CEREBRAL PALSY SYMPTOMS |
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Children with CP have
damage to the part of the brain that controls muscle tone and
movement. Muscle tone may be too tight (hypertonia) or too loose (hypotonia)
or mixed. Infants with CP are often slow to reach developmental
milestones such as learning to roll over, sitting, crawling and
walking.
CP is classified into different types
depending on the part of the body affected and the abnormal movement
involved. Symptoms vary from person to person. The three main types
of CP are:
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Hemiplegia. This means
that one side of the body is affected. The arm is usually more
affected than the leg. People with hemiplegia can walk and run
but their movement is awkward. This is the most common form of
cerebral palsy and the child often has learning difficulties and
below average IQ. Around fifty percent have seizures and many
also have visual abnormalities. |
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Diplegia. In this
instance two limbs are involved, usually the lower limbs. The
level of intelligence is usually normal. |
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Quadraplgia. This is a
severe form of cerebral palsy affecting all four limbs, the
trunk of the body and the head and neck. The child is unable to
control movement of any part of the body. Learning difficulties
are often severe. Many of these children have seizures and other
complications such as squints, feeding difficulties, and
incontinence. |
The physiological abnormality in
movement may involve spasticity, dyskinesia or ataxia.
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Spasticity.
This is the most common motor disorder. The muscle tone is too
tight and reflexes are exaggerated. These children have stiff,
jerky movements and they find it difficult to change position. |
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Dyskinesia.
This refers to involuntary writhing-like movements that cause
severe disability. It is also called choreiform or athetoid
movement. Muscle tone in people with dyskinesia is variable i.e.
too tight at times and too loose at other times. They have
trouble sitting upright or walking. |
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Ataxia.
Ataxia is the inability to control and co-ordinate muscles to
make voluntary movement. These children have low muscle tone and
their movement is unsteady and shaky and their balance is poor. |
Other problems associated with
cerebral palsy include:
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Talking
is difficult if control of the muscles in the lips, jaw, tongue
and other muscles involved in speech is affected. |
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Visual
problems such as squint, short or long sightedness and, less
commonly, visual field defects. |
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Deafness. |
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Problems communicating because of deafness, difficulty
pronouncing words (dysarthria) or mental retardation. |
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Eating
difficulties may arise because of problems with biting, chewing
and swallowing. There may be poor growth due to inadequate
nutrition. If the child has difficulty closing his mouth he may
have a problem with drooling. |
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Poor
bladder control resulting in incontinence. |
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Epilepsy occurs in about thirty to fifty percent of children
with cerebral palsy. |
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As many
as sixty percent of these children have some degree of learning
difficulty. |
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| CEREBRAL PALSY RELATED ITEMS |
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