subject: What Is Cerebral Palsy And What Are Its Symptoms? [print this page] Every now and then, there are individuals who complain of various mental and physical disorders. Any form of disorder is difficult to manage for any age group. Sometimes, children have to suffer the pain and suffering of the diseases that are caused due to neurological deficiency and other certain reasons. Cerebral palsy is one such physical disability, caused by the damage of motor control centers of the developing brain. It occurs to the children during pregnancy or after birth or up to the age of three years. Spastic cerebral palsy is the common type, which is seen in high percentage and includes hemiplegic cerebral palsy, diplegic cerebral palsy and quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Metal impairment is more common in spastic cerebral palsy.
It is caused due to damage to the developing part of the brain. There are no medically proven reasons for this disease, but medical studies explain that it can happen in early pregnancy. It is also proven that it occurs during prenatal in 90 percent of the cases. Identifying the symptoms of cerebral palsy is difficult in early infants. Cerebral palsy causes brain abnormality. Its symptoms may include seizures, affected vision, hearing, behavior and impaired intellectual development. In most cases, children who are affected with cerebral palsy are termed mentally retarded due to ineffective communication with others.
The common cerebral palsy symptoms are mentioned below:
Lack of muscle coordination.
Exaggerated reflexes and stiff or tight muscles.
Walking on the toes or walking with one foot.
Crouched gait or a scissored gait.
Leg dragging.
Learning disabilities, breathing problems.
Bowel and bladder control problems.
Not able to stand or crawl without any support after 1 year.
Unusual posture on one side of the body due to muscle impairment.
Limited movements in joints.
Difficult in precise motions like writing etc.
Seizures, mental retardation.
Eating difficulties, digestive and dental problems.
Difficulties in speaking.
Skeletal deformation, which affects one side of the body due to shorten limbs.
Cerebral palsy is commonly known as a physical disability. Children suffering from this disease cannot walk properly without any support due to lack of muscle impairment. There are many treatments available to cure this disorder. The severity of these problems may vary from mild to severe cases. There are many other symptoms, which cannot be noticed by the parents, but the common symptoms can be easily identified in early stages to help in early diagnosis.
