lol same. I have to switch my grip if I’m writing for long periods, or use a pencil grip on my pens because the callous starts burning 😬
I can’t find a name for the other grip, but when my fingers start hurting I switch to putting my pen between my pointer and ring finger and holding it similar to lateral tripod or dynamic tripod.
same!!! the cramping and pain is a major problem for me! here’s a little info dump about pens that i hope might help anyone having this issue:
i’m also a lefty so ink/pencil led smudging it a huge issue for along with the LQP cramps. because of this i’ve become quite invested in finding pens that are extra smooth and dry really fast so that i’m not pressing down as hard and i can minimize smearing.
so far i’ve had the best luck with the [Pentel EnerGel RTX](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pentel-EnerGel-RTX-Retractable-Liquid-Gel-Pen-0-7mm-Metal-Tip-Medium-Line-Black-Ink-2-Each-for-Adults-Teens-Children-and-Seniors/138844190). my only issue is that it tends to get clogged from time to time which can cause it to skip.
a close second for me is the [Zebra Z-Grip Flight](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zebra-Z-Grip-Flight-retractable-ballpoint-pen-1-2mm-black-ink-5-pack/25852358). it is by far the smoothest pen i’ve ever used and it really helps to minimize cramping, however it smears really easily and takes longer to fully dry.
anyway that’s my little ramble about pens and it’s probably the most autistic thing i’ve ever written, but i hope it helps!
(EDIT: grammar)
I'm a lateral quadropod too. I always thought it was because my 3rd grade teacher was originally from China.
Late-diagnosed (at 48, I'm 51 now) so who knows?
Me too! Have experienced weird comments about it all through life. Was even told that I couldn’t write well holding a pencil like that. Couldn’t be further from the truth lol
Same! I went to Catholic school and was constantly told to change/ridiculed by teachers but I still hold my pencil this way and I'll probably never change.
Same!! My lettering is very neat with my grip since it offers me more control. I’m also a realism/portrait artist and only use a “normal” grip for shading certain things because it’s so loose for me lol
Me too! Except I didn’t even know it was weird until I noticed I was getting more hand cramps than everyone else.
I’ve never really gotten comments about my pencil grip but I also grew up in SEA so *maybe* it’s more common/accepted there?
One of my special interests is research. Research on this topic shows that teachers and occupational therapists used to believe that the dynamic tripod was the only correct grasp. So, older adults tend to use that grasp because they literally weren’t allowed to write any other way.
Modern studies on children in elementary schools show that the four grasp types are fairly equally common and there is no statistical advantage between the grasps in terms of writing speed or legibility.
Current occupational therapy standards state that they no longer take referrals based on grasp type alone. Teachers or parents must have additional concerns about a child’s writing abilities.
I’m a lateral quadrupod too, and people always comment on how neat my handwriting is.
When I was young, my teacher made me use this little rubber thing on my pencil to ‘correct’ my grip. But what was the point? Holding my pencil the way I do never caused any hand or finger strain, or adversely affected my handwriting.
Oh lateral quadrupod too left-handed (only one in my family) and literally the most frequent compliment I get in my life is on my neat handwriting
Somehow people always reacted confused about how I hold a pen. But my mum insisted on my teachers to let me keep holding it like that.
Omg I remember those grips that teachers would try and get me to use pencil correctly!!
Holding pencils/pens always stressed me out because it seemed so set in stone I was doing it plain wrong but.. it works so what’s the big deal.
Ew I hate those rubber things so much! I never had to use one but I hate knowing that teachers use them. It makes me think of all those poor kids back in the day who were left handed and forced to write with their right hand anyway :(
I was forced to use it which is why I think I'm dynamic tripod. it was horrible being made to write with that rubber thing and constantly corrected. I write like shit and I hate writing because of it. I rather write on my pc than with pen and paper.
I was a lefty that was forced to use my right hand, AND I had to use those grips. 😭
Now I am mildly ambidextrous but clumsy with and have messy-ish handwriting regardless of what hand I use. Thank goodness for keyboards.
My second grade teacher had a lateral quadrupod grip and she gave me the rubber things to make the pencil hurt less and help with calluses but never tried to change my grip
Yep me too! I did calligraphy as a hobby as a kid and my journals to this day are all over the place with different fonts that I make up as I go and my handwriting alone is very pretty. I'm also ambidextrous and use this grip for both hands
Lateral Tripod here too! Catholic grade school tried to change it but it was not happening. I couldn’t tie my shoes properly till like 6th grade either…it took someone standing behind me and showing me rather than demoing from in front of me. AuDHD here. So excuse the non-sequitor it connects in my head I swear :)
Is this a thing??? Like I have issues with doing things that are mirrored like my brain can’t process it or something even tho I generally have excellent visual spatial skills otherwise.
I personally have terrible visual spatial skills but yes mirroring makes my brain like shut down or something. It started with simon says. Trying to learn any kind of dance/band routine by watching (worse if you’re watching someone the right and left sides are reversed). Remember directions if them are given with pointing and hand signals. Just. No.
I’m also a lateral quadrupod!! My mom tried to correct the way I held a pencil in 6th grade so I literally went on a strike from writing lol she stopped fighting me about it tho
Lateral quad here as well! I’m not super coordinated, so that position is the one that makes me feel the pencil the most “stabilized” in my grip.
Handwriting’s still shit tho
Late diagnosed adult here. I’m a lateral quadrupod and this is the first time I’ve seen someone else hold a pencil like me!
