Involuntary, symmetrical bilateral movements in a 16 years old girl

Dear Ask The Doctor: My daughter has a uniquie probelm I'm not able to find the answer to anywhere. When she moves one hand, or fingers, the opposite hand will make the same movement, for instance, when she writes (she is right handed), the fingers on her left hand move the same way. At school she has to hold the left hand tightly onto something or it will be very obvious. Also, if she scratches with one hand, the other will move too. Same with gripping, or lifting. She is 16 and otherwise healthy. This is so puzzling for us, hopefully you have an answer for this!

Dear Peggy: First of all, is this a new occurrence or she always had that situation? , is only in the upper limbs or happens too in the lower limbs). The involuntary movements may have many causes, they are difficult to treat by medications, and some of them do not have a clear underlying cause. Secondly, It is important to determine if this situation has worsen with the time, if this has other accompanying features as speech problems, seizures, gait disturbances, sleep problems. I strongly recommend that your daughter gets a clinical, imaging and functional assessment by a neurologist specialized in movement disorders to determine if these involuntary, symmetrical, bilateral movements have a cause that may be treated.