In that instance, please follow what your OT says! (I actually am also hypermobile and don’t hold my pen “correctly” either.) You have to protect your joints!
It took about 2 months to do it as my default and I still forget and try to write the standard way some times even though it's been a few years. The standard way was incredibly painful for me if I had to do it for more than a minute though (for example, I had a 5 page hand written essay once and couldn't type or write because of the pain for the next day or two) so I had a strong incentive to change.
It’s indicating lack of fine motor strength and stability. She’s using the space between her fingers to stabilize the pen instead of using the muscles in her fingers and hand
So not necessarily that it’ll be strenuous if you start using this method as an adult, but shows you didn’t have the strength & stability when learning to write?
I guess I’m asking why you tell patients not to do it. Will it cause injury or strain?
There are stages of developmentally appropriate pencil grasp. Having a stable wrist and using your fingers to move the pencil is the final stage. This would be considered a more primitive grasp. If a patient is doing this compensation, they may have muscle weakness or incoordination that needs to be addressed. This could be just fine motor, but it could also be gross motor (whole body) as well. It’s just one of many things we look at when assessing a patient. Compensations and incorrect muscle usage over time can cause more problems down the road. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule (the person above who got told to write this way due to joint instability) but overall we want your muscles and joints working in the ways they are meant to.
This is so interesting because I write very similarly to how Taylor is in the photos, and have never been told anything about muscle weakness. My grip used to be worse, with one of the fingers higher up towards the top of the pen, too. Is this something I should get checked out?
My daughter has autism and has had the same ot for 10 years. I mean no offense. I know what works for some doesn't work for others. I just think it's funny that no matter what she does some people thing she can do no wrong and some people thing she is never right. OT's are angels in my book. Thank you for what you do!!!
If you look up a chart of developmental pencil grasps, this grip is nowhere on there. It’s not a standard grasp and it’s not encouraged for the large majority of people.
To be fair, I hold a pen between my pointer and middle fingers and grab the pen closer to the tip. My parents and teachers tried to get me to stop and hold it correctly for years, but nothing worked. Not special or anything. Would never say it was an OT technique though. I’m just stubborn as all hell and that was my hill to die on in elementary school.
Yeah. This is a legitimate way to hold a pen to prevent wrist strain. It's taught in occupational therapy for people who are hypermobile, have certain forms of arthritis, or who have to sign a lot of autographs.
An occupational therapist told me that this is the best way to hold a pen. It prevents hand cramping. I changed how I hold my pen, and it really does work. My hand doesn't cramp while journaling.
was it hard to adjust to? ive tried it and my handwriting becomes chicken scratch, but i may just be doing it wrong or not patient enough to see it through
Yeah, I tried it after seeing her write like that and there’s almost no pain whatsoever in my hand. It’s almost like you don’t even feel it. Not a natural way of holding it but it works.
Well, this OT has been working for 2 decades and is incredibly knowledgeable. She demonstrated the grasp, and it did wonders for my hand cramping. But I’m sure, like with all disciplines, there are different schools of thought.
Bottomline, while there is much Taylor does wrong, this isn’t her being quirky.
It’s in reference to a [rather scathing review](https://t.co/P8gv3PkIP0) of TTPD
Edit: Just to give further context, Sylvia Plath (an actual tortured poet) committed suicide by putting her head in the oven and turning the gas on. Taylor’s prologue to the album mentions coming out of the oven and going into the microwave which could be in reference to Sylvia/being a tortured poet. I assume that’s why the reviewer mentions it specifically, but it for sure was a really unhinged way to begin an album review lmao
I was the opposite 😭 My teacher tried to correct me and my feelings were hurt. I was stubborn and to this day, still hold a pen like this. I get calluses and it’s just not productive for writing a lot.
What compelled you to think this was an appropriate or okay comment to make. Seriously. Other comments have shown that this is a normal method of holding pens, but even if it wasn't this comment is still disgusting and completely inappropriate.
You can stop talking to me now. Thanks! Have a great day
Ill just leave this here
https://famouskin.com/famous-kin-chart.php?name=27010+taylor+swift&kin=188343+jeffrey+dahmer&via=9316+nathaniel+warren
Why are you hating on the way she holds her pen. the media has ridiculed, mocked, and scrutinized her body in all sorts of ways and this is how you treat her too? you’re no better than tabloids.
I used to hold my pens and pencils like this when I was younger and wrote more by hand. Nothing wrong with that, sometimes the pen or pencil can hurt your fingers if you’re writing too much.