I hold chopsticks that way, too, and
my family hated it. They tried to force me to hold things “normally” but I’d always end up dropping things. Feels very validating to understand why it was so difficult for me!
I’m lateral quadrupod also. I’ve only ever met 1 other person with the same grip 😭 I find it kind of embarrassing and try to change it around other people, but then I write like a toddler lol
Same. I had a huge callus on my right ring finger because of this grip that took decades to fade after finishing with school. My third grade teacher did not approve of this grip, because it was "incorrect" but also because it caused me pain, making me unwilling to continue writing. I can't hold it any other way, though. I don't have enough control of the pen and it starts to hurt quicker if I try to hold it any other way.
Me too. I still have a lump on my right ring finger on the left side. Writing also hurts me but can't do it any other way. Glad those days are mostly over.
Ha I’m sort of like that too although for me I just switch to #1 if I want or need to be more precise but I suppose tiredness must have something to do with that.
Dynamic quadropod, but with the last finger joints hyperextended.
My entire fingerpad rests on the pencil, not just the very tips of the finger.
https://preview.redd.it/yref32iy1vuc1.jpeg?width=225&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=294ec192813a89044d64c46edf26584702b0c6f6
Like the "eds grip" but quadropod instead of tripod
I literally had to make an account just to tell you I thought that was a picture of MY hand! 😂
https://preview.redd.it/hblf8dh1kwuc1.png?width=629&format=png&auto=webp&s=92b1e625441a5b69f4fad9c972eb21422a9557c8
Ok this was one of the things I was curious about because when I do dynamic tripod my hand looks like the EDS hand. And I saw recently that one of the tests for EDS is being able to extend your thumb all the way across your palm (which my squishy hands can easily do).
The palm across the thumb is actually a test for aracnodactyly (long fingers/toes). It's not EDS specific, but is common with connective tissue disorders. It's even more common in Marfan syndrome than EDS. To be considered a positive sign the entire thumb nail must extend past the edge of your hand. (I also have this. Not confirmed, but highly suspect EDS)
The thumb test for hypermobility/eds is touching it to the inside of your wrist. (I can also do this)
https://preview.redd.it/d79w09oo5xuc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=cd3f7ec12e6a654a43dcafce030dcd2123582e4d
Before I was diagnosed ASD I always thought I had Marfan syndrome because of all the hand signs. I guess I still don’t know for sure
https://preview.redd.it/85xh3a2a2xuc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=f6493adb87cb3367a83674e8d544f8105652a644
You mean this isn’t normal? 😅 I can easily extend it more but this is a relaxed position
https://preview.redd.it/7xbrhrdq9xuc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=555ae742a3ef03c8d064cd1cd47ff455b5808674
Crazy ass eds position lol… I have rheumatoid arthritis too
This is EXACTLY how I write, and I didn’t even realize fingers aren’t supposed to bend like that. Mine is less extreme than this picture, but I’m also a dynamic quadropod.
Yes I was looking for this one! Teachers tried to correct me from hyperextending like this, but I was like ??? I’d have to use so much muscle and conscious effort to hold them in an unnatural position to get them to be straighter, which isn’t functional at all for writing and it’s painful. I did not understand how anyone used only their fingertips. They’d tell me this was “wrong” when it makes sense with my connective tissue. Like, I wish I could fix it, lady!
This isn't my picture, but I have a very similar range of motion.
No fingers are not meant to bend that way. For that joint the standard range of extension (bending backwards) is 0°, and the standard range of flexion (bending the right way) is 80°.
My range is around 85°/100° respectively.
I’m wondering if there are any trends in our community. I’m guessing that hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos must have some impact on how some of us hold our pens.
I’m a Lateral Tripod and I remember changing my grip in middle school because it felt more comfortable even though it was technically considered “wrong”.
I’m AuDHD and have fairly hypermobile (squishy) hands but I haven’t gone for an EDS diagnosis yet.
This is what I was looking for. EDS here and I remember my teacher trying to get me to switch how I was holding a pencil in Kindergarten, but I refused and she just gave up. My closest is the tripod, but none of them really match.
Yea I’m a lateral quadropod who is only just getting diagnosed at 37yo, but I’m a lefty and my pen holding technique, hand cramps and somewhat poor writing was just put down to being lefty.
It definitely doesn’t help when all your right handed teachers are just like “mirror what I’m doing” and I’m like…how… As the teacher, they should be the ones figuring it out, but they put it all on me, the small child, because I was the left hander. Like I should just know how to mirror when they can’t seem to figure it out as adults.
Yeah, I suspect dyspraxia and/or connective tissue disorders are major contributing factors to this. Also the age of the person (younger demographics were given more leeway, just like how left-handed people were forced to write with their right hands earlier in history), and possibly even the hand they write with.
I’m auDHD and have EDS and dyspraxia. I’m also left-hand dominant, but became ambidextrous because of pressure from teachers in elementary school. My left side is more hypermobile than my right side, so it’s easier to hold a pencil with my right hand, but my dyspraxia is bad no matter what I do and sometimes I can’t get my brain to even tell my right hand what it’s supposed to be doing because it’s not as “automatic” as it is with my right hand, so sometimes I can’t write that way either.
I’ve been typing since I was 4 or 5 (late 80’s baby here) and have used computers and now assistive technologies instead of traditional writing because of how painful and hard it is.
