Writing aids / Pens / Typing

[Flora]

i also have awful handwriting, and type wherever possible. I have found a pen with a chunky rubber grip is best for me in terms of finger pain, and I have a favourite refillable pen that I guard fiercely at work! It's either in my hand or in my pocket, cos if I put it down some annoying person walks off with it! It's a papermate PhD, with a lovely squishy rubber finger grip.
Flora

[Lauren]

Will have to look up that papermate online.

Thanks guys!

[tez09]

Hi, my 12 year old son has just been diagnosed with hypermobility affecting mostly his hands and therefore handwriting. He has been offered a netbook/laptop and we've heard that it would be useful for him to learn to type properly. Has anyone used any specific typing tutor software packages that they could recommend?

[fussymum]

Hi ,
Just a quick reply jr used Nessy fingers. It is available on line . Found it really useful it may be a bit young. Will post later with some more details and aps that fussy dad found for recording on lap top and i pad .
Fuusymum

[mazza111]

Think there's one on bbc web bites educational pages too. Used this when I was helping my (elder) sister, but she enjoyed the fun games they made out of it

[jolajo]

Hi!

I have just bought a stabilo ergo pen (big chunky one with grips) to help my handwriting and writing control. This made my writing worse! It's meant to put your fingers in the right place, but mine just seem far too long and bendy to sit on the grips in the 'pincer' position, and I can't hold it in my 'normal' way either (resting in between thumb and forefinger, with thumb touching knuckle of finger rather than finger tip). What a waste of money! Anyone else found this?

[Kiwi Family]

Our OT recommended this touch typing program.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Good luck DD's teacher now uses the program in the class to teach all the children to touch type.

Kiwi Family

[bendyneck]

I am looking for some help and advice for my son who is 15 and will be sitting GCSEs this year requiring lots of writing. He has Asperger's but is also very hypermobile. Has anyone got some advice on Physio exercises he could do to help avoid headaches and pain in his shoulder from prolonged writing? He has been denied laptop permission.

[jolajo]

(Mods, feel free to move this- I couldn't find a sub-thread to put it in!)

I am a newly qualified teacher, working with a year 1 class. I love my job, but marking is becoming a real problem. Some nights I will have up to 90 books to cut, stick and annotate. After three my wrist really hurts. I wear an NHS splint and I have huge pen grips to prevent me from hyperextending my fingers as I write, as I was told I would knacker the joint very quickly if I continued to write how I always had done. My writing is barely legible with or without the grip but using the grip makes my writing look worse and slows me down.

I have just been given some exercises by my physio, who told me I'm using all the wrong muscles when I use my wrist, but this doesn't help in the short term. Any ideas? I'm fed up of my wrist playing up constantly, and II'm embarrassed to be writing so unclearly, what on earth must parents think when they try to read their children's reading diaries!?

On the plus side, I can now recognise children who are hyperextending their fingers when they write (often those who have very poor handwriting!) and hopefully giving them pencil grips this early will help them.

[Rosie]

Hiya

It is good to knlw that one class of children at such an important stage of their development have someone looking out for hypermobile problems.
I can understand your concerns, if you have a read through this thread you may find some ideas that will help, but I would like to suggest a few other things as well. Have you thought about contacting 'Access to Work' as they specialise in this kind of thing, and will cover anything that helps you to do your job and stay in work. When I had my assessment I was aked if it would help me to have someone with me for a number of hours a week to carrry stuff around for me, so they may be able to cover things like cutting and gluing etc. There is a thread about 'Access to Work', try the search tool if you can't find it.
Would it help to have stickers with standard comments printed on them to sue for marking? Or you can get stampers that you put your own type on. I have seen both stckers and stamps used with a number of comments or marks on, and the appropriate one ticked or circled, you could print your own quite easily. If you think your handwriting or use of the stickers will be strange for the parents, you could consider sending them a note with a short explanation.
It is common for us to develop patterns using the wrong muscles and can take a long time to re-educate them. There are lots of different splints, grips and pens that you may find work better for you.

Rosie

[jolajo]

Thanks Rosie

Access to work might be a good call, as I feel this is not going to get better any time soon! I'll talk to my headteacher about marking. Generally we try not to use too many stickers/stamps because it all needs to be individual. I'm mainly marking to record progress for my sake and for Ofsted's sake, as the children can't read it (they're too little and my handwriting is too bad). I have to write down what the children are doing in photos or 'translate' children's writing so I remember and can share the children's work with them/parents/whoever when I need to. I agree that cutting and sticking can really be done by someone else though x

[jolajo]

Also, I was thinking about sending a short note home in their communication books to explain- so I'm glad you suggested that too!

[Myself205]

My wrists and fingers have been quite painful for a good month now. I've been signed off from work but I am now back.
I can type if I don't spend too long on computer but I can barely wrote, my wrists are killing me.
I'm a teacher and would really like some advice as I can't cope with marking too many books: it is taking me double time and I can't do too many because it is way too painful.

[jolajo]

Snap! Even if I have little advice for you it's nice to know there's another teacher out there with similar problems! What age do you teach?

I'm NOT in agony all the time. But every time I write my wrists really ache and I have to really power through even though it feels like my wrists are shutting down/giving in. Have had all of half term to try and catch up with marking but I still didn't get it done! x

[gila]

hi myself and jolajo
for some peops ring splints can make a real difference for fingers/hands/wrist pain and usage. have a look at this thread
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2676&hilit=ring+splints&start=165
on page 12 of that thread theres a link to a little video that I think really explains the why/how nicely
xxg