Ataxic Cerebral Palsy Symptoms

Cerebral palsy is a brain disorder usually present at birth that affects coordination and movement. Several types of cerebral palsy can occur, depending on the part of the brain affected. Ataxic cerebral palsy is the least common type, affecting 5 to 10 percent of people with this disorder, according to Cerebral Palsy Source.

Balance

Individuals with ataxic cerebral palsy have a poor sense of balance, and tend to walk with their feet far apart in an unsteady manner, which may look like staggering. They may have problems with depth perception.

Fine Motor Skills

Another symptom is tremors, which become worse when using fine motor skills, such as writing, typing or turning pages in a book. The tremors make it difficult to perform these activities.

Intentional Tremors

Commonly called intentional tremors, these movements become worse when the person comes closer to achieving his goal. If the person reaches for a light switch, for instance, the tremor increases as the person's hand gets closer.

Face and Speech

Facial and voice symptoms also occur with ataxic cerebral palsy, such as jerking eye movements and unusual speech patterns.

Poor Muscle Tone

People with ataxic cerebral palsy have poor muscle tone. Babies with the condition can be limp and floppy. This contrasts with the most common type of cerebral palsy, the spastic type, which causes rigid muscles.

References

• Cerebral Palsy Source
• Cerebral Palsy Information

Resources

• Further information from the U.S. National Institutes of Health