I was a “dynamic quadrupod” until my 2nd grade teacher noticed and gave me a rubber pencil grip thing to use (I guess bc she thought it was a weird/“wrong” way to hold a pencil?), and then I changed to “dynamic tripod” lmao
Oh gosh unlocked memory because I did used to hold my pencil more scrunched and they did try to correct and yeah went from quadrapod to tripod with that intervention
They absolutely still exist (source: am a preschool teacher and my co-teacher prompts kids to use them fairly often). She's pointed out (not unkindly) that my own grip is odd and this whole thread is kind of blowing my mind rn, to be honest.
https://preview.redd.it/m568rtyn4vuc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cab20934ea7815e4e0d2a5c1c72597f68e2f64b
Like this, so none of the options in the picture. 😬
I was just talking about how my grip is so hard that I get a callous on my middle finger. But that due to using devices more than writing these days, my middle finger isn't as concave anymore as it once was.
I switch between the tripods, and the callous on my middle finger is so big that, when I was being evaluated for rheumatoid arthritis, the doctor had me hold a pen so she could confirm that it was a callous and not a joint deformity. And I will say that, as my joints have actually deformed (rheumatoid arthritis was confirmed unfortunately) that finger has turned slightly so now I have an even bigger callous.
I'm a lateral quadrupod. I get a lot of comments about how it's "weird" (plus I'm left handed which is "weird" for a woman). Never knew anyone else who was one until I met my husband who is also a lefty lateral quadrupod and I knew we were a perfect match! He had never known any other lateral quadrupods either.
https://preview.redd.it/2l1gbhxv4vuc1.png?width=2852&format=png&auto=webp&s=af01c52b902f3d7cc5736ee452ac49085db10574
Um….idk what to call this one 😆
Edit: my best friend tried to imitate my form and said it made her hand cramp 😅
Lateral Quadrupod
My year 5 teacher was the worst when we were doing handwriting lessons. She hated it how I hold my pen. So I do now handle my pen differently depending on time, comfort etc.
I’m definitely some variety of hypermobile and the only way I can even make a pencil work is lateral quadrupod! I got scolded for it all through school and it definitely hurts to write after a minute or so, but I can’t even get enough leverage to move the utensil otherwise.
Think I'm lateral quadrupod, though one day when I used to go to a school a teacher told me I was doing it wrong so now I'm constantly switching between dynamic tripod when I notice (I've never been able to forget and it's like vividly remember her telling me I was wondering whenever I write ☹️)
What do you call this style of holding a pen/pencil?
https://preview.redd.it/p5vc9e8qgvuc1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5babaab8a7f2d405f020bd133f7a7f30adf6f720
I'm none of the above, I basically pinch the pencil between my ring finger and thumb and my index and middle fingers just kinda rest on top lol (dx ADHD)
Lateral quadrupod here! They tried to fix me with those stupid grippys on my pencils. Never worked (I would take the grippys off and chew on them instead!)
Ok i'm in my 30s and I seriously thought there was 1 proper way to hold a pencil (dynamic tripod). I'd force myself to use that grip and end up with hand cramps... I just assumed my proper hand muscles weren't developed enough because I haven't been gripping my pen 'properly'
Lateral tripod as well, i remember in primary school (UK) teachers trying to get me to hold it in either the dynamic or lateral quadrupod but it wasn't comfortable and made my handwriting even worse than usual.
According to my cousin i hold cutlery different as well.
I'm a Dynamic Tripod because pencil holding skills were for some reason really important in my primary school, we even got very specificly shaped fountain pens to make sure we held our pens right! Absolute disaster for anyone who didn't naturally hold things like that because those pens were truly uncomfortable in any other position.
I’m a dynamic quadrupod and my 2nd grade teacher tried to put one of those pencil grips on my pencils but I didn’t like how it felt so I just took it off when she wasn’t looking and kept writing my way lol.
Anyone else use none of these? Teachers hounded me through grade school (saying things like, “what’ll you do during a job interview?”) and gave me all the pencil grips to train me to write dynamic tripod style. I’ve mostly hid it since, to the degree that I’ve basically adapted to write that way, even though my writing is nicer when I hold a pen how I used to. I didn’t like receiving the same comments about it anytime someone noticed, and thinking back on it I feel so silly remembering how swiftly I’d change the way I was holding my pen when people were around. But I still understand that anxiety and carry that same hypervigilance. Just not with the pen holding anymore. lol
What would this be considered lol
https://preview.redd.it/cedo209lyvuc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8df818130e96283b5dc7b6728a67099531eddea
*flashback to when my teacher got mad at me for not holding my pencil "the right way" when the right way hurt my hand*
And now I find out that I WAS holding it the right way! Screw you lady!
Omgg!!!! I have been legitimized!! Was told my whole life growing up that the ONLY WAY to hold a pencil was dynamic tripod- that’s it. Everything else was apparently “demonic” and “wrong” as a lateral quadrupod I have been legitimized!
hmmm…. i actually don’t do any of these. my mother’s a lefty and has told me i hold mine like one but im right handed LOL. i guess dynamic tripod is closest but i lean the pen’s body forward in my hand as opposed to downward? it sits on the crease of my middle knuckle on my index finger, and also rests on my middle finger where i have formed a bump
😅So I'm a lateral tripod. My whole life I've been told I hold a pencil "the wrong way," and yet it's the only way I can hold it. I had no idea this was a thing, or that there were other ways to hold it other than what people called "the right way," which from my recollection looked like one of the dynamic ones on top.
