Here’s an even more in depth look as to why someone might use an adaptive tripod handwriting grasp, a.k.a. “the Taylor Swift grasp!” Thanks so much for tagging me in your original video, Erin Tridle (@erintridle on TikTok and Instagram) – and to Slate.com for interviewing me last year for their article on this topic!
Three reasons someone might use the Taylor Swift Handwriting Grasp
The first reason is hypermobility, or more than average range of motion around the finger joints. When you have hypermobility, your ligaments are loose and it’s harder to hold your fingers in one position for long periods of time. By stabilizing the pencil between the pointer and middle finger, more of your finger’s surface area is touching the pen which makes it easier to stabilize it.
The second reason is hand pain, which could be from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia or myriad other reasons. This grip reduces the amount of grip force particularly around the thumb (a common area of osteoarthritis).
The last reason is muscle weakness, low muscle tone or loss of innervation to the hand muscles, as seen in conditions like spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, Down’s Syndrome and other health conditions.
I would also add a fourth which is low proprioception or body awareness , which this grasp compensates for! This is common for people with “sensory processing” differences including neurodiverse individuals.
Have you tried this grasp? Let me know what you think!
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