One of the most efficient tools you can purchase to help your child with proper grasp on writing tools is by far an easel!
The reason for this is that it forces your child to bend his wrist into extension and automatically close his fingers around a pencil (we call this tenodesis). You must then make sure to place a pencil correctly in the hand however this wrist position will help them maintain the desired grasp more easily.
For younger children, a high slant board or easel is best. You can also tape paper to the wall and have them color/paint/draw. I absolutely LOOOOVE this one by Parents. I bought it years ago at Target and EVERY child I meet wants to play with it! Believe it or not this easel becomes sold out every year and is hard to find. It’s just one of those products! You can purchase yours right here at MissMancy’s AMAZON Shop.
For older children, I recommend a 20 degree slant board. It’s less cumbersome in class and generally they have better wrist stability and don’t always need full extension of the wrist from a high incline. (Get a wide, long one so that papers and notebooks can both be used on it) You can purchase yours right here at MissMancy’s AMAZON Shop.
I suggest teachers and parents to provide lots and lots of coloring, drawing activities on easels and on the wall!
This will strengthen the wrist which is one of the most important joints for fine motor skills (dexterity). We say in therapy: Stability before Mobility. In this case we want to stabilize the wrist so that movements of the hand and fingers are done correctly.