Is this an odd quirk or something that needs attention?

[sewaneecook]

DS1 is 4 1/2 and doesn't seem to be able to move his hands independently.  For example, if he points with his right hand, his left pointer finger will also point, even if it's down at his side or if he opens one hand wide and closes it in a fist, the other hand mimics this movement.  He doesn't seem to have unilateral movement of his hands.  I didn't think of it as an issue and probably something he simply needed to outgrow until I realized my 18-month-old doesn't do this and never has.  DS1 has always been slow on the grosse motor skills ... crawling at 11 months, walking at 18 months, he's never been a climber, etc., but his fine motor skills are fairly good to advaned (he's already writing letters fairly well and his drawing is rather good too). 

Is this something that needs attention?  Or is it simply an oddity of his that he'll eventually outgrow?  If it does need attention, who would we need to go see? 

[4evermom]

I've never really noticed any kids doing that...  It seems like an occupational or physical therapist might be helpful.  I'm not one to be terribly quick with deciding on therapy but I've known little ones who have fun with that kind.  It should be mostly game oriented stuff.  I'd run the situation by his doctor, first.  Maybe insurance would cover therapy if he recommends it.

[pianojazzgirl]

I'm not sure if this is just something he'll grow out of or something that needs attention, but, like the pp, this is something I've never noticed any kid do before.  So, I have no idea if it's at all a problem, but I think it might be worth a chat with his dr just to make sure.

[pianojazzgirl]

Ok, your post caught my interest and I did a little googling and came up with this:

MIRROR movements are involuntary movements that mimic, and occur simultaneously with, voluntary movements on the opposite side of the body. The movements are known to occur because of a failure in communication between the two sides of the nervous system. They are thought to be normal during infancy and early childhood, but usually diminish with age and disappear altogether by the age of 10, following maturation of the corpus callosum, the massive bundle of nerve fibres connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

The quote is from this article: http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2010/04/the_mirror_movement_mutation.php

[sewaneecook]

pianojazzgirl, thank you for that very helpful link.  It sounds like it's something that we don't need to be too concerned with yet, but it explains some of his delays and awkward movement. 

I have a friend whose niece has a very severe form of mirrored movement syndrome, but it isn't something she'll outgrow and she can't even walk up stairs without therapy (she can't move an entire side of her body independently ... hands, legs, feet, etc.), so I had never thought of his having a much more mild form of this.  The only similarity between my DS and her is the hand movement. 

[NikonMama]

My son does the exact same thing.  He was seen by a neurologist b/c of a hearing loss, so I asked about his hand thing, and he ran some tests on him.  He ended up not finding anything, and said that it was just a quirk.  He didn't suggest OT or PT or anything like that.  It couldn't hurt for your son to see someone, b/c it may be different for him.  My son has done it since he was very small, and he's 12 and still does it.  I don't think he'll ever outgrow it.  He'll do it for life.  :(