Danny Burle asked:


It would be good to have some knowledge of the symptoms of cerebral palsy. Knowing the signs and symptoms of the disorder can ensure prompt therapy for the child with the condition. There are a couple of important facts that you should know about the symptoms of the condition.

* The symptoms are not the same for every child. There are three major types of cerebral palsy. A child’s symptoms will depend on the type that he has. He could have ataxic, atethotic or spastic cerebral palsy. The last one can further be categorized into spastic diplegia, spastic hemiplegia or spastic quadriplegia depending on the limbs affected.

* In some cases, a child could have mixed symptoms from the three major categories. The symptoms of cerebral palsy could therefore include stiff muscles, floppy muscles, asymmetrical gait, drooling, tremors, seizures, uncontrolled movement, foot dragging, scissors gait, difficulty swallowing and possible hearing and sight impairment.

* Some kids with cerebral palsy may also have mental retardation. This is not however, always so. In fact many individuals with cerebral palsy have mental capacities that are normal for their age.

* The symptoms do not have a set time frame when they appear. Some children may show signs and symptoms on the first few days and weeks after birth. Those who may have milder conditions may only show symptoms after a year or more.

* The symptoms of cerebral palsy can make movement difficult. This does not mean though that those with cerebral palsy can never function on their own. Therapeutic techniques and procedures can be designed to help children with the condition achieve their full potential. Many patients who undergo appropriate treatment can live enjoyable and fulfilling lives.

* Therapeutic techniques can range from special exercises to psychotherapy. Some of the methods such as exercises can be performed with parents at home. It is important to remember however that therapeutic programs should be tailor-suited to the condition and ability of an individual. A child’s particular program can be made with the combined assistance of several specialists.

* Specialists work together as a team to help treat the symptoms of cerebral palsy. A team of specialists may include occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychotherapists, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons and special education teachers.

* There are guidelines to follow in the diagnosis of the disorder. Specialists may seek to rule out other possible conditions that may come with similar symptoms. Your child’s doctor will also check such factors as reflexes, muscle tone, movement and visible limb deformities.

* Parents should know when to expect babies to perform motor tasks. Parents should be concerned if their baby is not able to learn to crawl, grasp, sit, stand or walk. This is especially so if the child is over one year of age. Consider seeing a specialist if you suspect that your child is extremely delayed in motor function.

The symptoms of cerebral palsy can be alarming. They do not however, spell the end of a good life for your child. Seek therapeutic assistance as soon as possible to help your child become the best that he can be.



Sandra

Low Jeremy asked:


Does your baby experience difficulty in controlling his head even after three months? Does he have poor swallowing and ******* reflex? And even after several months, he is still not capable of walking? If your kid suffers form all of these, he might be suffering from cerebral palsy.

What is cerebral palsy? It is a condition wherein a child suffers from inability to move some of the muscles in the body. This is due to the injury in some areas of the brain that controls the movement and muscle tone. The child with this impairment maybe clumsy or awkward, or in severe cases, he might not be able to walk because of the poor muscle tone. It can also be the cause of mental retardation.

Cerebral palsy is incurable. Once your child has it, it is permanent and irreversible but the signs and symptoms can be treated. It depends upon the severity of the impairment. The cerebral palsy treatment is very complicated and more often, it involves multi-disciplinary approach. The cerebral palsy treatment can be easy without mental retardation, hearing loss and visual impairment.

The best cerebral palsy treatment is physical therapy. If your kid’s muscle is weak, your kid might need to do some specific exercises to prevent muscle atrophy because of lack of use. If your kid’s muscles are spastic, some treatments are also required to prevent the result of significant mobility losses.

The physical therapy is done to improve motor development skills and coordination as well. As your kid grows older, he will need to undergo certain training such as behavioral and psychological therapy to be able to improve their coping skills and daily living activities. You can also improve your kid’s ability in speech, visualization and hearing as you let them take specific cerebral palsy treatment that focuses more on the development in these areas.

Your kids will need to take medication to make the cerebral palsy treatment effective. Most of the drugs that will be taken are like muscle relaxing drugs that is injected to relax some of the muscle groups temporarily. Some cerebral palsy patients have involuntary writhing movements so they need to take certain drugs to treat it. If your kid is suffering from seizure, your kid must take anti-seizure drugs to prevent it.

Surgeries are also used as cerebral palsy treatment. These operations will make the short muscles to elongate as well as to reduce the numbers of nerves to lessen its spasticity. Brain implants and surgery are also proven effective cerebral palsy treatment. You will need to ask your kid’s doctor about it.



Jennifer

Low Jeremy asked:


Although the occurrence of ataxic cerebral palsy is quite rare (such type is only accounted for about 5 to 10 percent of the entire cerebral palsy cases), keep in mind that it is still cerebral palsy, and it can cause bothering problems not only on your affected child but also to you as well.

The following are some of the facts about ataxic cerebral palsy which you need to be aware of:

• The cerebellum is the part of the human brain that is damaged, causing the ataxic type of cerebral palsy. It is responsible for the coordination and balance of body movements.

• Once damaged, it could result on the following:

o Hypotonia disorder or poor muscle tone;

o Having hard time maintaining balance;

o Depth perception disorders;

o Various tremors; and

o Disability in controlling the motion and range of voluntary movements.

• Children affected with ataxic cerebral palsy may show the following signs:

o Demonstrating unsteady gait;

o Intention tremors while attempting to perform any voluntary movements;

o Clumsiness and difficulty in performing such voluntary movements;

o Writing task is severely affected;

o Depth perception disorder results to coarser movements like reaching for any object;

o Involuntary and rapid eyeball movements; and

o Other related conditions such as visual and hearing disabilities, seizures, and possibly mental retardation.

In most cases, a doctor diagnoses a child for any possible presence of ataxic cerebral palsy through a combination of meticulous physical examination and findings from medical imaging methods like MRI and CT scans. Such findings along with the result of the physical examination are used to evaluate and identify if the brain is developing normally or not. Moreover, if not diagnosed at an early age, it may worse as the affected child ages.

Sad to say, the cure for ataxic cerebral palsy has to be formulated. However, it can be treated by the help of therapies and medical substances. One of the popular treatments used to combat ataxic cerebral palsy is by undergoing a process called chronic cerebella. It starts by placing any stimulation medium such as electrode at the surface of the damaged cerebellum. This is believed to restore the muscle tone and balance.

It is important that you are aware of the signs of ataxic cerebral palsy for it will be your cue if your child is suffering from it, thus you can brought him/her to your physician for further evaluation. Your child’s life as well as his/her future is at stake here, so it is imperative that you are not negligent. Be alert and be aware of ataxic cerebral palsy.



Sara