer proprioceptive feedback, in other words, muscle/joint input that provides information about the position of the hand in relation to the pencil.

How Do I Know Which Device My Child Needs?

It’s best to make decisions regarding the use of assistive devices with the help of your child’s occupational therapist, teacher or doctor.

However, here are some basic guidelines:

Children who cannot hold a pencil well would benefit from the use of pencil grips. If the child also has difficulty maintaining wrist position when writing, then an arm support would be in order.

For children with tremors, there are devices that help them work to gain control. These devices may include vibrating pens or pencils. The effort of trying to control the vibrations automatically calls upon the child to control his or her own tremors.

In addition, pencil holders or arm supports can help minimize tremors when writing.

Dyspraxia is characterized by difficulty planning and completing both fine and gross motor tasks. For such children, weighted pencils provide important tactile feedback that helps them carry out the motor processes of handwriting.

If your child has a latex allergy, be sure to purchase soft pencil grips that are latex-free.

A Final Note …

Many of the devices described in this category are also available for adults who have difficulty writing due to problems with motor control and hand/arm strength as a result of Parkinson’s or other conditions.

Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Co-Founder & CEO

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