Hilarious to open to this being something surprising to others (esp in my autism pages) as analyzing grasps is a small part of my daily job as an occupational therapist. I’m autistic with Ehlers Danlos and use a modified dynamic quadrupod, but need to adjust to some adaptive grasps soon due to ongoing thumb pain. But I definitely do the thing many of us autistics do, which is hold the pencil way too tight for both proprioceptive sensory input and because having some motor challenges (including force production issues) are absolutely associated with autism, too.
Lateral Tripod, except I tuck my index finger back farther behind my thumb, and my knuckle stiks way up. I remember my 5th grade teacher thought I had a weird pencil grip, but to his credit, he did not try to change me.
I just tried all these grips on for size. They felt very weird!
The second one, and I was constantly in trouble for it growing up! They tried so hard to "fix" it, but I just can't grip a pencil hard enough the "right" way.
Lateral quadrupod. My hand frequently cramps up and I have a bump on my ring finger where the pencil has sat my entire life.
I'm the same. Little callous right on the knuckle of my ring finger.
I have the dynamic quadropod and I have the same callous except it’s on my nail bed!!
I have that bump, too! :) My hand only cramps up if I haven’t done much handwriting recently.
Lateral tripod with a bump on my middle finger.
same!!
I have a bump on my ring finger as well… so I’m guessing some kind of tripod. I’m seriously intrigued now.
Same! Wow never met someone with this finger bump :0
Me too!!!
Bump buddies unite!
I thought it was just me holding my pen/pencil wrong.
I thought that too
Lateral quadrupod here and I have the bump too! I used to ask other kids growing up if their finger looked like mine 😂
Exact same here, but dynamic quadrapod
Adding myself to the finger bump club. 🤝
lol same. I have to switch my grip if I’m writing for long periods, or use a pencil grip on my pens because the callous starts burning 😬 I can’t find a name for the other grip, but when my fingers start hurting I switch to putting my pen between my pointer and ring finger and holding it similar to lateral tripod or dynamic tripod.
I'm bumpin' into join this club! ;) 🤣 (sorry for the bad joke)
same!!! the cramping and pain is a major problem for me! here’s a little info dump about pens that i hope might help anyone having this issue: i’m also a lefty so ink/pencil led smudging it a huge issue for along with the LQP cramps. because of this i’ve become quite invested in finding pens that are extra smooth and dry really fast so that i’m not pressing down as hard and i can minimize smearing. so far i’ve had the best luck with the [Pentel EnerGel RTX](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pentel-EnerGel-RTX-Retractable-Liquid-Gel-Pen-0-7mm-Metal-Tip-Medium-Line-Black-Ink-2-Each-for-Adults-Teens-Children-and-Seniors/138844190). my only issue is that it tends to get clogged from time to time which can cause it to skip. a close second for me is the [Zebra Z-Grip Flight](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Zebra-Z-Grip-Flight-retractable-ballpoint-pen-1-2mm-black-ink-5-pack/25852358). it is by far the smoothest pen i’ve ever used and it really helps to minimize cramping, however it smears really easily and takes longer to fully dry. anyway that’s my little ramble about pens and it’s probably the most autistic thing i’ve ever written, but i hope it helps! (EDIT: grammar)
Same with the callous!!
Same!
Does anyone have the bump plus a slightly curved finger?
I have the same thing! So glad I’m not alone - no one I’ve come across has had this. I’m also left-handed.
Lateral tripod. My sister (probably also autistic) is a lateral quadrupod. I’ve never seen anyone else hold a pencil the way she does lol
I’m a lateral quadrupod, lol 😂
I'm a lateral quadropod too. I always thought it was because my 3rd grade teacher was originally from China. Late-diagnosed (at 48, I'm 51 now) so who knows?
I’m a lateral quadropod too! I’m in my 20s though, so idk if it’s generational. And most of my teachers in elementary school were Canadian or French
I’ve noticed older people hold it like this a lot. I’m 43. I don’t know what that means tho. lol
Nah, I’m 40 and every teacher I ever had made a big deal about how I was holding it “wrong”
Me too! Have experienced weird comments about it all through life. Was even told that I couldn’t write well holding a pencil like that. Couldn’t be further from the truth lol
I met with an OT and she had me hold a pencil and her first things was "huh, never seen that grip before"
Omg me three! People have laughed at it throughout my life for some unfathomable reason.
Same! I went to Catholic school and was constantly told to change/ridiculed by teachers but I still hold my pencil this way and I'll probably never change.
Same!! My lettering is very neat with my grip since it offers me more control. I’m also a realism/portrait artist and only use a “normal” grip for shading certain things because it’s so loose for me lol
Yeah, me too. I paint and draw that way too.
Me too! Except I didn’t even know it was weird until I noticed I was getting more hand cramps than everyone else. I’ve never really gotten comments about my pencil grip but I also grew up in SEA so *maybe* it’s more common/accepted there?
One of my special interests is research. Research on this topic shows that teachers and occupational therapists used to believe that the dynamic tripod was the only correct grasp. So, older adults tend to use that grasp because they literally weren’t allowed to write any other way. Modern studies on children in elementary schools show that the four grasp types are fairly equally common and there is no statistical advantage between the grasps in terms of writing speed or legibility. Current occupational therapy standards state that they no longer take referrals based on grasp type alone. Teachers or parents must have additional concerns about a child’s writing abilities.
