Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a progressive neurological 
disorder of childhood and early adolescence caused by persistent defective 
measles virus. Clinical manifestations appear many years after the acute measles 
infection. The incidence of SSPE has substantially declined after the 
introduction of an effective vaccine. We report a case of a child with SSPE that 
began with atonia, dysarthria, and intellectual deterioration without the 
presence of any particular EEG anomalies. We have reported this girl who was 
affected by this severe affliction in the hope that, because of the rarity of 
SSPE, it would not go undiagnosed.