I remembered when I was a kid trying to learn to hold a pen “properly” (as everyone do) I couldn’t manage to do it and was holding it in my own way. Parents and teachers were trying to teach me how to hold it “properly” but it just didn’t work out, I sticked to the way it was comfortable to me. The common way of holding it wasn’t understandable to me and I just could not do it no matter how much I tried. Eventually adults gave up and let me be, except few more poor attempts from random teachers in school to re-teach me. I ended up with my own unique method of holding the pen and being asked from every person see my grip “why you are holding pen like that?”. My handwriting wasn’t very good, in school classes I would get lower grades because of it. Later as a teenager when I was “randomly” (you know) interested in calligraphy I have mastered my handwriting to a level none of those adults could ever imagine I would do, but still using the same grip I learned as a child and until now. Now when realizing myself autistic after 20+ years I thought, was my inability to learn to hold a pen in common way (as taught) a clear sign of being autistic? What is your experience with learning to hold a pen?

  • AngryishHumanoid@lemmynsfw.com
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    3 days ago

    There was a throwback to how to hold a pen/pencil in the US going back to even forcing left handed people to use their right hand, to disastrous results. There are many ways to perform the function, many with their own pros and cons, but as someone else mentioned it might have simply been a “started doing it 1 way and was resistant to change”.

    I am curious in what way you hold it which was so different it was seen as needing to be corrected.

      • tiotok@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        This is not that bad! See my other reply to OP, but this one is actually pretty common. Holding it closer to the base of your thumb (“in the web space”) and pressing down harder with the end joint of your index finger (“distal interphalangeal joint hyperextension”) can limit how much precision your have with very small movements and make your muscles fatigue faster if you write or draw a lot, BUT it adds a lot of stability, which is why a lot of people use these modifications.