Cerebellar ataxia refers to ataxia due to dysfunction of the cerebellum. This causes a variety of elementary neurological deficits including asynergy (lack of coordination between muscles, limbs and joints), dysmetria (lack of ability to judge distances that can lead to under- or overshoot in grasping movements), and dysdiadochokinesia (inability to perform rapid movements requiring antagonizing muscle groups to be switched on and off repeatedly).

Dysarthric speech is a general description referring to a neurological speech disorder characterized by poor articulation. Depending on the involved neurological structures, dysarthria may be further classified as spastic, flaccid, ataxic, hyperkinetic and hypokinetic, or mixed.

An abnormally increased muscular tone that causes fixed abnormal postures. There is a slow, intermittent twisting motion that leads to exaggerated turning and posture of the extremities and trunk.

Mild intellectual disability is defined as an intelligence quotient (IQ) in the range of 50-69.

Hyperreflexia is the presence of hyperactive stretch reflexes of the muscles.

A shaky or wobbly manner of walking.

Lack of physical coordination resulting in an abnormal tendency to drop items or bump into objects.

A type of ataxia characterized by the inability to carry out movements with the correct range and motion across the plane of more than one joint related to incorrect estimation of the distances required for targeted movements.

Cerebellar hypoplasia is a descriptive term implying a cerebellum with a reduced volume, but a normal shape and is stable over time.

Truncal ataxia is a sign of ataxia characterized by instability of the trunk. It usually occurs during sitting.

A degree of language development that is significantly below the norm for a child of a specified age.

A delay in the achievement of motor or mental milestones in the domains of development of a child, including motor skills, speech and language, cognitive skills, and social and emotional skills. This term should only be used to describe children younger than five years of age.

Cerebellar atrophy is defined as a cerebellum with initially normal structures, in a posterior fossa with normal size, which displays enlarged fissures (interfolial spaces) in comparison to the foliae secondary to loss of tissue. Cerebellar atrophy implies irreversible loss of tissue and result from an ongoing progressive disease until a final stage is reached or a single injury, e.g. an intoxication or infectious event.

A kind of ataxia that affects movements of the extremities.

A type of ataxia characterized by the impairment of the ability to coordinate the movements required for normal walking. Gait ataxia is characteirzed by a wide-based staggering gait with a tendency to fall.

An abnormal gait pattern in which persons stand and walk with their feet spaced widely apart. This is often a component of cerebellar ataxia.

Increased susceptibility to fatigue.

Underdevelopment of the vermis of cerebellum.

Ocular motor apraxia is a deficiency in voluntary, horizontal, lateral, fast eye movements (saccades) with retention of slow pursuit movements. The inability to follow objects visually is often compensated by head movements. There may be decreased smooth pursuit, and cancelation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex.

Intellectual disability, previously referred to as mental retardation, is characterized by subnormal intellectual functioning that occurs during the developmental period. It is defined by an IQ score below 70.

A type of kinetic tremor that occurs during target directed movement is called intention tremor. That is, an oscillatory cerebellar ataxia that tends to be absent when the limbs are inactive and during the first part of voluntary movement but worsening as the movement continues and greater precision is required (e.g., in touching a target such as the patient's nose or a physician's finger).

Hypotonia is an abnormally low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle). Even when relaxed, muscles have a continuous and passive partial contraction which provides some resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia thus manifests as diminished resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia is not the same as muscle weakness, although the two conditions can co-exist.

Decreased occipito-frontal (head) circumference (OFC). For the microcephaly OFC must be between -3 SD and -2 SD compared to appropriate, age matched, normal standards (i.e. -3 SD <= OFC < -2 SD).

Muscular hypotonia of one or more limbs.

Increased density/number and/or increased diameter of eyebrow hairs.

Meeting of the medial eyebrows in the midline.

A misalignment of the eyes so that the visual axes deviate from bifoveal fixation. The classification of strabismus may be based on a number of features including the relative position of the eyes, whether the deviation is latent or manifest, intermittent or constant, concomitant or otherwise and according to the age of onset and the relevance of any associated refractive error.