Grippers, pens and writing instruction
Author: Petra Middag-Broks
Pediatric physiotherapist and mother
A question I often get from teachers and ib'ers is: "which pen is suitable for this pupil". This concerns pupils with a cramped grip or poorly legible handwriting. However, just another pen is rarely the right solution. Children whose pen grip is sufficiently developed can learn to write with any regular material. 
In the Netherlands, writing instruction is started quite early. The risk is that children have not yet developed sufficiently to successfully begin this difficult multiple task. Children have to pay attention to so many things at once while writing that they cannot also pay attention to their grip. It is therefore important to first work on refining the pen grip and adjusting force, direction and speed with preparatory writing materials, before starting with letters.
The thumb must be given its own task in directing the material.
To achieve this, the thumb must be placed directly opposite the index finger on the pencil, for example, and the pencil rests on the middle finger. The other fingers are relaxed and bent in the hand. The thumb and index finger are slightly bent and provide equal force so that together they can easily make a bending/stretching movement and later a circular movement.
With toddlers, these movements can already be practiced by making small drawings of maximum 1x1 cm. A story that can help with a correct grip is: “Daddy and Mommy sit in the front of the car and the children in the back. Daddy and Mommy are not allowed to sit on each other's laps, because then you will have accidents and the police will get angry.”
A gripper can provide additional support in learning the correct grip.
There are many different grippers on the market, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Two grippers that often have a lot and fast effect are the soft gripper and the crossover gripper from Toys42hands.
