Guide To The Symptoms Of Tay-Sachs Disease

Loss Of Motor Skills

When the first muscular symptoms of Tay-Sachs disease occur, a child will begin to grow progressively weaker. They will lose the ability to complete previously-learned skills like rolling over, moving across the ground with their hands and feet, and sitting up. Children begin responding and moving less at around eight to ten months old. From there, the loss of motor skills continues to progress. The head will begin swelling at about eighteen months old. By two years old, children have lost so much motor function that they have trouble swallowing and breathing. They may be fully paralyzed. When children lose the ability to control their respiration, it may be necessary to use feeding tubes and special respiratory care services. The depression of the respiratory system causes mucus to accumulate in the lungs, which must be removed with chest physiotherapy. Most children die between two and four years old, with the most common cause of death being complications from pneumonia.