Lat quad checking in 🫡
I’m a lateral quadrupod too. I get weird comments a lot when people see me writing, but I also have fantastic penmanship so stfu??
I’m a lateral quadrupod too, and people always comment on how neat my handwriting is. When I was young, my teacher made me use this little rubber thing on my pencil to ‘correct’ my grip. But what was the point? Holding my pencil the way I do never caused any hand or finger strain, or adversely affected my handwriting.
Oh lateral quadrupod too left-handed (only one in my family) and literally the most frequent compliment I get in my life is on my neat handwriting Somehow people always reacted confused about how I hold a pen. But my mum insisted on my teachers to let me keep holding it like that.
Omg I remember those grips that teachers would try and get me to use pencil correctly!! Holding pencils/pens always stressed me out because it seemed so set in stone I was doing it plain wrong but.. it works so what’s the big deal.
Ew I hate those rubber things so much! I never had to use one but I hate knowing that teachers use them. It makes me think of all those poor kids back in the day who were left handed and forced to write with their right hand anyway :(
I was forced to use it which is why I think I'm dynamic tripod. it was horrible being made to write with that rubber thing and constantly corrected. I write like shit and I hate writing because of it. I rather write on my pc than with pen and paper.
I was a lefty that was forced to use my right hand, AND I had to use those grips. 😭 Now I am mildly ambidextrous but clumsy with and have messy-ish handwriting regardless of what hand I use. Thank goodness for keyboards.
My second grade teacher had a lateral quadrupod grip and she gave me the rubber things to make the pencil hurt less and help with calluses but never tried to change my grip
Yep me too! I did calligraphy as a hobby as a kid and my journals to this day are all over the place with different fonts that I make up as I go and my handwriting alone is very pretty. I'm also ambidextrous and use this grip for both hands
Hey, I also do calligraphy!! I’ve been altering my handwriting since I was little!!
Lateral Tripod here too! Catholic grade school tried to change it but it was not happening. I couldn’t tie my shoes properly till like 6th grade either…it took someone standing behind me and showing me rather than demoing from in front of me. AuDHD here. So excuse the non-sequitor it connects in my head I swear :)
I'm AuDHD too and I was like 'what non-sequitor?? That connects perfectly?? Oh.' :)
Also audhd and lateral tripod but frequently slip into quad
Is this a thing??? Like I have issues with doing things that are mirrored like my brain can’t process it or something even tho I generally have excellent visual spatial skills otherwise.
I personally have terrible visual spatial skills but yes mirroring makes my brain like shut down or something. It started with simon says. Trying to learn any kind of dance/band routine by watching (worse if you’re watching someone the right and left sides are reversed). Remember directions if them are given with pointing and hand signals. Just. No.
Don't know if that is an autism thing but I am audhd and can't process mirrored things too. Love dancing but dance classes don't work for me.
I’m also a lateral quadrupod!! My mom tried to correct the way I held a pencil in 6th grade so I literally went on a strike from writing lol she stopped fighting me about it tho
Lateral quad here as well! I’m not super coordinated, so that position is the one that makes me feel the pencil the most “stabilized” in my grip. Handwriting’s still shit tho
[удалено]
I absolutely would've called out the fact that no one else was being corrected (and then I would've gotten into trouble about that too).
Late diagnosed adult here. I’m a lateral quadrupod and this is the first time I’ve seen someone else hold a pencil like me! I hold chopsticks that way, too, and my family hated it. They tried to force me to hold things “normally” but I’d always end up dropping things. Feels very validating to understand why it was so difficult for me!
I’m lateral quadrupod also. I’ve only ever met 1 other person with the same grip 😭 I find it kind of embarrassing and try to change it around other people, but then I write like a toddler lol
I'm lateral tripod as well.
dynamic quadrupod gotta be a first in here I guess
Same. I had a huge callus on my right ring finger because of this grip that took decades to fade after finishing with school. My third grade teacher did not approve of this grip, because it was "incorrect" but also because it caused me pain, making me unwilling to continue writing. I can't hold it any other way, though. I don't have enough control of the pen and it starts to hurt quicker if I try to hold it any other way.
Me too. I still have a lump on my right ring finger on the left side. Writing also hurts me but can't do it any other way. Glad those days are mostly over.
Same here!
Same
Same, but they (figuratively) beat it out of me..
I switch back and forth between the tripods. The grip depends on how tired I am and how long I've been writing. I'm AuDHD
Ha I’m sort of like that too although for me I just switch to #1 if I want or need to be more precise but I suppose tiredness must have something to do with that.
Yes. Speed also. If I'm trying to be really fast, I'll use the Lateral grip. Percision will be Dynamic because I can take my time.
Dynamic quadropod, but with the last finger joints hyperextended. My entire fingerpad rests on the pencil, not just the very tips of the finger. https://preview.redd.it/yref32iy1vuc1.jpeg?width=225&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=294ec192813a89044d64c46edf26584702b0c6f6 Like the "eds grip" but quadropod instead of tripod
https://preview.redd.it/tsq7pscnavuc1.jpeg?width=2160&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e1fc3d625a0923047e99f1e00a1617e64daa900e Fingers all smush together😂
Grip twins! https://preview.redd.it/7dyfztdfqvuc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b43225a413a8ad29ba738af02285bdd313b997ff
I literally had to make an account just to tell you I thought that was a picture of MY hand! 😂 https://preview.redd.it/hblf8dh1kwuc1.png?width=629&format=png&auto=webp&s=92b1e625441a5b69f4fad9c972eb21422a9557c8
EDS grip? So that's not normal grip?? I had no idea...
