FAQ

Is Cerebral Palsy a disease or a genetic disorder?
Cerebral Palsy is neither a disease nor a genetic disorder. Cerebral Palsy is a condition with many possible causes, such as birth trauma or brain injury, but it is not contagious or inherited.

I’ve heard that Cerebral Palsy can be the result of a “birth injury”, but isn’t that the same as a “birth defect”?
A birth injury is suffered by the infant at the time of birth or soon after birth when the infant is still in the care of medical professionals. A birth defect, however, occurs during pregnancy and involves factors outside the care of professionals, such as maternal infections or genetic malformations. Cerebral Palsy is often the result of a birth injury, such as when an infant’s brain is damaged by lack of oxygen during birth.

Is Cerebral Palsy preventable?
A significant number of the Cerebral Palsy cases that occur as the result of a birth injury can be prevented. Medical negligence, such as careless handling of the child’s cranium or an undetected oxygen blockage in the child’s brain, is a factor in many of these preventable cases. Also, as we begin to understand other risk factors, such as blood-type incompatibility, Rubella (contracted during early pregnancy) and other complications, we will be able to prevent additional cases of Cerebral Palsy.

Does Cerebral Palsy have a cure?
Since the disorder is caused by irreversible brain damage, cerebral palsy has no cure. However, the physical effects of the brain damage can be treated. While impaired motor skills, speech, and muscle development cannot be “cured,” there are an ever-growing number of management options. Early intervention is often considered the single most important factor in the disorder’s treatment. If the signs and symptoms of Cerebral Palsy are recognized early, then therapy and special learning can keep the disability under control.

What are the risk factors for Cerebral Palsy?
Years of research has reveled that babies with certain risk factors are more likely to have Cerebral Palsy.

What are the early signs of Cerebral Palsy?
Most children begin to exhibit symptoms of Cerebral Palsy before they are three years old. Parents are often the first to suspect that their child is not developing normally. Symptoms of cerebral palsy can range from mild to severe. Pay close attention if your child demonstrates one or a combination of the following:

• Struggles with fine motor skills. These include handling scissors, using crayons, buttoning a shirt, and any other movement that uses her fingers and hands
• Struggles with gross motor skills. These include walking, riding a tricycle, kicking a ball, and other movements that use his legs and arms.
• Trouble sitting upright. It takes a lot of muscle tone to sit up without toppling over.
• Shakes a lot or has uncontrollable jerking of her legs, arms, or torso.
• Muscles are weak.
• Body tremors, drooling, weakened muscles in his face; may lose control of his tongue.
• Trouble moving from one position to another.
• Trouble sucking.

How is Cerebral Palsy diagnosed?
Doctors look for a number of different indicators in order to diagnose Cerebral Palsy. They will also often prescribe medical tests to help them determine the exact nature of a child’s problem.

What Are the Types of Cerebral Palsy?

Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Spastic Cerebral Palsy is the most common diagnosis. If your child’s CP is “spastic,” her muscles are rigid and jerky, and she has difficulty getting around. There are three types of spastic Cerebral Palsy:

• Spastic diplegia — Your child’s leg and hip muscles are tight, and his legs cross at the knees, making it difficult to walk. This kind of movement is frequently referred to as “scissoring.”
• Spastic hemiplegia — Only one side of your child’s body is stiff. Her arms or hands might be more affected than her legs. On the affected side, her arm and leg may not develop normally. She may also require leg braces.
• Spastic quadriplegia — The severest of the three, spastic quadriplegia means that your child is more likely to have mental retardation if diagnosed as quadriplegia. His legs, arms, and body are affected. It will be difficult for him to walk and talk, and he may also experience seizures.

Athetoid Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy

Athetoid dyskinetic is the second most frequently diagnosed type of Cerebral Palsy. Your child will have normal intelligence, but her body will be totally affected by muscle problems. Her muscle tone can be weak or tight, and she might have trouble walking, sitting, or speaking clearly. She may also have trouble controlling her facial muscles and therefore drool.

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy

This is the least diagnosed type of Cerebral Palsy. Your child will have trouble tying his shoes, buttoning his shirt, cutting with scissors, and doing other tasks that require fine motor skills. He might walk with his feet farther apart than normal and have trouble with his balance and coordination. Your child may also suffer from “intention tremors,” a shaking that begins with a voluntary movement. For example, your child may reach for a toy, and then his hand and arm will start to shake. As he gets closer to the toy, the tremor worsens.

Hypotonic Cerebral Palsy

Unlike with other types of CP, you will notice that your baby has muscle control problems early in life. Her head seems floppy, and she will not be able to control it when sitting up. Her motor skills will be developmentally delayed.

It is suspected that this type of Cerebral Palsy is caused by brain damage or malformations that occur while a baby’s brain is still developing.

Mixed Cerebral Palsy

If your child does not “fit” into one of the above diagnoses, your doctor will consider him “mixed.” This is quite common.

Congenital Cerebral Palsy

If your child is diagnosed with congenital Cerebral Palsy, be aware that this is not a “type” of palsy, but rather it is a term meaning “birth defect.” In other words, your child’s doctor is saying that he developed Cerebral Palsy during development. It is not a condition that your child inherited from you or your husband or partner. And it is not caused by a medical error.

Erb’s Palsy

If any type of Cerebral Palsy can be attributed to a birthing accident, it is Erb’s palsy (brachial plexus palsy). According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke:

Although injuries can occur at any time, many brachial plexus injuries happen when a baby’s shoulders become impacted during delivery and the brachial plexus nerves stretch or tear.

If your baby has Erb’s palsy, he will have no muscle control in his arm; the arm will be limp and have no feeling.

Based on the nerve area that is affected, there are four types of Erb’s Palsy:

• Avulsion — the nerve completely separates from the spine.
• Rupture — the nerve is torn throughout but not from the spine.
• Praxis/stretch — the nerve is damaged but not torn and could heal on its own.
• Neuroma — scar tissue from an injury puts pressure on the nerve.

Parts of the body that are affected

Depending on which limbs are involved, there are 3 typical patterns.

How Is Cerebral Palsy Treated?

For a child with CP, the problem with the brain will not get any worse as the child gets older. Therapy is so important. Children with CP usually have physical, occupational, or speech therapy to help them develop skills like walking, sitting, swallowing, and using their hands. There are also medications to treat the seizures that some kids with CP have. Some medications can help relax the muscles in kids with spastic CP. And some kids with CP may have special surgeries to keep their arms or legs straighter and more flexible.

With the help of the Cerebral Palsy Organization and the Disability Information Resources questions were able to be answered pertaining to Cerebral Palsy.