Ataxia refers to poor postural balance and difficulty coordinating movement. Therefore people with ataxic cerebral palsy may present as unsteady or may have tremors or shaky movements of the limbs.
Ataxic cerebral palsy is the least common form of cerebral palsy.
Symptoms and characteristics:
The most obvious characteristic of ataxic cerebral palsy is a person's difficulty coordinating movements to achieve a task, for example, experiencing difficulty controlling the arms or hands to complete a fine motor task.
The muscles of the face may also be involved which may affect a person's capacity to demonstrate appropriate facial expressions when communicating. This may also contribute to drooling. If the capacity to speak is affected, a person with ataxic cerebral palsy may have difficulty speaking or it may be difficult to interpret their speech. However the person can usually understand what is being said to them or going on around them.
People with ataxic cerebral palsy may also experience difficulties with:
- vision
- hearing
- intellectual impairment
- epilepsy.
Although ataxic cerebral palsy is a permanent, non progressive condition, people may experience changes in their capacity with the progression of age or if physical difficulties develop.
Workplace adjustments and solutions:
In the workplace there are various factors that would assist people with ataxic cerebral palsy to manage their condition. These include changes to work tasks and the environment, and will vary depending upon the level of unsteadiness, tremors, seizures (epilepsy), and intellectual impairment. Some suggestions for workplace modifications include:
- ensuring wheelchair or walking aid accessibility to all areas of the workplace including kitchen and bathroom amenities, workspace and other doorways or emergency exits
- installation of ramps for independent building access
- automatic door openers to allow independent door access
- modifying workstation set up to accommodate strengths and abilities and overcome barriers including the potential for injury due to poor balance and tremors
- provision and adjustment of suitable ergonomic seating for individual needs to allow maximum support for posture
- alternative method of environmental control or computer input such as through the use of switches to operate on screen keyboards or varying styles of mouse or keyboard
- use of a text to speech conversion device if speech is difficult to understand.
The Employment Assistance Fund provides financial assistance for work-related modifications, equipment and services to help people with disability to get employment and perform their work as independently and productively as possible. To determine eligibility, please refer to the full guidelines:
There are solutions and adjustments for the following job requirements:
References:
Better Health Channel 2007, Cerebral palsy—causes and implications, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, viewed 9 March 2007, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Cerebral_palsy_causes_and_implications?open
CP Australia 2007, CP Australia, Woodville, viewed 9 March 2007, http://www.cpaustralia.com.au/news/index.html
MDA Internet 2005, Reed Group Ltd, Colorado, viewed 7 May 2007, http://www.mdainternet.com (secure site)
Scope 2006, Information About Cerebral Palsy, Scope, Melbourne, viewed 9 March 2007, http://www.scopevic.org.au/info_about.html