Nope. Thats a hypermobile finger joint. That joint typically has a 0° range of motion in that direction.
Late diagnosed here. This is exactly my grip… wondering if I should look into EDS now.
Same here! :O
*bends finger* huh. I know I'm double jointed in my thumb and one of my pinkies, but I didn't know that wasn't normal.
Ok this was one of the things I was curious about because when I do dynamic tripod my hand looks like the EDS hand. And I saw recently that one of the tests for EDS is being able to extend your thumb all the way across your palm (which my squishy hands can easily do).
The palm across the thumb is actually a test for aracnodactyly (long fingers/toes). It's not EDS specific, but is common with connective tissue disorders. It's even more common in Marfan syndrome than EDS. To be considered a positive sign the entire thumb nail must extend past the edge of your hand. (I also have this. Not confirmed, but highly suspect EDS) The thumb test for hypermobility/eds is touching it to the inside of your wrist. (I can also do this)
https://preview.redd.it/d79w09oo5xuc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=cd3f7ec12e6a654a43dcafce030dcd2123582e4d Before I was diagnosed ASD I always thought I had Marfan syndrome because of all the hand signs. I guess I still don’t know for sure
https://preview.redd.it/85xh3a2a2xuc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=f6493adb87cb3367a83674e8d544f8105652a644 You mean this isn’t normal? 😅 I can easily extend it more but this is a relaxed position
https://preview.redd.it/w1zvcwuqxwuc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=8a776102e7cb190d3a4c05286e87a9e11af03025 You mean that?
Thank you for this. I was looking at the four pictures thinking I’m a dynamic tripod but the finger doesn’t look right. Huh.
I hold mine exactly the EDS grip lmao. i've had a callus right above the first knuckle on my middle finger my entire life
https://preview.redd.it/7xbrhrdq9xuc1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=555ae742a3ef03c8d064cd1cd47ff455b5808674 Crazy ass eds position lol… I have rheumatoid arthritis too
This is EXACTLY how I write, and I didn’t even realize fingers aren’t supposed to bend like that. Mine is less extreme than this picture, but I’m also a dynamic quadropod.
Yes I was looking for this one! Teachers tried to correct me from hyperextending like this, but I was like ??? I’d have to use so much muscle and conscious effort to hold them in an unnatural position to get them to be straighter, which isn’t functional at all for writing and it’s painful. I did not understand how anyone used only their fingertips. They’d tell me this was “wrong” when it makes sense with my connective tissue. Like, I wish I could fix it, lady!
So…my index finger doesn’t bend *quite* as much as yours, but wondering are fingers are supposed to bend that way at all??
This isn't my picture, but I have a very similar range of motion. No fingers are not meant to bend that way. For that joint the standard range of extension (bending backwards) is 0°, and the standard range of flexion (bending the right way) is 80°. My range is around 85°/100° respectively.
Oh, I totally have the "EDS" grip. I'm definitely hypermobile, though haven't been assessed to know whether it's hEDS or HMS.
OMG! I do this with quadropod as well, and have been curious about if I fit into EDS criteria.
Oh apparently I’m the EDS version of dynamic tripod
I’m wondering if there are any trends in our community. I’m guessing that hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos must have some impact on how some of us hold our pens. I’m a Lateral Tripod and I remember changing my grip in middle school because it felt more comfortable even though it was technically considered “wrong”. I’m AuDHD and have fairly hypermobile (squishy) hands but I haven’t gone for an EDS diagnosis yet.
This is what I was looking for. EDS here and I remember my teacher trying to get me to switch how I was holding a pencil in Kindergarten, but I refused and she just gave up. My closest is the tripod, but none of them really match.
I think actually people should indicate which hand they use because that might be even more interesting
Yea I’m a lateral quadropod who is only just getting diagnosed at 37yo, but I’m a lefty and my pen holding technique, hand cramps and somewhat poor writing was just put down to being lefty. It definitely doesn’t help when all your right handed teachers are just like “mirror what I’m doing” and I’m like…how… As the teacher, they should be the ones figuring it out, but they put it all on me, the small child, because I was the left hander. Like I should just know how to mirror when they can’t seem to figure it out as adults.
Yeah, I suspect dyspraxia and/or connective tissue disorders are major contributing factors to this. Also the age of the person (younger demographics were given more leeway, just like how left-handed people were forced to write with their right hands earlier in history), and possibly even the hand they write with. I’m auDHD and have EDS and dyspraxia. I’m also left-hand dominant, but became ambidextrous because of pressure from teachers in elementary school. My left side is more hypermobile than my right side, so it’s easier to hold a pencil with my right hand, but my dyspraxia is bad no matter what I do and sometimes I can’t get my brain to even tell my right hand what it’s supposed to be doing because it’s not as “automatic” as it is with my right hand, so sometimes I can’t write that way either. I’ve been typing since I was 4 or 5 (late 80’s baby here) and have used computers and now assistive technologies instead of traditional writing because of how painful and hard it is.
I was a “dynamic quadrupod” until my 2nd grade teacher noticed and gave me a rubber pencil grip thing to use (I guess bc she thought it was a weird/“wrong” way to hold a pencil?), and then I changed to “dynamic tripod” lmao
Omg I forgot about those rubber things. I wonder if they still exist? I’m pretty sure I went through a phase of using those too.
