Athetoid CP:

Athetoid cerebral palsy is different to spastic CP. An athetoid child will often have too loose muscles which results in posture difficulties and low body stability. A child with this CP will need to concentrate very hard on coordinating the muscles, something that is done automatically in the brain of a child without the condition. There are often strange grimaces in the face and drooling is also very common. the condition worsens when the child is under stress or tension and it is almost non-exsistent when asleep.

This version of CP is the second most common variety within the cerberal pasly group, it is also called Dyskinetic CP.

The description "Athetoid" is used when the muscle tone is a mix of high and low - sometimes one and other times the other. With this type of CP, the reflexes from birth may remain and make it very difficult to control muscles and movements and there will often be uncontrolled movements. There are two main types within this CP group of disorders: Dystonic and Hyperkinetic Athetoid CP. The Hyperkinetic variety can be divided in two groups - Athetosis and Chorea.

With this type of CP, children will have posture problems, standing upright, sitting upright etc but also difficulties walking. There are also often random movements and grimaces in the face, arms and other parts of the upper body. These movements are involuntary and cannot easily be controlled. They are often also rather large. It takes a great deal of the childs concentration to perform simple tasks like gripping a glass of water. The mixed muscle tone may result in problems holding onto things like a glass or a pen. This variant of CP affects around one in four people diagnosed with CP.

A fact that has often been noted is that children with Athetoid CP often have a higher than normal intelligence.

Dyskinetic CP has nothing to do with the dystonia that can affect adults and which is degenerative (progressive). Cerbal Palsy is not progressive, it is a one-time damage which stabilizes as soon as the brain stops growing in the first years of life. After that, the cerebral palsey will not progress.

Athetoid cerebral paulsy can consist of different movment disorders: Athetosis, rigidity, choreiform, dystonia and tremor.