Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders affecting the brain and nervous system, caused by injury before, during, or after birth. Symptoms can include speech problems, mental retardation, impaired vision and hearing, and seizures. It can be classified as spastic, athetoid, ataxic, or mixed, with spastic being the most common. Premature babies should be observed for signs of cerebral palsy.
Cerebral palsy is a series of disorders that affect an individual’s brain and nervous system. The condition is typically caused by an injury to the brain, which can occur before, during, or shortly after birth. Because the brain is still developing, the symptoms of cerebral palsy often don’t appear until they are two or three years old, but can emerge as soon as three months after birth. Cerebral palsy can be classified as spastic, athetoid, ataxic, or mixed. features of infantile cerebral palsy include speech problems, mental retardation, impaired vision and hearing, and seizures.
About one in 500 births results in cerebral palsy. The spastic variety is the most common, occurring in over 70% of children with cerebral palsy. Children with a spastic form of cerebral palsy typically have stiff and weak muscles, which can cause children to walk on their toes or with one leg swinging over the other. Under this type of cerebral palsy, vision can be affected by the appearance of lazy eye or crossed eyes. Other features associated with this form of cerebral palsy include severe mental retardation, seizures, and difficulty swallowing. Difficulty swallowing can lead to breathing problems and can ultimately lead to lung damage.
The athetoid form of cerebral palsy is less common, occurring in about 20% of children born with cerebral palsy. Children with this type of cerebral palsy often have spontaneous movements of their limbs and body. Movement can also be erratic and can become more unpredictable when excited. Children may also have pronounced difficulties with speech and suffer from nervous deafness.
The ataxic form of cerebral palsy is the least common, affecting nearly five percent of all births with cerebral palsy. Children with this condition will suffer from muscle weakness and tremors. Toddlers will walk erratically, often with their legs spread apart.
Many children will also suffer from a combination of two of the types of cerebral palsy. Most of the time children will have the characteristics related to spastic and athetoid cerebral palsy. When children have a combination of two forms of cerebral palsy, they will typically have severe mental retardation.
Babies born prematurely should be observed carefully to see if they develop features of cerebral palsy. Children with cerebral palsy often have average or above average intelligence. However, their ability to display their intelligence can be hampered due to verbalization issues.
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