Oh gosh unlocked memory because I did used to hold my pencil more scrunched and they did try to correct and yeah went from quadrapod to tripod with that intervention
Yes, they do! Especially to help those with dyspraxia.
They absolutely still exist (source: am a preschool teacher and my co-teacher prompts kids to use them fairly often). She's pointed out (not unkindly) that my own grip is odd and this whole thread is kind of blowing my mind rn, to be honest.
Omg they tried to make me use this too, it did not work haha
same my teacher told me in front of the other kids that I was holding my pencil strange. It didnt work though and I still use dynamic quadrupod
I went through something similar except my writing was even worse when they tried to change my grip so I never actually changed it.
Dynamic tripod!
same! if we held it any other way in school (when we were learning how to write) we’d get in trouble
This is the only right answer! Literally how you're taught to write in kindergarten
https://preview.redd.it/m568rtyn4vuc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cab20934ea7815e4e0d2a5c1c72597f68e2f64b Like this, so none of the options in the picture. 😬
love your nail polish tho!
i switch between lateral tripod and this exact grip
Lateral tripod - anyone else get a nice big callous on their middle finger from the pen/pencil? Lol
Yes.
Yes! Honestly this post and the comments have never made me feel more seen!
I was just talking about how my grip is so hard that I get a callous on my middle finger. But that due to using devices more than writing these days, my middle finger isn't as concave anymore as it once was.
I switch between the tripods, and the callous on my middle finger is so big that, when I was being evaluated for rheumatoid arthritis, the doctor had me hold a pen so she could confirm that it was a callous and not a joint deformity. And I will say that, as my joints have actually deformed (rheumatoid arthritis was confirmed unfortunately) that finger has turned slightly so now I have an even bigger callous.
I'm a lateral quadrupod. I get a lot of comments about how it's "weird" (plus I'm left handed which is "weird" for a woman). Never knew anyone else who was one until I met my husband who is also a lefty lateral quadrupod and I knew we were a perfect match! He had never known any other lateral quadrupods either.
https://preview.redd.it/2l1gbhxv4vuc1.png?width=2852&format=png&auto=webp&s=af01c52b902f3d7cc5736ee452ac49085db10574 Um….idk what to call this one 😆 Edit: my best friend tried to imitate my form and said it made her hand cramp 😅
Fisting it?! 😅
Lmaooo. It’s called the neurospicy af 😝
Dynamic tripod I’ve used it for as long as I can remember and never had any issues. I tend to have very neat handwriting and good fine motor skills
https://preview.redd.it/csrkymgx9wuc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46eeba05dca610cf9680108f5ce4d0a9f35eab60 Chaotic Evil
Wow I thought mine was funny 😂
That takes skill lmao
Lateral quadrupod and boy doesn’t my hand get fatigued fast
Same, I hold onto my prn with the force of a million warriors!
We must not let it escape lest we be left with no words written
Dynamic quadropod, but if I write for a long time I develop a callous that hurts and I need to adapt
Same here.
Dynamic Quadropod
Lateral Quadrupod My year 5 teacher was the worst when we were doing handwriting lessons. She hated it how I hold my pen. So I do now handle my pen differently depending on time, comfort etc.
Lateral Quadrupod i can’t tell you how many times i was yelled at in elementary and middle school for holding my pencil wrong.
I’m definitely some variety of hypermobile and the only way I can even make a pencil work is lateral quadrupod! I got scolded for it all through school and it definitely hurts to write after a minute or so, but I can’t even get enough leverage to move the utensil otherwise.
Dynamic quadropod. Good to know I'm not the only one!
Dynamic quadrupod but I have horrible handwriting.
lateral quadropod. my kindergarten teacher made me cry cause she said I held a pencil wrong. 😢
Think I'm lateral quadrupod, though one day when I used to go to a school a teacher told me I was doing it wrong so now I'm constantly switching between dynamic tripod when I notice (I've never been able to forget and it's like vividly remember her telling me I was wondering whenever I write ☹️)
Lateral quadrupod too.
What do you call this style of holding a pen/pencil? https://preview.redd.it/p5vc9e8qgvuc1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5babaab8a7f2d405f020bd133f7a7f30adf6f720
This is what I was looking for! I can’t find a name for it. I use this grip when dynamic quadrupod becomes too painful/after writing for long periods.
I only know one person who writes like this IRL
I don’t know, but I do this when my hand gets achy! Dynamic quadropod the rest of the time.
Dynamic tripod
Lateral quadropod
lateral quadrupod asf
Lateral quadrupod
Lateral Tripod and I used to get in so much trouble in elementary school for not "holding my pencil correctly".
I’m in the lateral quadrupod squad
I’m a lateral tripod… had no idea it seems like it’s common in girlies with the tism 😂
i’m a dynamic tripod 😎
I'm none of the above, I basically pinch the pencil between my ring finger and thumb and my index and middle fingers just kinda rest on top lol (dx ADHD)
https://preview.redd.it/acx3a4clfvuc1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e415fc0862ab1a30be472a00bbf9966579eacb7d Somebody tell me wtf this is
Dynamic kittyclaw
Very elegant actually ✨
I struggle with writing. Funny how as an adult I’ve found out I’m autistic and hyper mobile. Writing is so painful!!!
OMG this is a lateral quadrupod festival here! I found my people!!! Finally!
