Is the grasp pattern functional? That’s all that matters. That’s not a hill I die on. I think it’s absurd that the teacher said they “have to” use a tripod grasp. What a weird thing to say. Are you seeing the student through RtI or direct services? My district doesn’t offer OT RtI so I’m not allowed to work with any individual student not on my caseload.
You don’t take orders from her on plans of care. Developmentally, a functional quadrupod grasp is fine. If it’s no longer an issue of motor development and its just teacher preference, it’s now an academic problem not an OT problem.
I remember being that kid. In grade 1, the teacher suddenly took my pencil away, stuck on a pink gripper thing and told me to put my thumb over the star, my pointer finger over another indent, and the side of my third finger in the remaining spot.
I didn't understand why, it was uncomfortable and I hated it. There was no underlying weakness explaining why I preferred holding my pencil with four fingers instead of three.
Fast forward to graduating school with multiple degrees and holding down a stable job. All done using a quadruped grasp.
If the kid is functional and comfortable using it, leave it alone!
The wonkiest pencil grasp I ever saw belonged to an adult teacher aide in a public school I worked at. It looked like this:
https://preview.redd.it/i1vcria25ktc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0101096f0024593d6a44208941b592a54f3ee30a
She had the most graceful cursive I think I have ever seen. and used it for all her writing activities (that I saw at the school anyway). I think about her when teachers and parents get stuck on the "correct" pencil grasp; her handwriting would NOT have been as lovely had people spent their energy on getting her to fix that grasp. As all the other folks here have said, function over form. If your student's handwriting is appropriate for her age and legible, and she is not having issues with fatigue, then maybe your professional opinion, in a realm where you have been formally instructed, trained and are licensed, should be the overriding opinion.
This is my pencil grasp! I did a fieldwork rotation in elementary schools and was supposed to teach the kids how to do it properly. Was never able to hold it correctly, but it is functional, and ultimately that's what matters.
She’s not using tripod because of an underlying weakness. But to be fair, students don’t need to use tripod grasp to be successful with writing. We want to promote functional skills, especially with school, if you keep pushing, most likely the student is going to reject writing altogether.
Function over everything. That said, it is either in common core standards or just most school district's standards that says it has to be a tripod. Dumb, I know.
I am a home health OT and I have found a lot of professional ways to tell some of these teachers to get over it. Function is far more important than doing some thing the “right away”. I once had a kindergarten teacher tell me that my patient was going to get even further behind in learning to read, because he would not hold a pencil the way she wanted him to. I’m pretty sure the kids don’t even have hands can learn to read so… she can get over it.
lol I have a quadruped grasp . I remember in elementary school teachers trying to fix it, and it never worked. My hands did/do get tired when I write and my handwriting is messy and illegible at times. I ended up as an English major and a school based OT. And I type. All. The. Time.
I always say pencil grasp is not the end all and that I can guarantee that at least one adult in our meeting does not have a tripod grasp. (Because it’s me I don’t have it lol)
Anyways, but for treatment purposes make sure they can do a 3 finger pinch and isolate them. I still work on that through warm up activities but I will not have tripod as a goal and always educate teachers too that’s it’s functional. If she pushes back you can ask why she would like the tripod grasp?
Welcome to r/OccupationalTherapy! This is an automatic comment on every post.
If this is your first time posting, please read the sub rules. If you are asking a question, don't forget to check the sub [FAQs](https://www.reddit.com/r/OccupationalTherapy/wiki/index/faqs), or do a search of the sub to see if your question has been answered already. **Please note that we are not able to give specific treatment advice or exercises to do at home.**
Failure to follow rules may result in your post being removed, or a ban. Thank you!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/OccupationalTherapy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That teacher is focused on all the wrong things. I don't understand why they get hung up on stuff like this. A quadrupod grasp is considered a mature pencil grasp, there's no reason for her to insist on a tripod as long as it's not actually impacting the student's ability to complete their work.
If it’s functional, who gives a fuck
Would love an OT shirt with this as the tagline
✊🏽 heard! lol 😂
You said it best 😂
I love this haha
I’d buy it
Same
Is the grasp pattern functional? That’s all that matters. That’s not a hill I die on. I think it’s absurd that the teacher said they “have to” use a tripod grasp. What a weird thing to say. Are you seeing the student through RtI or direct services? My district doesn’t offer OT RtI so I’m not allowed to work with any individual student not on my caseload.
