Cerebral palsy is the name for a condition in which brain damage affects areas that control muscle movement. Cerebral palsy affects fewer than 1 percent of babies born overall but affects up to 15 percent of premature infants. Cerebral palsy does not worsen or improve over time. Birth trauma, congenital conditions, prematurity, injury or illness after birth can all cause cerebral palsy. Athetoid cerebral palsy is a specific type of cerebral palsy that affects around 20 percent of those with the disorder and has specific symptoms.
Early Signs
Symptoms related to a specific type of cerebral palsy may not be evident before age 2, the Merck Manual explains. Early signs of athetoid cerebral palsy may be general signs of slow motor development such as poor feeding, poor motor control, slowness to meet motor milestones such as sitting, and the retention of infant reflexes after the time they should disappear.
Movement Disorders
Athetoid cerebral palsy results in several types of movement disorders. Athetosis is the presence of slow, writhing movements of the arms, legs and trunk; these movements are involuntary and increase when a person becomes excited or tries to move. Athetoid movements are not present when a person is sleeping. Athetoid movements can affect the muscles in the face, causing grimacing or drooling, the Merck Manual notes. Chorea is also common in people with athetoid cerebral palsy. Chorea means jerky, irregular, involuntary movements. Dystonia, muscle tone abnormalities with slow, rhythmic movements, may also occur in athetoid cerebral palsy.
Speech Problems
People with athetoid cerebral palsy often have dysarthria, or abnormal speech. Speech can be slurred, garbled and difficult to understand. Involuntary movement of the face and mouth make it difficult to form sounds, and drooling often occurs with speech. People with dysarthria may have monotone voices, or voices that vary in pitch and rhythm, making them very difficult to understand.
Hearing Loss
Hearing loss is common in people with athetoid CP, the Neurology Channel states. Athetoid cerebral palsy is often associated with kernicterus, or high bilirubin levels after birth. Hearing loss due to nerve damage is a side effect of kernicterus.
