Ataxic Cerebral Palsy
What is ataxia?
Ataxia is caused by injury to a part of the brain called the 'cerebellum,' a structure low down in the back of the brain. The functions of the cerebellum are to help control balance and coordination via it's connection with the vestibular system and the eighth cranial nerve. It also has a function in regulation of muscle tone, smooth movement, proprioception and depth perception.
Injury to the cerebellum produces many symptoms such as poor balance, coordination, low muscle tone, (hypotonia), jerky, uncontrolled movements, poor depth perception, wide based gait (walking or standing with the feet an unusual distance apart), poor proprioception, reading difficulties and a tremor which appears when the individual tries to move a limb.
These symptoms are seen in many conditions such as the cerebellar ataxia, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and Friedreich's ataxia to name just a few.
The question is, can these problems be treated? The answer is 'yes, they can.' At Snowdrop we believe the answer to improvement of these difficulties lies in those important connections between the cerebellum and the vestibular system and consequently the pons, medulla and the eighth cranial nerve.
Let's take a look at where this neurological system begins, with the first order vestibular afferents (afferent nerves are nerves travelling into the brain from a sensory 'end system' in this case the ear). These nerves are bundled with others to become the Eighth cranial nerve. This nerve then enters the brainstem at the level between the pons and medulla, where the fourth ventricle is at its widest. A few of these vestibular nerves split off here and travel directly into the cerebellum through a part of that structure called the 'inferior cerebellar peduncle.
The eighth cranial nerve is actually three separate nerves in one bundle. One part is concerned with transmitting sensory information about hearing and the other two with sending sensory information about balance and proprioception from the middle ear to the cerebellum and brainstem. This is why, very often when we see a child who is suffering from injury to this system, we also see that the child is suffering a distortion of sensory processing with regards to their hearing. This distortion might result in the child experiencing oversensitive hearing, undersensitive hearing, or experiencing some other distortion to the perception of hearing.
At Snowdrop we have developed techniques to help ameliorate these symptoms and to help restart children's developmental processes.
For more information about our methods visit http://www.snowdropcerebralpalsyandautism.com
or email us at snowdrop_cdc@btinternet.com
Ataxia is caused by injury to a part of the brain called the 'cerebellum,' a structure low down in the back of the brain. The functions of the cerebellum are to help control balance and coordination via it's connection with the vestibular system and the eighth cranial nerve. It also has a function in regulation of muscle tone, smooth movement, proprioception and depth perception.
Injury to the cerebellum produces many symptoms such as poor balance, coordination, low muscle tone, (hypotonia), jerky, uncontrolled movements, poor depth perception, wide based gait (walking or standing with the feet an unusual distance apart), poor proprioception, reading difficulties and a tremor which appears when the individual tries to move a limb.
These symptoms are seen in many conditions such as the cerebellar ataxia, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and Friedreich's ataxia to name just a few.
The question is, can these problems be treated? The answer is 'yes, they can.' At Snowdrop we believe the answer to improvement of these difficulties lies in those important connections between the cerebellum and the vestibular system and consequently the pons, medulla and the eighth cranial nerve.
Let's take a look at where this neurological system begins, with the first order vestibular afferents (afferent nerves are nerves travelling into the brain from a sensory 'end system' in this case the ear). These nerves are bundled with others to become the Eighth cranial nerve. This nerve then enters the brainstem at the level between the pons and medulla, where the fourth ventricle is at its widest. A few of these vestibular nerves split off here and travel directly into the cerebellum through a part of that structure called the 'inferior cerebellar peduncle.
The eighth cranial nerve is actually three separate nerves in one bundle. One part is concerned with transmitting sensory information about hearing and the other two with sending sensory information about balance and proprioception from the middle ear to the cerebellum and brainstem. This is why, very often when we see a child who is suffering from injury to this system, we also see that the child is suffering a distortion of sensory processing with regards to their hearing. This distortion might result in the child experiencing oversensitive hearing, undersensitive hearing, or experiencing some other distortion to the perception of hearing.
At Snowdrop we have developed techniques to help ameliorate these symptoms and to help restart children's developmental processes.
For more information about our methods visit http://www.snowdropcerebralpalsyandautism.com
or email us at snowdrop_cdc@btinternet.com
