There is no way that anyone who has been holding a pen in a certain position for say 18 years will be able to change habits and hold the pen differently even  though it would help.  I'm speaking as the mother of two left handed boys who have similar difficulties and as an Occupational Therapist, you try teaching a 7 year old to hold his pen differently let alone an adult.   I'd challenge anyone to change any bad habits they've had for 18 years!  All our students who have trouble writing on the boards would use a laptop and projector on placements or as money will be an issue as Ian says why not an OHP. 
If his writing is affecting his wrist, writing is painful and difficult for him he holds the pen so tightly etc   it may be worth looking at whether the student is dyspraxic thereby opening up funding. 
 Sheila

Sheila Watts
Head of Support Service for Students with Disabilities
Liverpool Hope University 
Hope Park
Liverpool
L16 9JD
Tel/Minicom  0151-291-3064
e-mail [log in to unmask]

Liverpool Hope University accepts no responsibility for this e-mail, its contents and any loss or damage arising in any way from the receipt or use of this e-mail and its attachments.

>>> Steve O'Melia <[log in to unmask]> 03/31/08 5:55 pm >>>
thanks to Bryan and everyone who has responded so far.
Any other comments still welcome.
Steve

----- Original Message -----
From: Bryan Jones 
Date: Monday, March 31, 2008 4:00 pm
Subject: Re: LEFT HANDERS AND WHITEBOARDS
To: [log in to unmask] 

> Suggest to him that he hold the pen between the index and middle 
> finger,i.e. with the pen resting in on top of the crook / join 
> between those
> two fingers and necessitating just a little support from the thumb
> underneath the pen. Puts much less strain on the hand when 
> holding a
> pen and writing and the shift in position that should result 
> might help
> with the problem of him inadvertently erasing his writing.
> 
> Bryan Jones,
> Manager, Disability Support Services
> & North London Regional Access Centre,
> Middlesex University
> Tel: 020 8411 5366
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Steve O'Melia
> Sent: 31 March 2008 15:12
> To: [log in to unmask] 
> Subject: LEFT HANDERS AND WHITEBOARDS
> 
> Dear all
> Any ideas?
> I have a Student who is left-handed and has been taught to hold 
> his pen
> in 
> a hooked position. This is putting additional strain on his 
> wrist and 
> sometimes pain if he writes for long. This is a bit of a problem 
> but is 
> manageable within the usual exam adjustments. 
> 
> However, He is on a teacher training programme with primary age kids.
> This 
> involves a lot of board writing. When writing on a whiteboard the
> position 
> means his hand wipes the letters/words after he has written 
> them. He has
> 
> attempted to alter his grip but so far this has not been successful.
> 
> I have advised the student to seek further advice from an 
> Occupational 
> Therapist through a GP referral.
> I have also advised our teacher training dept that It would be helpful
> if 
> the student could use a keyboard and interactive whiteboard as 
> much as 
> possible, rather than writing by hand onto the whiteboard. 
> However, this
> 
> isn't always possible because of the nature of the lessons. We 
> have also
> 
> discussed using flip-charts but he finds a similar problem with 
> the pen 
> then as well, leading to smudging.
> 
> Any ideas?
> Steve O'Melia
> Disability and Academic Skills Co-ordinator
> University of Chichester
> 

Stephen C O'Melia 
Disability and Academic Skills Services Co-ordinator 
University of Chichester 
Student Services 
Upper Bognor Road 
Bognor Regis 
West Sussex 
PO21 1HR 
01243 812076

--
This e-mail and any attachments are intended for the addressee only and may be confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, please advise the sender as soon as practicable and delete the e-mail from your system.

The University of Chichester is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Registration number 4740553. The registered office is College Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 6PE.