Not Able to Write Because of Limited Dexterity? The Best Pens for disabled hands

I am writing this post after a brief conversation that I had with one of the Parkinson’s patients under my care. His name is Maribet and is aged 70 years. He tells me that when he was young, he was an artist of great repute and true to his word, some of his relatives have come to the elderly home with some of his drawings and they were simply awesome. Today however, he is not able to draw. He cannot hold a pen or pencil steadily unless he used weighted pens for tremors. Having a conversation with him has made me realize how we take some things for granted such as being able to hold pens or pencils in our hands with ease.

Just after talking to Maribet, I watched a video by BBC of Emma who had Parkinson’s at the age of 29. Emma was a graphic designer before they diagnosed her with PD. And when the tremors came, she could not do what she loved doing best; drawing and designing with her hands. Haiyan Zhang however designed a wearable wrist-watch like device that counteract the tremors from the brain to her hand. It is so tearful seeing Emma write her name and draw a square after such a long time. “The device makes me forget that I have tremors,” she says.

Weighted pens for tremors

As we have already pointed out, patients with Parkinson’s disease will have trouble eating or drinking due to the tremors. Other than this, they will also have difficulty writing or drawing because of the much trembling. In this post, we will be looking at pens for disabled hands that these PD patients can use with ease despite the hand tremors.

Weighted Ergonomic Ballpoint pen

Advertised as the best pen for disabled hands, the pen is said to help those with writing cramps as well as PD patients. We loved it for the two weeks after buying it but then the tip started misbehaving by coming out regularly.

Weighing about 4 0z, the weighted ergonomic ballpoint pen helps steady your tremors so that you are able to write and draw again even despite the PD tremors. The pen which is developed by doctors is ideal for patients with all types of tremors as well as kids who have not developed stability in holding the pen upright and writing in it. It also comes with Schmidt Parker ink cartridge. It has a good grip handle that makes it ergonomic to write with.

What we loved about it

What we did not love about it

Alimed Weighted Pen

The weighted ergonomic pen was good for the first two weeks but when the tip started coming out, it was of no use. We therefore needed to look for an alternative. At this time, Maribet’s tremors had become more pronounced and regular. A doctor advised that we try the Alimed weighted pen since they are uniquely designed for people with extreme tremors.

The pen comes with five 10 grams weight each so that you can increase the weight depending on your tremors which I felt was a cool feature. It is also oversize so that the patient can hold with ease without straining.

What we loved about the Alimed weighted pen

What we did not like about it

CKW Ventures Super Big Blue Pen for Arthritis and Tremors

The Super Big Blue pen for arthritis comes with a lanyard for enhanced grip on the pen. The grip is big enough which is a great thing for people with lowered dexterity. It weighs 0.96 ounces which is not too heavy for people with Parkinson’s tremors or Arthritis but at the same time weighty enough for them to write despite their lowered hand dexterity.

Ink refills for the CKW Ventures Super Big pen are available from your local stationery shop.

What we Loved about the pens

• As the name suggests, the pens are super big and will therefore be great for people with lowered dexterity
• Ink can be refilled from our local stationery shop
• The lanyard helps with easily grasping the pen when it is falling. You can also hang it around your neck to avoid getting lost.
• Low cost

What we did not like about the pen

I wish they had made it longer so that one could still have a stable handwriting even with their arthritis. The handwriting tends to look crappy.

Tekukor Wide Body 3 pens with 3 ink refillers

If you are looking for the most affordable weighted pen for a patient with arthritis or Parkinson’s tremors, then the Tekukor 3 pens with 3 ink refillers at a crazy cheap price is what you should probably be thinking about. I however did not like their sizes as they were rather thinner than all the other pens that I have reviewed above and I therefore feel that they would not be as effective. That is probably why they are giving you a bunch of pens with ink refillers at such a cheap cost!

What we Loved about these pens

• Crazy cheap price for 3 pens and 3 ink refillers

What we Did not like about the Tekukor 3 pens with 3 ink refillers

• They were thin and would cause finger cramping
• There were complaints that they were not very durable and would break easily.