Handwriting difficulties in adults - NICE guidance - suspected neurological conditions - recognition and referral
Handwriting difficulties in adults
Summary points from NICE guidance relating to handwriting difficulties in adults are:
- refer adults who have sudden-onset difficulty with handwriting that has no obvious musculoskeletal cause for a neurological assessment according to local stroke pathways
- ask adults who have difficulty with handwriting that has no obvious musculoskeletal cause to demonstrate their handwriting and:
- if they have a problem with generating language rather than hand function, refer for neurological assessment
- if their handwriting is small (micrographia) and slow, consider referring for possible Parkinson's disease
- if their difficulty is specific to the task of handwriting and examination shows no other abnormalities, consider referring for possible focal dystonia
- if they have a problem with generating language rather than hand function, refer for neurological assessment
Reference
- NICE. Suspected neurological conditions: recognition and referral. NICE guideline NG127. Published May 2019, last updated October 2023
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