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DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESSION OF
HANDWRITING SKILLS
As a pediatric occupational therapist, I often receive questions from concerned parents and teachers about whether their child is on track with their handwriting development. So today I wanted to share with you about the developmental progression of handwriting skills so you can keep these milestones in mind when tracking your child’s handwriting development!
DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESSION OF PENCIL GRASP
Pencil grasp is usually the most obvious fine motor marker of how a child’s handwriting development is coming along, and it’s often the one I get asked about the most by concerned adults. Though handwriting development begins to take place well before a
child ever picks up a pencil, these are the milestones to keep in mind when looking at how your child is holding their crayon, marker, or pencil. 1 to 1.5 years – Palmar Supinate The crayon or marker is held in the palm (“palmar”) with the thumb on top in a slight forearm-up (“supinated”) position. This is considered a “primitive” grasp and typically accompanies the “scribbling” stage. Scribbling movements are typically initiated by the shoulder and elbow, which involve larger muscle groups and a relatively low level of precision. 2 - 3 years – Digital Pronate The child transitions to holding the crayon or marker with the whole hand while the pointer finger (“digit”) points to the tip and the forearm rotates to point down toward the paper (“pronated”). This is considered a “transitional” grasp and is typically present when little ones are learning to make lines and circles. Coloring and early drawing movements still come from the larger muscle groups and typically involve large strokes, however, there may be a higher level of control over the tool compared to the Palmar Supinate grasp. 3.5 to 4 years – Static Tripod The child can now hold the crayon or marker with the thumb and index finger while resting it on the knuckle of the middle finger. This means there are a total of three fingers controlling the tool (“tri” = “three”). Movements during coloring and drawing are initiated from the larger joints of the arm such as the shoulder and elbow, while the fingers remain “static” and the hand moves as one unit. This grasp is typically present around the same age that kids are becoming “pre-writers” and learning to make shapes such as a cross and square.
can consistently utilize a Dynamic Tripod grasp, it means they are one step closer to being ready for formal writing instruction! A similar grasp you may see kids this age use is one we refer to as the “Dynamic Quadrupod” grasp. Like I mentioned earlier, one extra finger is used for pinching and controlling the pencil (for a total of three pinching fingers and one stabilizing finger), and it is just as effective and age-appropriate as the Dynamic Tripod. I have included a picture of the Dynamic Quadrupod below for your reference. Now, before you tell me that your child’s grasp doesn’t seem to match any of these pictures, let me say it is common for pre-writers to experiment with a variety of grasps as their hands and pre-writing abilities develop. And it is also common for young kids (e.g., ages 1-3) to demonstrate different grasps on different types of tools, based on whether they are fat, skinny, long, short, or even how they are positioned in front of them. Below are examples of a few other grasps you may see during the toddler and preschool years (these are not all the possibilities, but should give you the idea that variety isn’t uncommon in the early years): Research has found that the Dynamic Tripod and Dynamic Quadrupod grasps aren’t the only functional grasps out there. The Lateral Tripod and Lateral Quadrupod are also just as effective. Click here to see a side-by-side comparison of all four grasp patterns.
DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRESSION OF PRE-WRITING STROKES
Did you know children tend to follow a fairly predictable pattern of when they develop the ability to draw various shapes at different ages, known as “pre-writing strokes”? While pre- writing strokes are often thought of as the lines and circles needed for later learning how to write letters and numbers (that’s why they’re called “pre-writing” strokes, right?), they also prepare kids for being able to draw, which is another great indicator of pre-writing development! Though pre-writing development is typically an area of early childhood development that is less familiar to parents and teachers as compared to pencil grasp development, I would argue that it is just as (if not more ) important for helping prepare children to learn how to write. Kids’ writing and reading skills often develop alongside one another, and kids who are able to produce pre-writing strokes will often have an easier time learning how to write letters and numbers. Pre-writing development is important! I want to make a quick note about some important terminology. In pre-writing development, there is a difference between “imitating” and “copying.” “Imitation” means the child first watches a demonstration of the shape being formed, and then they immediately try to do what they just saw. “Copying” means the child is simply shown a picture or a model of the shape, and then they try to reproduce it on their own. Developmentally speaking, kids typically learn how to imitate drawing shapes before they learn how to copy them. Once they’ve learned how to copy those shapes, they can then begin to form a visual memory of them and draw them without a visual model. As with all developmental milestones, keep in mind that there is a wide range of “average” and children’s acquisition of these milestones can be influenced by their level of interest and attention. 1 - 2 years
- Scribbling
- Imitating vertical lines, horizontal lines, circular scribbles 2 - 3 years
- Imitating cross
- Copying vertical line, horizontal line, circle 3 - 4 years
- Drawing circle without a model