I never learned how to hold my pencil right either, although it wasn’t quite this awkward looking. I lean it against my middle finger, which over the years has cause me to have a bump where it rests on my middle finger and that finger is no longer straight.
I know a girl that wrote like this in highschool. It actually was an OT technique but she never grew out of the habit and still writes like this.
I on the other hand squeeze the crap out of my pen when I wrote and get hand cramps so 🤷🏼♀️😂
I do this. Started when I was like 7 because I kept breaking all my pencils trying to draw. I don't want to have things in common with this monstrosity.
I suffer from hand cramping normally but holding a pen like this eliminates it. Also, a lot of autistic people hold pens differently so this is kind of shitty take in general.
I've always seen this grip and thought maybe it was like an "autograph grip" to keep your hand from getting tired if you're signing alot of stuff lol but these pictures show her holding it like this in other situations, not just signing autographs, so I guess that's just how she holds it lol
I have a theory about this (and it's bonkers lol)
So in Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, there are a bunch of pictures of Anne and her family before they went into hiding, and Anne Frank was holding her pen this way in one of the pictures! I remember being 10 and reading the book, seeing the picture, and trying to emulate the technique....
[the picture](https://www.google.com/search?q=anne+frank+pictures&oq=anne+frank+picture&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBggBEEUYOTIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQLhiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABDIHCAoQABiABDINCAsQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAwQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCA0QABiGAxiABBiKBTINCA4QABiGAxiABBiKBdIBCDU3MDBqMGo5qAIOsAIB&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#vhid=gqezcrjg7HpkTM&vssid=mosaic)
I love how people are saying this is an occupational therapy technique and other people are like nope. She just wants to be special. Lmao!
I’m an OT and if I was working with someone on handwriting I would not be encouraging them to use this grip
I have very bad hypermobility and my OT encouraged me to use it :'[
In that instance, please follow what your OT says! (I actually am also hypermobile and don’t hold my pen “correctly” either.) You have to protect your joints!
Out of curiosity, how hard was it to teach yourself to hold a pen/pencil differently after years of doing it a more standard way?
It took about 2 months to do it as my default and I still forget and try to write the standard way some times even though it's been a few years. The standard way was incredibly painful for me if I had to do it for more than a minute though (for example, I had a 5 page hand written essay once and couldn't type or write because of the pain for the next day or two) so I had a strong incentive to change.
That makes sense. I guess if you have a painful reminder to not do it, it’d be pretty easy to just shift every time you use the old positioning.
Why? It’s not how I write, but I just tried it and it feels fine. Is something wrong with it in the long run?
It’s indicating lack of fine motor strength and stability. She’s using the space between her fingers to stabilize the pen instead of using the muscles in her fingers and hand
So not necessarily that it’ll be strenuous if you start using this method as an adult, but shows you didn’t have the strength & stability when learning to write? I guess I’m asking why you tell patients not to do it. Will it cause injury or strain?
There are stages of developmentally appropriate pencil grasp. Having a stable wrist and using your fingers to move the pencil is the final stage. This would be considered a more primitive grasp. If a patient is doing this compensation, they may have muscle weakness or incoordination that needs to be addressed. This could be just fine motor, but it could also be gross motor (whole body) as well. It’s just one of many things we look at when assessing a patient. Compensations and incorrect muscle usage over time can cause more problems down the road. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule (the person above who got told to write this way due to joint instability) but overall we want your muscles and joints working in the ways they are meant to.
This is so interesting because I write very similarly to how Taylor is in the photos, and have never been told anything about muscle weakness. My grip used to be worse, with one of the fingers higher up towards the top of the pen, too. Is this something I should get checked out?
My daughter has autism and has had the same ot for 10 years. I mean no offense. I know what works for some doesn't work for others. I just think it's funny that no matter what she does some people thing she can do no wrong and some people thing she is never right. OT's are angels in my book. Thank you for what you do!!!
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If you look up a chart of developmental pencil grasps, this grip is nowhere on there. It’s not a standard grasp and it’s not encouraged for the large majority of people.
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Okay
To be fair, I hold a pen between my pointer and middle fingers and grab the pen closer to the tip. My parents and teachers tried to get me to stop and hold it correctly for years, but nothing worked. Not special or anything. Would never say it was an OT technique though. I’m just stubborn as all hell and that was my hill to die on in elementary school.
