People with athetoid cerebral palsy experience erratic and uncontrolled movements, labelled athetosis, which almost always involve the whole body and are most obvious when attempting to move, although can also occur at rest.
Symptoms and characteristics
The most obvious characteristic of athetoid cerebral palsy is uncontrolled or uncoordinated body movements.
People with athetoid cerebral palsy may also experience difficulties with:
- speech
- vision
- hearing
- intellectual impairment
- epilepsy.
Although athetoid 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 athetoid cerebral palsy to manage their condition. These include changes to work tasks and the environment, and will vary depending upon the level of uncontrolled movement, seizures such as 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 uncontrolled movements
- provision and adjustment of suitable ergonomic seating for a person’s 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
- flexible work hours to allow for medical treatment and rehabilitation.
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 2011, Cerebral palsy—causes and implications, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne, viewed 17 November 2011, http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Cerebral_palsy_causes_and_implications?open.
Cerebral Palsy Australia (no date specified), Types of Cerebral Palsy (CP), Cerebral Palsy Australia, Melbourne, viewed 17 November 2011, http://www.cpaustralia.com.au/index.php/site/learningcentre/thefacts/typesofcp.
MD Guidelines 1991-2011, Cerebral Palsy, Reed Group Ltd, Colorado, viewed 17 November 2011, http://www.mdguidelines.com/.
Scope (no date specified), ACC and cerebral palsy, Scope (Vic) Ltd, Melbourne, viewed 17 November 2011, http://www.scopevic.org.au/index.php/site/resources/aac/aacandcerebralpalsy.