Cerebral Palsy in Children

Cerebral Palsy in Children

Parents dread the day that they will hear about their children’s sufferings due to a disease condition. Like for those who have experiences with cerebral palsy in children. This condition is hard to understand or accept for most parents.

To be able to accept cerebral palsy, one must know what it is about. This is actually a group of neurologic conditions. All of them are characterized by palsies, thus the name. Cerebral palsy in children happens because the condition usually appears and makes its self known after a few months of life or after a few years.

There are different types of cerebral palsy. First is called the spastic type. This will include those conditions that are characterized by stiffening of the muscles. The movements are jerky and are difficult to do. Usually, it will affect one side of the body or the whole of it. The different parts of the body that it can be seen in include the arms, legs, even the tongue and the cheek muscles. This is the most common type.

The second type called athetoid CP has movements that are slow. These are also uncontrolled and can affect the whole body. The third type is called ataxic. This is the most uncommon of the three and it can cause difficulty in maintaining balance and coordination in a child who has it.

There may also be cases when the condition is a mixture of two of the three cases. Or, even for extreme situations, the child may have the three types present.

There are different causes of CP. Most of them are related to brain damage. This damage can occur in three different situations and can be caused by any physical trauma or injury to the child’s brain. Imbalances in the levels of neurotransmitters do not affect this neurologic disease. During the prenatal stages of a child’s life, the child himself or the mother has had certain conditions that can affect the development of the baby. During birth, the most common cause can be due to improper handling during the delivery process. Asphyxia or reduced oxygen delivered to the baby during delivery can also be a cause. Lastly, after the child was born, conditions like viral meningitis can get complicated and lead to cerebral palsy.

The most common symptoms that you will see with cerebral palsy in children can be of different things and of different extent.

In the early stages, you might only notice that the child is restless and cannot seem to stay in one place. Next, the child, at an age that he or she is supposed to be able to walk, will not be able to do so. Cerebral palsy in children will also cause developmental delays related to speech and even physical development.