Cerebral Palsy

Typically, parents first noticed symptoms of cerebral palsy in their child from the age of six months. Among the first symptoms include:

* A failure to thrive, the child not reaching milestones such as the ability to sit, smile or walk;
* Unusual positions, excessive rigidity or lack of exaggerated tone, continuous bending of the joints;
* Seizures;
* A muscle wasting, slow growth or asymmetric;
* A convergent squint (child ladle);
* A sense of drowsiness or apparent deafness.

There is no set profile of symptoms in cerebral palsy, because it is a broad term that encompasses many symptoms. However, there are some broad categories that distinguish the various motor symptoms (muscle).

The spastic form category is the most common symptom, affecting about three quarters of people with cerebral palsy. The muscles tend to be contracted, which may be serious enough for the joint remains bent permanently or to cause paralysis. The spasticity may affect both legs, both arms, the four members, or one leg and one arm. In addition, growth in affected members may be slower than that of healthy members, with the result of the feet, legs and abnormally small hands. For those affected, but able to walk, often have a scissors in which, at every step, knees almost touching, and the feet cross inwards beyond an imaginary line through the middle of body.

The form athetosis affects one in ten people with cerebral palsy. It is characterized by slow movements, such as convulsions, usually in the limbs, but may also affect facial muscles including the tongue. This form may cause the patient to drool, produce at home facial expressions and unusual ability to pronounce certain words or sounds. One must distinguish speech disorders due to muscle damage (dysarthria) and those caused by mental retardation, an entirely different matter.

The ataxic form is the form of cerebral palsy the less common and affects less than one in ten. In case of ataxia, poor coordination and poor depth perception makes unsteady gait with a broader base of sustenance. Ataxia also makes it difficult for the execution of rapid movements and fine, like writing. People may suffer from intention tremor: tremor that affects the arm or hand during a voluntary movement to grasp an object and empire as the main approach of the object.