Cerebral palsy, a group of disorders that affects young children, is a neurological condition. Cerebral palsy causes weak muscles to be flaccid or rigid. According to the Mayo Clinic, cerebral palsy occurs in two to four of every 1,000 births in the United States and Europe. There is no known cure for cerebral palsy, but the right therapy is the key in coping with the illness. Cerebral palsy has symptoms from mild to severe, depending on how mild or severe the illness is. Learning the symptoms of mild cerebral palsy enables you to know whether you need to seek a physician.
Muscles
Mild cerebral palsy is more subtle and may not be noticed by a family member. Episodes of clumsiness could be attributed to the child being tired or uncoordinated. This includes stumbling, falling down for no reason and toe walking. If caught in the early stages of cerebral palsy, a plastic boot can help with toe walking. Medications help control the muscles.
Hands
Lifting heavy objects may be hard with one hand over the other for some children. This is often overlooked as well if the child can use crayons and pencils easily with the same hand. The brain simply has trouble sending the correct message for the task.
Hearing
Children may exhibit a problem with hearing. Some with cerebral palsy aren't able to hear from one side. It's possible to ignore this as well by attributing the child ignoring you as an attitude or being in a bad mood.
Speech
Speech impairment is also a mild condition of cerebral palsy. Children with cerebral palsy have a harder time in learning to speak and may be behind in speaking in relation to their age.
Vision
Children tend to squint while watching television or have trouble using their peripheral vision.
Considerations
Although no child is the same in the progression of developmental stages, it's important to note that most of these types of symptoms may not become noticeable until the child is older than 18 months. If your child is several months behind in the developmental milestones of the first two years, the concerns should be brought to the physician's attention. It may very well be nothing, but it's better to have the child tested and have a firm prognosis.
