Movement

The majority of movement problems will involve involuntary movements, meaning that people cannot fully control their movements. 

In our 2022 article, we describe movement problems in 14 out of 21 people with Baker-Gordon syndrome. The types and severity of movement problems varied across individuals and included ataxia, tremor, myoclonus, chorea and dystonia. Here we provide a brief definition of these types of movement problems. 

Ataxia refers to poor control that affects balance and coordination, which can result in clumsiness, an unsteady gait, imbalance, inaccuracy or lack of coordination. 

A tremor is an uncontrolled fast shaking or trembling that typically takes place in the arms, hands, head or legs. 

Myoclonus is a movement condition that involves very quick, sudden, involuntary muscle jerks, commonly called twitches or intermittent spasms. 

Chorea describes involuntary random and abrupt movements that flow from one part of the body to another. These movements usually affect arm or leg movements and can be large or small. 

Dystonia refers to uncontrolled muscles contractions or spasms. 

If you have concerns about your child’s movement, your family doctor might be able to refer you to a neurologist, paediatric neurologist, occupational therapist or a physiotherapist. Below are a number of questions that you might think to ask: 

▪ What daily exercises/activities can we do at home to help? 

▪ What are the benefits of routine physical/occupational therapy? Can you recommend specific clinics in my area? 

US resource: 

https://healthychildren.org/English/MotorDelay/Pages/default.aspx#/tutorial 

(reference Motor Delay Tool!) 

UK resource: 

https://conductive-education.org.uk/