Pencil Grips from The Pencil Grip, Inc. Review

The Pencil Grip, Inc. is a family company that, you’ve got it, sells pencil grips! But they don’t only sell pencil grips, they also have a combination of other educational products such as computer software, toys, file tabs, desk accessories, office supplies, and much more! I had received some inquiries about pencil grips, and to be honest, I knew nothing about them! So I contacted The Pencil Grip, Inc. and they were extremely generous in sharing more with me about pencil grips. I received the above pencil grips in the mail, and I distributed them out in a local school to get the teachers feedback.

It is a small flexible object that is placed on a pencil (or pen) to help aid one in handwriting properly. The Pencil Grip, Inc. makes all of their pencil grips for righties and lefties. They are also latex and phthalate free- so you don’t have to worry about allergies. They make different style pencil grips for different issues.

 For example, if a child has a problem with their fingers crossing over one another then you could try their “Crossover Grip” which stops the fingers from crossing over. The finger guards hold fingers in the correct position disallowing them to cross their fingers. Their grips are also an excellent tool for helping reduce fatigue, improving handwriting and aiding children (and adults) of all needs and abilities to hold a writing instrument successfully.

I have found these pencil grips personally useful for my 3 year old son who is left-handed and cannot for the life of him seem to be able to hold his pen or pencil anywhere remotely proper. Granted he is only 3 years old, but he is highly gifted and these pencil grips have tremendously helped aid him in holding a writing implement easier.

These pencil grips shown above were pegged as one of the favorite standard grips to use among the elementary educators. The Pencil Grip helps aid both right & left handed children (and adults) to place their fingers in the proper position when holding a pen or pencil. This grip allows over 90% surface contact with its gripping surface.

These grips shown above are called “The Crossover Grip”. These grips help to place fingers in the proper position, and the ‘wings’ on these grips disallow children to cross their fingers while writing.

The Writing C.L.A.W. was my personal favorite for my son and for the kindergarden teachers. This pencil grip is a fun effective way for teaching children to hold their pencils properly. They just place these on their fingers and it disallows them to cross fingers or form a fist on their pencil. Any young child, or any child with autism, ADHD, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities and general fine motor delay can benefit from using the C.L.A.W. This grip specifically makes it simple for the child to work on good handwriting, and not have to worry about how they are actually grasping the pencil. You can buy this in 3 different sizes. (I have shown 2 of the sizes above.)

Almost all of the feedback from trying out these different versions of pencil grips have been superb. It takes a little while to get used to the grips and use them properly, and for all but one student it has improved their fine motor skills. The one student had too many problems adjusting to using a grip that they have taken a break from using it, and will try again later. It was also suggested that for younger elementary children a small C.L.A.W. grip be used as the large ones were too big for the small hands.

I also received a Heavyweight Pencil– 9 refills are included. The Heavyweight Pencil is a weighted (weighs 4.2 oz.) ergonomic pencil that assists people with hand health issues. This is particularly wonderful for children (or adults) with a physical handicap. It helps to not only build hand strength, but also reduces fatigue as well. I gave this pencil to a local ESE/VE separate class teacher as I knew she had a handicapped child in her class. They have given nothing but praise for this product. The special needs child that has been using this heavyweight pencil is not only finding it easier to write her lessons, but she is considerably less fatigued by the end of the day. If the pencil is weighted it decreases the stress on the hand muscles causing less fatigue by the end of the day. This product is definetely worth the investment if you have a special needs child that would benefit from this!

This picture was taken to give you an idea of the thickness of the pencil lead. It is much larger than this picture shows. The pencil lead is a lot more heavy duty and stronger than your typical lead, making it suitable for a special needs person to break it less often.

I definetely recommend The Pencil Grip, Inc. as they have competitive prices and were fantastic to work with. I also suggest that each school should have a supply of pencil grips that their students can borrow during the day as well as it is such a beneficial tool for many children to use.