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Bimanual Synkinesis/mirror hand movements
My 17 month old has mirror hand movements. If he is scratching his ear with his left hand the right hand is scratching in the air. I have been unable to find much information about this condition on the internet. My doctor has told me this is normal in children, but he hasn't watched Kaden long enough to really see how bad it is. Does anybody have any experience? I am in the process of trying to get him genetics tested, but it is a six month wait for an appointment at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
I have had this condition all of my life, and when i was younger the doctors said that it should eventually go away as i got older. I am 25 years old now and it still hasn't went away. I'd like to know more information on it, like if it is something to worry about that could cause other disorders or if all i have to worry about is my hands and arms mimicking each other for the rest of my life.
Hey, I’m 25 and also have mirror hand movements. When I was very young I underwent a series of imaging scans (i.e. MRI) and the doctors found a bundle of nerves on my spinal cord which were confusing the messages sent by my brain, causing those messages to be sent to both hands, rather than just one. Similar to bakageta, the impulse to use both hands extends up my arms but the farther from my finger tips the motion is (i.e. closer to the shoulder) the weaker it is. So tapping my index finger on my left hand makes it almost impossible to stop my index finger on my right hand from tapping. However, I can easily stop my left elbow from bending when my right one does unless I am lifting a heavy weight with my left arm (i.e. doing weightlifting). As a result, I do all my weightlifting exercises with both arms at the same time.
I received occupational therapy when I was in the 1st through 4th grades and it was dramatically and amazingly helpful for me. The therapist discovered I also had difficulty with sensory integration between hands. I believe this is common but not as noticeable for people with mirror movements. By this I mean, it is very obvious when one person’s hands are moving at the same time. It is not so obvious if that person cannot tell which of their fingers are being touched unless they are looking at their hands. For those of you with children with mirror movements, you may want to try an experiment with them. Cover their eyes and then touch their fingers and ask them which of their fingers are being touched. They may be surprisingly unable to tell you. Also, similar to a lot of people posting above, I had a great deal of difficulty with upper body weakness, reading, and writing. These things might be related as this combination is common in the posts above but I have no idea. It was discovered that I had an inner ear imbalance. When this was “fixed” by dyslexic-like problems with reading and writing improved as well as my balance. I am currently working on my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology so I can assure you those problems can be overcome. Exercise has improved by upper body weakness.
There is definitely hope. I have learned to play the piano and the guitar. I drive just fine. I can type 80 wpm. I have never once had anyone ask me about mirror movements or notice that my hands seem to be copying each other in the last 10 years. None of my current friends have any idea I have this problem. It takes some small compensations (i.e. I always put my right hand in my pocket when my left hand reaches in to grab something so my right hand doesn’t look crazy). If occupational therapy doesn’t seem to be helping, getting a new OT might be better than giving up. Mine was great.
Hope this helps!
I received occupational therapy when I was in the 1st through 4th grades and it was dramatically and amazingly helpful for me. The therapist discovered I also had difficulty with sensory integration between hands. I believe this is common but not as noticeable for people with mirror movements. By this I mean, it is very obvious when one person’s hands are moving at the same time. It is not so obvious if that person cannot tell which of their fingers are being touched unless they are looking at their hands. For those of you with children with mirror movements, you may want to try an experiment with them. Cover their eyes and then touch their fingers and ask them which of their fingers are being touched. They may be surprisingly unable to tell you. Also, similar to a lot of people posting above, I had a great deal of difficulty with upper body weakness, reading, and writing. These things might be related as this combination is common in the posts above but I have no idea. It was discovered that I had an inner ear imbalance. When this was “fixed” by dyslexic-like problems with reading and writing improved as well as my balance. I am currently working on my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology so I can assure you those problems can be overcome. Exercise has improved by upper body weakness.
There is definitely hope. I have learned to play the piano and the guitar. I drive just fine. I can type 80 wpm. I have never once had anyone ask me about mirror movements or notice that my hands seem to be copying each other in the last 10 years. None of my current friends have any idea I have this problem. It takes some small compensations (i.e. I always put my right hand in my pocket when my left hand reaches in to grab something so my right hand doesn’t look crazy). If occupational therapy doesn’t seem to be helping, getting a new OT might be better than giving up. Mine was great.
Hope this helps!
I'm 30, and have had this condition my entire life. I went through a couple of years of physical therapy when I was 5-6, and that helped me significantly. Originally, my hands were perfect mirrors of each other, which made most things rather difficult. Now, as long as I'm concentrating, I can limit the offhand to small movements most of the time, though things like scratching my head I can't do anything to stop the offhand. It also extends up my arms a bit, for example when carrying something heavy in my right hand (like a gallon of milk), my left elbow stays bent. I can somewhat force it straight, but it's extremely uncomfortable.
For the most part though, I'd say I manage fairly well, and for anyone who's worried their child isn't going to be able to do something, hopefully I can help relieve that worry. I can type ~75 wpm (though I have to lift my hands a fair bit away from the keyboard in order to avoid accidentally hitting keys), I play guitar reasonably well (though can't manage finger picking), and aside from occasionally spilling a drink while trying to turn a doorknob, I'd say I get by just fine.
To whomever asked about driving, I have no issues there, I learned to drive in a manual transmission and have never had my condition cause me problems in ~15 years of driving.
For the most part though, I'd say I manage fairly well, and for anyone who's worried their child isn't going to be able to do something, hopefully I can help relieve that worry. I can type ~75 wpm (though I have to lift my hands a fair bit away from the keyboard in order to avoid accidentally hitting keys), I play guitar reasonably well (though can't manage finger picking), and aside from occasionally spilling a drink while trying to turn a doorknob, I'd say I get by just fine.
To whomever asked about driving, I have no issues there, I learned to drive in a manual transmission and have never had my condition cause me problems in ~15 years of driving.
Can bimanual synkinesis affect reading? I am a teacher and have a student in my class that is affected by this condition. «i have noticed he does not like reading, looking at books and has difficulty reading. Anyone experienced a similar situation? I would like to help my student.He is 7 years old.
Hi I am 24 years old and have had mirroring of the hands since I was born. I play most sports but must say my catching skills are not so great at times. When I was younger I had many tests and they found that I had 1 fibre in the brain trying to work both hands whereas most people have 2 1 to work each side. There is an operation available but with most things there are risks involved. I have found ways to help me I have what I call a button hook to help me do my buttons up if you speak to an occupational therapist they may be able to provide you one. Hope all works out.
I'm a 50 year old male and I've had Hereditary Bimanual Synkenesis all my life. I just recently was able to finally put a name to it. My father had it and my son was born with it. I have always had some level of difficulty performing certain tasks with my hands but I've learned to deal with them in my own way. People have always noticed this and I'm often asked "What are you doing with your other hand?" My girlfriend complains that when a I'm holding her hand and do something with the other, I unintentionally squeeze her hand really hard! (Sorry honey!) Thanks to the doctor who answered all my questions about it and finally put a name behind it. As for the loss of the sense to smell, its true. I've noticed my sniffer only works part time.
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