THE PROBLEM

Looking for things to help with pen and paintbrush grip over the years (for shaky hands, arthritis and fine motor control issues) and all I could find was those little silicon pen grips. They weren’t what I or my students needed. One solution does not help everyone.

More recently there has been a flood of 3D-printed options, but what I have found is absolutely extortionate. It simply isn’t an option to buy all of them and find out which one works, because the price tag means you could spend a fortune and none of them work.

COMMUNITY SOLUTION

The very wonderful AuDHD Our Way offered to 3D print a huge range of pen grip tools so I could try them all out and share information to help other people go into this a bit more informed. They are also willing to print things for people at a much more achievable price than what’s out there right now.

THE TOOLS

Some have proper names and some I’ve given nicknames. I’ve included a photo and will add proper names as I find them out!

I am interested in something that can help with pen grip for kids learning to write, or people who have sore hands or those that tire quickly, or have a tremor. But I’m also interested in using it for painting, and for that we need to be able to change the pressure on the page. I’ll try to cover all of these but then you can ask questions any time and I’ll update to my best ability!

Ball large/medium/small

A few different sizes which is always good. I had high hopes for this one, it’s the one I’d have bought first if I’d had to choose one. But actually whilst it’s easier to hold because you can grip gently and it causes the hand to fatigue more slowly, the larger ball completely blocks your view of the page behind it. So it would be fine for large brushstrokes or big colouring with fat felt tips, nothing involving the ability to see your page as you draw will be easy. The smallest ball is better for visibility but still not ideal. It looks fun though and not too ‘medical’ which may help people cross the barrier to trying an accessibility tool if they need one. Also you could attach a brush and achieve pressure variation if you wanted to paint so good for loose painting. 

Ergonomic grip

The 3d-printed version of the silicone grip that lots of us will have seen before, I don’t see how this could work at all. None of my pens or brushes fit it perfectly and therefore whilst you hold the grip, the pen/brush just falls out of it. Better getting a silicone one that stretches to the writing implement it’s on. 

DRAG aka mouse

If someone is comfy gripping a computer mouse then this provides the same sensation. It could help if you needed to ‘gamify’ drawing or writing and turn a learner into a ‘human computer’ or similar. For drawing we found it hard to crosshatch as you need wrist movement to make that faster but if you don’t have wrist movement then this might be something you find comfy. Very fiddly to fit pens into. Not really made to use with brushes as pressure variation would be hard to client. But if someone wants to draw or write and they prefer using a mouse this might help them transition to pens but consider the shoehorn below as a better option.

Little T

We didn’t find this very comfy and I couldn’t find a pen or pencil to fit, but different hands like different things. Might help with hand fatigue and would be small/cheap/simple to stock and subtle for those who don’t want to use obvious tools. I prefer the army green ring below for this same solution though.

Tongs

You slip this over your hand so you barely have to grip the pen, very comfy and comes in a variety of sizes. It is larger and therefore less discreet if that bothers someone. A different angle of hold than pens/brushes are usually held in which will work for some and not others. I found it fairly easy to write with this, and it would work for painting as pressure can be altered.

Submarine

I liked this one as when I’m having a shaky day I need contact with the table to reduce the tremor. I can also achieve pressure with it in quite a flowing way, so with a bit of practice this would be good to paint with. I’ll keep this in my art supplies definitely. Larger to write with but only because the hold is very different to pen grip for me. More obvious as larger, my kids would not like the obvious ‘assistance tool’ look of this but I don’t care.

Army green ring

A big favourite for one user, it’s small and discreet, easy to put on and off and makes gripping the pen or brushes much more gentle so fatigue would be hugely reduced. You can use gentle pressure with it and barely grip the pencil, so it would make large shading areas much easier, and the angle felt very natural.

Bright green ring

Much like the army green ring above, but the angle felt less natural for us. Lots of the same plus points as the tool above though, small and simple and cheap. 

Pen mouse aka the

This feels like a mouse to use, so could also be used to ‘gamify’ and tempt users onto using a pen/pencil from a computer occasionally (although computers all brill too, no dissing of the digital here!). Also not great for brushes as depth control not really part of the tool. Easier to fit pens and pencils into than the DRAG mouse above so this one gets our vote if you want this grip.

White stick

Like the ‘submarine’ above but more vertical. So it could be useful for painting as you can alter pressure if you flip it over, and the hold is different from classic pen grip so might be preferable for some. Hard to write with for me but could work for painting or potentially holding cutlery or other

Gold cutlery holder

I couldn’t figure this one out and eventually realised its original use was to hold cutlery with! The little arrangement that slides in for pens and brushes feels like an add-on and would only fit specific sized items, which wasn’t my pen.

CONCLUSION

I can’t begin to cover everything you want to know about these, so please message me with questions and I will answer anything I can. The main thing is we will all need different things and hopefully this has given you a starting point to finding something to help you or someone else.

Make these work for you, use them however works for you, and ask me questions any time as I’m sure I won’t have included everything here!

If you’re in the UK please go and find AUDHD Our Way if you need anything printed as they’re absolutely lovely..

Please do share this within groups as I know that neurodivergence, tremor, limb difference, arthritis and so many other communities might find it useful.

Cheerio for now

Cat

Small print: I’ve tested these and I’ve asked my tween kids for input and also students I work with. I’ll continue to gather feedback and add to this as I get more results. What works for one person might not work for another. But there’s so little info out there now that at least this gives a starting point!