Ataxic Cerebral Palsy

The conditions under which a child becomes vulnerable to cerebral palsy are jaundice, Rh incompatibility - a condition in which the immune cells of the mother attack the fetus, infection during pregnancy, drug or alcohol use during pregnancy, kidney or urinary tract infections in the mother, oxygen shortage during birth, brain infection - including encephalitis or meningitis, head injury, birth injury and premature delivery

Cerebral palsy has been classified into four types - spastic, athetoid, ataxic and mixed. Different areas of brain damage could lead to a different type of cerebral palsy. The symptoms of those affected by cerebral palsy are speech difficulties, drooling, eating difficulties, incontinence, learning difficulties, seizures, overactive reflexes, rigid posture, abnormal muscle tone, impaired balance, delayed development, and deviant behavior.

Low muscle tone and poor coordination of movements are the two typical symptoms of ataxic cerebral palsy. About 5-10 percent of the children diagnosed with cerebral palsy suffer from ataxic cerebral palsy.

Children affected with ataxic cerebral palsy look very unsteady and shaky. This is a rare form of cerebral palsy and it affects the sense of balance and depth perception. Affected persons often have poor coordination and walk very unsteadily. They generally place their feet very wide apart and have a wide based gait. They seem to have a constant tremor.

The shaky movements and uncoordinated muscles put a tremendous amount of strain on these children for performing day to day tasks. Children with ataxic cerebral palsy may take longer than other children to complete routine tasks and can often find writing a major challenge. Any action that requires a lot of muscle control is a major task for a child suffering from ataxic cerebral palsy.

All actions that we take for granted like reaching out and picking up a glass of water, scratching an itch, wiping our eyes? commonplace things we never even pay attention to, are major tasks for an ataxic child.

Cerebral Palsy provides detailed information on Cerebral Palsy, Spastic Cerebral Palsy, Cerebral Palsy Physical Therapy, Athetoid Cerebral Palsy and more. Cerebral Palsy is affiliated with Multiple Sclerosis Treatments.