Signs and symptoms below are most common in the severe SMA type 0/I:
Areflexia, particularly in extremities
Overall muscle weakness, poor muscle tone, limpness or a tendency to flop
Difficulty achieving developmental milestones, difficulty sitting/standing/walking
In small children: adopting of a frog-leg position when sitting (hips abducted and knees flexed)
Loss of strength of the respiratory muscles: weak cough, weak cry (infants), accumulation of secretions in the lungs or throat, respiratory distress
Bell-shaped torso (caused by using only abdominal muscles for respiration) in severe SMA type
Fasciculations (twitching) of the tongue
Difficulty sucking or swallowing, poor feeding

Causes
Spinal muscular atrophy is caused by a genetic mutation in the SMN1 gene.Human chromosome 5 contains two nearly identical genes at location 5q13: a telomeric copy SMN1 and a centromeric copy SMN2. In healthy individuals, the SMN1 gene codes the survival of motor neuron protein (SMN) which, as its name says, plays a crucial role in survival of motor neurons.
These issues more commonly occurs while asleep, when muscles are more relaxed. Swallowing muscles in the pharynx can be affected, leading to aspiration coupled with a poor coughing mechanism increases the likelihood of infection/pneumonia. Mobilizing and clearing secretions involve manual or mechanical chest physiotherapy with postural drainage, and manual or mechanical cough assistance device. To assist in breathing, Non-invasive ventilation (BiPAP) is frequently used and tracheostomy may be sometimes performed in more severe cases; both methods of ventilation prolong survival to a comparable degree, although tracheostomy prevents speech development. Nutrition
The more severe the type of SMA, the more likely to have nutrition related health issues. Health issues can include difficulty in feeding, jaw opening, chewing and swallowing. Individuals with such difficulties can be at increase risk of over or undernutrition, failure to thrive and aspiration. Other nutritional issues, especially in individuals that are non-ambulatory (more severe types of SMA), include food not passing through the stomach quickly enough, gastric reflux, constipation, vomiting and bloating. Therein, it could be necessary in SMA type I and people with more severe type II to have a feeding tube or gastrostomy. Additionally, metabolic abnormalities resulting from SMA impair β-oxidation of fatty acids in muscles and can lead to organic acidemia and consequent muscle damage, especially when fasting. It is suggested that people with SMA, especially those with more severe forms of the disease, reduce intake of fat and avoid prolonged fasting (i.e., eat more frequently than healthy people) as well as choosing softer foods to avoid aspiration.