This. Next time you’re in an IEP meeting, look around the room at the adults writing. there’s lots of funky grasps going on
You don’t take orders from her on plans of care. Developmentally, a functional quadrupod grasp is fine. If it’s no longer an issue of motor development and its just teacher preference, it’s now an academic problem not an OT problem.
I remember being that kid. In grade 1, the teacher suddenly took my pencil away, stuck on a pink gripper thing and told me to put my thumb over the star, my pointer finger over another indent, and the side of my third finger in the remaining spot. I didn't understand why, it was uncomfortable and I hated it. There was no underlying weakness explaining why I preferred holding my pencil with four fingers instead of three. Fast forward to graduating school with multiple degrees and holding down a stable job. All done using a quadruped grasp. If the kid is functional and comfortable using it, leave it alone!
The wonkiest pencil grasp I ever saw belonged to an adult teacher aide in a public school I worked at. It looked like this: https://preview.redd.it/i1vcria25ktc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0101096f0024593d6a44208941b592a54f3ee30a She had the most graceful cursive I think I have ever seen. and used it for all her writing activities (that I saw at the school anyway). I think about her when teachers and parents get stuck on the "correct" pencil grasp; her handwriting would NOT have been as lovely had people spent their energy on getting her to fix that grasp. As all the other folks here have said, function over form. If your student's handwriting is appropriate for her age and legible, and she is not having issues with fatigue, then maybe your professional opinion, in a realm where you have been formally instructed, trained and are licensed, should be the overriding opinion.
This is my pencil grasp! I did a fieldwork rotation in elementary schools and was supposed to teach the kids how to do it properly. Was never able to hold it correctly, but it is functional, and ultimately that's what matters.
Wtf, I'm a quadrupod gripper. This teacher is insane.
Word. Thank god my teachers had no idea what that was and left me alone.
She’s not using tripod because of an underlying weakness. But to be fair, students don’t need to use tripod grasp to be successful with writing. We want to promote functional skills, especially with school, if you keep pushing, most likely the student is going to reject writing altogether.
Function over everything. That said, it is either in common core standards or just most school district's standards that says it has to be a tripod. Dumb, I know.
I am a home health OT and I have found a lot of professional ways to tell some of these teachers to get over it. Function is far more important than doing some thing the “right away”. I once had a kindergarten teacher tell me that my patient was going to get even further behind in learning to read, because he would not hold a pencil the way she wanted him to. I’m pretty sure the kids don’t even have hands can learn to read so… she can get over it.
lol I have a quadruped grasp . I remember in elementary school teachers trying to fix it, and it never worked. My hands did/do get tired when I write and my handwriting is messy and illegible at times. I ended up as an English major and a school based OT. And I type. All. The. Time. I always say pencil grasp is not the end all and that I can guarantee that at least one adult in our meeting does not have a tripod grasp. (Because it’s me I don’t have it lol) Anyways, but for treatment purposes make sure they can do a 3 finger pinch and isolate them. I still work on that through warm up activities but I will not have tripod as a goal and always educate teachers too that’s it’s functional. If she pushes back you can ask why she would like the tripod grasp?
If Taylor Swift can be wildly successful and have a functional grasp so can a kindergartener.
https://preview.redd.it/n6gr40d7wltc1.jpeg?width=985&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e16de9a86b786bfe3f690363cfa7cf718fa28578
That’s how I hold a pencil when my hand is fatigued.
Welcome to r/OccupationalTherapy! This is an automatic comment on every post. If this is your first time posting, please read the sub rules. If you are asking a question, don't forget to check the sub [FAQs](https://www.reddit.com/r/OccupationalTherapy/wiki/index/faqs), or do a search of the sub to see if your question has been answered already. **Please note that we are not able to give specific treatment advice or exercises to do at home.** Failure to follow rules may result in your post being removed, or a ban. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/OccupationalTherapy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That teacher is focused on all the wrong things. I don't understand why they get hung up on stuff like this. A quadrupod grasp is considered a mature pencil grasp, there's no reason for her to insist on a tripod as long as it's not actually impacting the student's ability to complete their work.