Athetoid Cerebral Palsy

Athetoid Cerebral Palsy

When you see a person who is with disability that involves the uncoordinated movements of the muscles, you can easily say cerebral palsy. This may be true since this condition is very common nowadays. But, did you know that there are several types of this condition and one of them is athetoid cerebral palsy. Here are some of its symptoms.

If you normally perceive a person with palsy as someone who has jerky movements, you might not notice that there is a type that will exhibit slow movements. Also, there can be twisting of the parts of the body. These actions are involuntary therefore they can happen without prior precipitating factors.

These movements are generally seen in both the upper and lower extremities. Also, there can be cases when other muscles in the body such as the tongue and face muscles are affected. Because of this, people who have athetoid cerebral palsy will experience drooling and involuntary grimacing.

During sleep, the person may not manifest any form of symptom. However, upon episodes of emotional stress and other heightened moments, the body will exhibit more signs.

At times, the muscle movements can become jerky and tense.  These can happen on a single muscle on the body or it can be generalized.

There are also situations when the patients will only appear restless and move around not being able to keep still in a single space. The child will not stay no matter what you say. This is initially perceived as defiant behavior especially in cases that are not yet diagnosed.

For those whose tongues are affected, there can be difficulty in speaking. This is because they have no control over the tongue while they are trying to speak or to form words. Eating and nutrition may also be affected negatively.

There are also cases that have difficulty initiating and maintaining movements and positions. Their posture can be greatly affected. Even the action of simply holding on to an object like a pen or a spoon can be too hard to achieve. It needs great effort to try and concentrate hard on moving and taking control of their body parts.

With these symptoms, there will be significant problems and impairment on the lives of people with palsy. They will not be able to live their lives normally and independently. Consequently, they will not be able to grow and develop as normal persons who can still learn and do things every day.

The initiation of physical therapy will follow after proper assessment of the areas of the body that the athetoid cerebral palsy is concentrated on. Also, what treatments are needed will vary on the symptoms. Physical therapy is most commonly needed. For those having problems with their speech, a speech therapist may be necessary.