Ataxia might be a solitary presentation or might be part of a larger set of symptom presentations. Therefore, good awareness of different etiologies and syndromes of ataxia is quite important for proper diagnosis and management. Most types of ataxia have these symptoms in common (2,4):
- Poor movement coordination
- Regression of fine motor skills (such as buttoning your shirt or using cutlery)
- Loss of balance while walking and adopting a wide-based gait to compensate for this lack of balance and due to fear of falling
- Speech and swallowing problems
- Eye muscle coordination problem (ex. Nystagmus which is involuntary eye movement)