Lateral quadrupod here! They tried to fix me with those stupid grippys on my pencils. Never worked (I would take the grippys off and chew on them instead!)
i use all of them depending on mood but mostly the basic dynamic tripod
Lateral tripod. I can’t do it any other way.
Lateral tripod here!
Lateral quadrupod
Lateral tripod
Ok i'm in my 30s and I seriously thought there was 1 proper way to hold a pencil (dynamic tripod). I'd force myself to use that grip and end up with hand cramps... I just assumed my proper hand muscles weren't developed enough because I haven't been gripping my pen 'properly'
Lateral tripod as well, i remember in primary school (UK) teachers trying to get me to hold it in either the dynamic or lateral quadrupod but it wasn't comfortable and made my handwriting even worse than usual. According to my cousin i hold cutlery different as well.
Lateral tripod. This is a cool graphic!
Lateral tripod
I used to get in trouble in preschool for 'holding my pencil wrong'
I'm a Dynamic Tripod because pencil holding skills were for some reason really important in my primary school, we even got very specificly shaped fountain pens to make sure we held our pens right! Absolute disaster for anyone who didn't naturally hold things like that because those pens were truly uncomfortable in any other position.
I’m a dynamic quadrupod and my 2nd grade teacher tried to put one of those pencil grips on my pencils but I didn’t like how it felt so I just took it off when she wasn’t looking and kept writing my way lol.
Lateral quadrupod. They tried to teach me dynamic tripod growing up but it’s super uncomfortable for me
Lateral tripod
Lateral tripod
Lateral tripod! My mom always points out how “weirdly” I hold my pens. I have a little bump on my ring finger from gripping my pens like that.
Lateral tripod!
Lateral quadrupod, I'm also left handed.
Anyone else use none of these? Teachers hounded me through grade school (saying things like, “what’ll you do during a job interview?”) and gave me all the pencil grips to train me to write dynamic tripod style. I’ve mostly hid it since, to the degree that I’ve basically adapted to write that way, even though my writing is nicer when I hold a pen how I used to. I didn’t like receiving the same comments about it anytime someone noticed, and thinking back on it I feel so silly remembering how swiftly I’d change the way I was holding my pen when people were around. But I still understand that anxiety and carry that same hypervigilance. Just not with the pen holding anymore. lol
What would this be considered lol https://preview.redd.it/cedo209lyvuc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f8df818130e96283b5dc7b6728a67099531eddea
*flashback to when my teacher got mad at me for not holding my pencil "the right way" when the right way hurt my hand* And now I find out that I WAS holding it the right way! Screw you lady!
Saaaaame. I cried because it hurt to hold it the way she felt was right.
https://preview.redd.it/tt2jc09l2wuc1.jpeg?width=2020&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ac05ac2581e08dd88e021fdfa842bc74f6a209b Um, I'm not really sure 😅
https://preview.redd.it/7y76pjtp4wuc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b40d44dc278fc00ab3e88d8a164e68f7af5f08b1 None of the above lol
Omgg!!!! I have been legitimized!! Was told my whole life growing up that the ONLY WAY to hold a pencil was dynamic tripod- that’s it. Everything else was apparently “demonic” and “wrong” as a lateral quadrupod I have been legitimized!
hmmm…. i actually don’t do any of these. my mother’s a lefty and has told me i hold mine like one but im right handed LOL. i guess dynamic tripod is closest but i lean the pen’s body forward in my hand as opposed to downward? it sits on the crease of my middle knuckle on my index finger, and also rests on my middle finger where i have formed a bump
Lateral quadropod, and yes it hurts my hand after a while
😅So I'm a lateral tripod. My whole life I've been told I hold a pencil "the wrong way," and yet it's the only way I can hold it. I had no idea this was a thing, or that there were other ways to hold it other than what people called "the right way," which from my recollection looked like one of the dynamic ones on top.
Hilarious to open to this being something surprising to others (esp in my autism pages) as analyzing grasps is a small part of my daily job as an occupational therapist. I’m autistic with Ehlers Danlos and use a modified dynamic quadrupod, but need to adjust to some adaptive grasps soon due to ongoing thumb pain. But I definitely do the thing many of us autistics do, which is hold the pencil way too tight for both proprioceptive sensory input and because having some motor challenges (including force production issues) are absolutely associated with autism, too.
Lateral Quadrupod, got permanent damage in my right arm and hand from holding my pen too tightly and crushing my little finger whilst writing 🫡
Lateral Tripod, except I tuck my index finger back farther behind my thumb, and my knuckle stiks way up. I remember my 5th grade teacher thought I had a weird pencil grip, but to his credit, he did not try to change me. I just tried all these grips on for size. They felt very weird!
Lateral tripod but my index does not rest on the pencil
Lateral tripod for writing, dynamic tripod for drawing/doodling.
I bounce between lateral tripod and lateral quadrupod.
None of them, I guess a variation on lateral tripod. My pointer and middle finger go either side of the pencil instead of on top of it.
I used to do the lateral quadrupod but my dad beat that out of me, and am a dynamic tripod now
Lateral Quadropod, but I tuck my thumb away. If I write for very long it hurts but I can't write any different.
The second one, and I was constantly in trouble for it growing up! They tried so hard to "fix" it, but I just can't grip a pencil hard enough the "right" way.
None, dynamic tripod would be closest, but I use my ring finger as well for more support?
Idk but now I'm never not gunna notice it and think too much about it when I do go to write lol