Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy and Receiving Social Security Disability
Cerebral palsy is a term that refers to a group of chronic disorders that affect body movement and muscle coordination. Cerebral palsy is caused by some form of brain damage that occurs either during pregnancy, during delivery or shortly after delivery. There are several different kinds of cerebral palsy. They are classified by the way that they affect you. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is one of the forms of this disorder. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is sometimes confused with adult onset dystonia because the signs and symptoms are the same. However, dyskinetic cerebral palsy is not degenerative, but adult onset dystonia is. Over 750,000 children and adults have some type of cerebral palsy. About one out of four people with cerebral palsy have dyskinetic cerebral palsy. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is caused by damage to your basal ganglia or cerebellum. The basal ganglia are situated in your midbrain. These are the areas of your brain that are responsible for processing the signals that enable you to move in a smooth, coordinated way. They are also what enable you to maintain body posture. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is a type of athetonia. Athetonia refers to a condition that is evidenced by slow, twisting, involuntary muscle movement. This is the main sign or symptom of dyskinetic cerebral palsy. This slow, twisting movement usually affects your hands, arms, feet or legs. Sometimes, it can affect the muscles of your tongue and face. There is also a mixed muscle tone that characterizes this type of cerebral palsy. Some are too high and some are too low. The signs and symptoms that you experience will depend on the severity of your disorder. Other signs and symptoms that you may have are:- An inability to stand still
- Difficulty controlling your tongue or your breathing
- Excessive facial movements
- Fluctuations in muscle tone that alternates between too low and too high
- Grimacing
- Problems holding objects or making precise movements
- Drooling
- Random, jerky, rapid involuntary movements
- Speech impairments
- Heightened twisting movements during times of emotional stress
- Difficulty walking or sitting upright.