{"id":345431,"date":"2023-01-25T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/graphotherapy-the-importance-of-choosing-the-right-writing-tool\/"},"modified":"2023-01-25T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T09:00:00","slug":"graphotherapy-the-importance-of-choosing-the-right-writing-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/graphotherapy-the-importance-of-choosing-the-right-writing-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"Graphotherapy: The Importance of Choosing the Right Writing Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"

A writing tool<\/strong> refers to any tool used for writing, namely pencils, ballpoint pens, felt-tip pens, fountain pens, and so on. Since the way it’s held directly influences the quality and speed of handwriting, it should be chosen carefully, based on how a child’s pencil grip develops<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The stages of pencil-grip development<\/h2>\n

At around one to one and a half years old<\/strong>, a child adopts the palmar grasp<\/strong>: they hold the pencil in their fist, with all fingers closed around it. Here, it’s the movement of the whole arm that makes the writing tool move.<\/p>\n

Around 2-3 years old<\/strong>, the child learns to turn their forearm over, so that the index finger and thumb point downward. With this transitional grip<\/strong>, the whole arm is still involved, although some children manage to control the pencil with the forearm, or even the wrist.<\/p>\n

Around 3-4 years old<\/strong>, the child adopts the static quadripod grip<\/strong>: since the pencil is held by the thumb, index finger, middle finger and ring finger together, writing is driven by the wrist.<\/p>\n

Finally, around 4-6 years old<\/strong>, they move on to the tripod or “mature” grip<\/strong>, where the writing tool is held between the thumb and index finger, resting on the side of the middle finger, with the ring and little fingers folded into the palm. Here, the movement comes from the fingers, which allows the hand to relax and handwriting to gain speed and quality.<\/p>\n

Which writing tool to choose according to the child’s age?<\/h2>\n

Particularly recommended at the start of learning to write, the pencil<\/strong> is a writing tool that erases easily, which helps reassure the child<\/strong> and avoid crossing-out. Note that triangular shapes<\/strong> help the child position their fingers correctly on each side.<\/p>\n

The ballpoint pen comes in later<\/strong>, as it requires a certain level of dexterity: since the tip must stay in contact with the paper to work, the pen needs to be held more or less upright. As a result, since it can’t rest on the web of the hand, this can create tension.<\/p>\n

The fountain pen is not recommended<\/strong> for children who have handwriting difficulties, as it requires a good hand position and a good pencil grip.<\/p>\n

Note that throughout primary school, it is recommended to choose small exercise books with wide ruled lines<\/strong>, which adapt more easily to the size of your child’s forearm, since the forearm and the notebook should be parallel. Similarly, a thin exercise book<\/strong> will be easier to handle, while offering greater stability for the forearm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To choose the right writing tool for your child’s age and help them adopt the right movements, don’t hesitate to ask for help from one of our graphotherapists<\/a><\/strong> on the Ora-Visio platform. With a professional’s support, your child can achieve better finger mobility and greater flexibility, allowing them to gain speed and ease in their handwriting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A writing tool refers to any tool used for writing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":345432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[331],"tags":[368],"class_list":["post-345431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-handwriting-therapy","tag-handwriting-therapist"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ora-visio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}