Symptoms of the Cerebellar area

Some examples of the cerebellar symptoms a person with MSA may have:

• MSA damage in the cerebellar area causes speech to slur and balance to become difficult. This can cause misunderstanding by other people who may think the person with MSA is drunk
• It can be difficult to get their words out. The voice can be very quiet and whispery
• Picking up small things such as medicines or trying to type on a smart phone screen may be difficult
• People can lose the ability to judge space so may walk into door frames or steer the car to one side, which means they may need to stop driving.
• This area of the brain helps us know where our body is in space and the position our body is in, for example whether we are sitting up straight and what our posture is like. When this is not working well in a person with MSA they may develop a head drop or lean to one side.