Cerebral Palsey can be:

• Spastic (jerky movements, most common)
• Athetoid (uncontrolled movements)
• Ataxic cerebral paulsy (damaged balance)
• Mixed

The damage causes a disturbance in the interaction between the brain (the spinal cord) and the muscles. There are many different types of pasly and the disease (disorder) is really a collective name for a group of disorders. The common denominator of these different disorders in the CP group is lack of muscle control, or overactive muscles, involuntary movements etc. The CP disorder will in some cases be followed by other secondary diseases but it is not necessarily always so. CP can not be cured but given assistance and training life with CP can be better. CP is not a progressive disorder - once the damage is there after birth, or after the first year, it will not get any worse. Obviously, CP is not contagious either.

Ataxic CP - low muscle tone

Caused by a low muscle tone, it results in poor movement coordination. A child with Ataxic CP will behave in a very shaky and unsteady way, often trembling and stumbling and with a very poor balance control. This will of course also affect the general ability to walk or run.

The shakiness can cause a child with this type of cerbal paulsey to have problems writing or anything else that requires fine motoric skills. A child with Ataxic CP will look unsteady and shaky. This is a rare form of CP with about 5-10% of the total amount of all CP cases.

There are hereditary forms of ataxia which have nothing to do with the Ataxic form of CP. Ataxic (or any other) CP is not hereditary and will not progress.

The mixed cerbal palsy can be part Ataxic although a more common mix is Athetoid/Spastic cerebral palsey (paulsy).