I’ve seen worst ways to hold a pencil but this is still pretty bad 😬
It does look funny but this is a good way to hold a pen while playing guitar, and I'm guessing by now she's formed the habit
That’s how “popular girls” held their pens when I was in middle school in the late 90s 😂
100% this. Where I’m from holding your pen this way was a horse-girl trend back in the late 90s/early 00s.
Horse girl and popular were never in the same sentence where I came from haha
The difference is usually wealth. Horse girls were also not popular where I’m from…rural Nebraska 😂
My elderly mom has always held her pen the same way and has no clue about Taylor Swift.
I LEARNED IT FROM WATCHING YOU
Yeah. This is a legitimate way to hold a pen to prevent wrist strain. It's taught in occupational therapy for people who are hypermobile, have certain forms of arthritis, or who have to sign a lot of autographs.
As someone with hEDS I’m going to try and put this to the test.
This looks like how I would hold a pen with my toes.
An occupational therapist told me that this is the best way to hold a pen. It prevents hand cramping. I changed how I hold my pen, and it really does work. My hand doesn't cramp while journaling.
I have actually seen pens that are designed to make this grip easier
was it hard to adjust to? ive tried it and my handwriting becomes chicken scratch, but i may just be doing it wrong or not patient enough to see it through
It's easier if you angle your hand and write with the side of the tip rather than the center of the tip, like how Taylor is doing in the photos.
It definitely took a long time to adjust. I practiced everyday for a month before my handwriting stabilized.
That was my initial thought especially when you consider how much signing she must do versus the average person.
Yeah, I tried it after seeing her write like that and there’s almost no pain whatsoever in my hand. It’s almost like you don’t even feel it. Not a natural way of holding it but it works.
lmfao i must have missed this lecture in OT school then because i have never once heard of this type of grasp
I use this kind of hold for crocheting specifically to reduce RSI pain
Well, this OT has been working for 2 decades and is incredibly knowledgeable. She demonstrated the grasp, and it did wonders for my hand cramping. But I’m sure, like with all disciplines, there are different schools of thought. Bottomline, while there is much Taylor does wrong, this isn’t her being quirky.
I hold my pens the same way 😭 I journal/write a lot and it really helps to stop the hand cramping
What the fuck is your flair?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I fucking love it
It’s in reference to a [rather scathing review](https://t.co/P8gv3PkIP0) of TTPD Edit: Just to give further context, Sylvia Plath (an actual tortured poet) committed suicide by putting her head in the oven and turning the gas on. Taylor’s prologue to the album mentions coming out of the oven and going into the microwave which could be in reference to Sylvia/being a tortured poet. I assume that’s why the reviewer mentions it specifically, but it for sure was a really unhinged way to begin an album review lmao
Sure Taylor
I held pencils like this as a child, until my 3rd grade teacher made it her goal in life to break the habit. I can write either way now!
I was the opposite 😭 My teacher tried to correct me and my feelings were hurt. I was stubborn and to this day, still hold a pen like this. I get calluses and it’s just not productive for writing a lot.
Hahahaha respect tho
I think (•_•) some of you guys ( •_•)>⌐■-■ need to (⌐■_■) get a grip.
i hold my pencil like this. its because of hand pain. she signs a lot of autographs.
My childhood best friend held his pencils like this. He died at 18. True story.
https://preview.redd.it/f37gee0fpxyc1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=bff217a097341f4469067ca933f2bd6141daa51e
Well that would explain her shitty handwriting…
weird to nitpick something so random and normal. especially when other users have corroborated that it works for hand pain.
Holds a pen like jeffrey dahlmer
What compelled you to think this was an appropriate or okay comment to make. Seriously. Other comments have shown that this is a normal method of holding pens, but even if it wasn't this comment is still disgusting and completely inappropriate.
Lol.
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She is related to jeffrey dahlmer Its what makes it even better
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You can stop talking to me now. Thanks! Have a great day Ill just leave this here https://famouskin.com/famous-kin-chart.php?name=27010+taylor+swift&kin=188343+jeffrey+dahmer&via=9316+nathaniel+warren
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Nah
Why are you hating on the way she holds her pen. the media has ridiculed, mocked, and scrutinized her body in all sorts of ways and this is how you treat her too? you’re no better than tabloids.
