Best Writing Aids For Those With Parkinson’s

The Thixotropic Heavy, Big Weighted Pen is explicitly designed for seniors with Parkinson’s and/or tremors. This package comes as a twin-pack; both pens connect to a wrist strap to prevent the pen from falling to the floor if dropped—this is a significant benefit to elderly who have trouble grabbing things or bending over.

This pen writes with black ink from long-lasting metal cartridges. As of this posting, the company also has a Parkinson’s aid stylus for smartphones and tablets in development, too. The seller is responsive, which we love if you need a replacement or return on these pens.

Once your ink runs low, these pens can be refilled with any Parker-style ink refill. We also like that the bright red color of the pen makes it easier to find than a typical white or black pen. The decent price, the hefty weight, convenient wrist strap, and thick, ergonomic grip make this our favorite general pen for seniors with Parkinson’s.

The Aids to Daily Living Steady Write Writing Pen is a pen attachment (with a pen included) that focuses on stabilizing the writing instrument, rather than weighing it down. The triangular base rests on the paper to help steady the user’s hand. The grip takes a bit of getting used to for some seniors, but many find this additional resting device beneficial in the making of smoother handwriting with Parkinson’s or even arthritis.

We like that a pen is included, but you can switch it out for another pen or a rounded pencil if you prefer. This is ideal for elderly users who have a favorite pen or pencil, or even those who purposely exercise their hands with colored pencils and drawing.

While reviews are a bit mixed with some other conditions, most of the five-star ratings are from users with Parkinson’s Disease in particular. It also can be helpful for senior with carpal tunnel as the shape forces the user to grip the pen or pencil at a different angle than usual.

The PenAgain 3 Pack of Pens is a set of ergonomically shaped pens that fit between your index finger and curve around it in a wishbone shape. This helps utilize the weight of your hand to hold the pen against the paper, therefore making it ideal for seniors with larger hands who have Parkinson’s or tremors.

The three-pack includes one blue, one red, and one neon green outer case (each writes in black ink). These pens are easy to refill and convenient to find in a drawer thanks to their unique shape and bright colors. Each pen also comes with a cap at the end to prevent drying out the ink.

These are particularly favored by users with Parkinson’s. So, we found them to be ideal pens for elderly sufferers of Parkinson’s, especially for those with larger hands. If you’re a fan of this pen, they also make pencils with the same design that also have refills.

The Beacon-Ridge Ring Pen Ergonomic Ball Point Pen is designed as the name suggests: it slides onto your index finger and you grip naturally. This action both helps to utilize the weight of the hand as well as gives elderly a better grip on their writing device.

The “ring” hole of this pen is fairly ample in size. So, most senior’s hands will fit this ring pen. However, if you have extra-large fingers, it could be a bit tight and uncomfortable. This pen does not require much pressure at all, making it ideal for the elderly with weak grips or frail hands.

Not only is this pen fantastic for use with Parkinson’s, but also for arthritic seniors as it requires such light pressure. It’s also well-rated by individuals with Essential Tremor. The more aligned, light grip of this ergonomic design also helps relieve hand and wrist pain for seniors with carpal tunnel and fibromyalgia. We love the steadying grip of this pen for those with smaller hands.