Cerebral palsy is an incurable movement disorder that affects the muscles and results from brain damage or a congenital deformity in the brain. It first appears in young children, usually before the age of three. While the condition cannot be cured, treatment such as physical therapy, some types of surgery, and new drugs and methods of drug delivery, may help some patients.
The parent may notice the child has difficulty in:
- Crawling
- Walking
- Grasping objects
Other symptoms may include:
- Muscle tone that is either too rigid or too floppy
- Problems with drooling and swallowing
- Difficulty speaking
- Spasticity
- Tremors
- Dragging a foot or leg
- Difficulty controlling small hand movement
The disorder may result from injuries to the fetal brain during the fetus' development, brain damage occurring during labor and delivery, or brain injuries caused after the child is born.
Cerebral Palsy in Infants
Early signs of cerebral palsy are usually noticed by the parents who find developmental delays in their child's movements. Often, unlike other infants of the same age, these children fail to develop at the same rate. A marked delay in the following movements may signal the presence of cerebral palsy. Most commonly parents notice a delay in being able to:
- Roll over
- Sit
- Crawl
- Walk
The child might:
- Appear floppy as a result of too little muscle tone
- Appear rigid as a result of too much muscle tone
- Exhibit unusual posture
- Favor one side of the body when moving
Most children are born with cerebral palsy, although parents may not discover it for months or years. Causes may occur during the development of the fetal brain, problems in labor and delivery and injury to the young child's brain after birth. In the latter case, a small number of children may develop cerebral palsy as a result of brain injury caused by trauma such as a car accident or fall, by brain infections, or by abuse.
If a child's cerebral palsy can be traced back to a preventable mistake made before, during or after birth, parents will likely be able to seek compensation by pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit. While the money cannot reverse a child's condition, it can be used to ensure he/she receives the highest quality of care. For more information, contact our cerebral palsy lawyers for help.
Mild Cerebral Palsy Characteristics
Sometimes, when the brain damage causing the disorder is very mild, people don't even know they have cerebral palsy. But other problems may occur as a result of the condition. These related problems might respond to treatment.
Athetoid Cerebral Palsy
Athetoid cerebral palsy affects about 10 percent of all children with the disorder. This form of cerebral palsy is characterized by writhing movements. Often caused by too little muscle tone, this type of cerebral palsy results from damage to the brain's cerebellum (part of the brain behind the brain stem concerned with movement) or basal ganglia (superficial gray matter of the cerebellum). Athetoid cerebral palsy affects movement coordination and posture, and can cause involuntary movements of the face, arms, and trunk, and problems with walking and sitting. This can lead to problems with speaking, eating, reaching and grasping.
Contact our cerebral palsy attorneys now.