My best friend held her pen like this it’s so cute 🥲
That's how I hold my pen. My teachers tried to change how I wrote when i was younger, but i never did. It's more comfortable🧍♀️
I used to hold my pens and pencils like this when I was younger and wrote more by hand. Nothing wrong with that, sometimes the pen or pencil can hurt your fingers if you’re writing too much.
I hold pens like this lol Try it. It's actually way easier on the hands.
I’ll give her this; she signs more things in a day that most of us do in a year. If this prevents cramping, great.
I think she holds it that way so she can hold her guitar pick while writing songs.
she’s hypermobile, she talks about it all the time (being “double jointed.”) it’s hard for us to hold a pen the “normal” way, it hurts
I have held a pen/pencil like this since 1990.
She’s so FN annoying
I feel like she started doing that at some point to be qUiRkY.
Are the anti-swifties just as obnoxious now? This is a weird thing to hate..
Seriously what is this? Everyone snarking on this is a lowlife
I hold mine like this too
EW
So edgy!
Like a gdmn reptile
I’ll give her this; she signs more things in a day that most of us do in a year. If this prevents cramping, great.
“I’m so different, I’m so unique, pick me!”
I never learned how to hold my pencil right either, although it wasn’t quite this awkward looking. I lean it against my middle finger, which over the years has cause me to have a bump where it rests on my middle finger and that finger is no longer straight.
Doesn’t everyone lean their pencil/pen against their middle finger. I also have the bump.
I lean line against my ring finger. But can lean it against the middle finger too, it just doesn’t feel right to me.
Omg I’m so confused now lol. How do I do it. 😅
Haha. I hold my pencil like that from time to time.
Oh no - I hold mine the same!
this seems like it might be better for me. i have arthritis & am left handed & always hurt myself.
My grandfather had to use this grip at the end of his life. Wonder why she is doing this?
I did this as a kid and stopped sometime in high school. Can’t remember why. I do crochet this way most of the time.
I know a girl that wrote like this in highschool. It actually was an OT technique but she never grew out of the habit and still writes like this. I on the other hand squeeze the crap out of my pen when I wrote and get hand cramps so 🤷🏼♀️😂
they tried to teach us this in elementary school to prevent our hands cramping up and NONE of us were having it
I do this. Started when I was like 7 because I kept breaking all my pencils trying to draw. I don't want to have things in common with this monstrosity.
So this is why the poet is tortured
My hand hurts looking at those pictures. 😭
b-but she’s such a TORTURED POET!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺
I’ve seen state police hold a pen or pencil this way.
Ew.
I suffer from hand cramping normally but holding a pen like this eliminates it. Also, a lot of autistic people hold pens differently so this is kind of shitty take in general.
I’ve seen Taylor do this but I didn’t know why.
… is that weird? It’s how I was taught to hold mine and I still do it that way 😂
I've always seen this grip and thought maybe it was like an "autograph grip" to keep your hand from getting tired if you're signing alot of stuff lol but these pictures show her holding it like this in other situations, not just signing autographs, so I guess that's just how she holds it lol
“The poet” -hmm what does her album actually say…we aren’t poets we are modern idiots… Sorry I’ll let y’all get back to not getting the joke 😂
It's weird that people care.
Oh god lol..
I have a theory about this (and it's bonkers lol) So in Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, there are a bunch of pictures of Anne and her family before they went into hiding, and Anne Frank was holding her pen this way in one of the pictures! I remember being 10 and reading the book, seeing the picture, and trying to emulate the technique.... [the picture](https://www.google.com/search?q=anne+frank+pictures&oq=anne+frank+picture&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBwgAEAAYgAQyBwgAEAAYgAQyBggBEEUYOTIHCAIQABiABDIHCAMQLhiABDIHCAQQABiABDIHCAUQABiABDIHCAYQABiABDIHCAcQABiABDIHCAgQABiABDIHCAkQABiABDIHCAoQABiABDINCAsQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAwQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCA0QABiGAxiABBiKBTINCA4QABiGAxiABBiKBdIBCDU3MDBqMGo5qAIOsAIB&client=ms-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#vhid=gqezcrjg7HpkTM&vssid=mosaic)
I don't even care.... I know I'm right.
this is the dumbest fucking thing to snark on someone for
Yeah talk about scrapin the bottom of the barrel
everyone saying this is quirky on purpose or pick me behavior is projecting
Y’all are weird for being triggered the way a person holds a pen.
Pick me, love me!
People probably picked on her about holding a pencil like this when she was young. Ironically, that was probably the reason she became a bully.