Cerebral Palsy Children

Cerebral Palsy Children

Cerebral palsy? If you are suspecting that your child has developed a condition because of the abnormal symptoms that you have seen, you should consider seeking professional medical consult. Cerebral palsy children are very delicate and they should be monitored well. Here are some of the symptoms that you should be on the lookout for.

You may start noticing the movements of your child. They are normally with regular strength and good tone. Control should also be present. But in cerebral palsy children, you will notice that they have stiff muscle movements. Or the other things that you may notice are that the muscles are limp and do not seem to have any strength in them.

The movements are normally smooth and well coordinated. With CP, the movements are uncontrolled due to lack of voluntary control of the muscles and what they do. The part of the brain which controls movement is affected. Thus, this is the effect.

If a child is to pick up a spoon in order to use for eating, he or she may drop it easily or even have difficulty trying to pick it up even. This is lack of coordination of the small muscles of the body. Hand writing and handling of a pen or pencil can also be a chore. Intense concentration in bigger children is needed only in order to hold the item in the hands. And even more concentration is needed to be able to write.

Their gaits are also affected. Since there is no longer any good coordination in the muscles, walking is difficult with every muscle group doing what it wants to do on its own. The legs may drag and the feet may not be able to support the whole body in severe cases.

Speech can also be affected in some cases. This is due to loss of control of the tongue. With this comes drooling.

After you have consulted a doctor, your child can undergo several tests to confirm the condition. After that, treatment can start. Remember that treatment is not really a cure. It will involve only therapy to help the child resume living as a normal, functioning person.

Physical therapy is common. It will include exercises and muscle trainings to increase balance, flexibility, muscle coordination as well as muscle strength. Therapies for speech problems are also available. This includes using speech or even sign language to be able to resume communication.

There are also things that can be done to help your child take care of himself and be as independent as possible. These occupational therapies will include steps on how to help them increase smooth motor movements to be able to do things such as tie a shoe lace or write.

Overall, the problems with cerebral palsy children are on their abilities to grow and develop. But, it is good to know that there are several things that can be done for them to live their lives as normal as possible.