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Cerebral Palsy Symptoms


This condition is categorised into four different groups that are characterized by different difficulties. Babies that are severely affected may have obvious signs immediately following birth. Many infants do not display immediate cerebral palsy symptoms but affected children are often slow to reach developmental milestones which parents are usually able to notice as their baby begins to develop especially if they have already had another unaffected child. At the age of about three months parents may notice a lack of facial expression or that their baby does not respond to some sounds or does not follow movement with their eyes. Certain other indicative signs may appear at around six months of age including inability to lift the head or roll over and feeding may be a continuous problem. An affected child may be unable to crawl, sit or stand without support and drooling is a common problem because of poor facial and throat muscle control.

Different types of cerebral palsy symptoms divide this condition into four main categories which are :-

  • Athetoid CP is caused by damage to the areas of the brain that enable smooth, coordinated movements and maintain body posture. This condition causes involuntary, purposeless movements, especially in the face, arms, and trunk which often interfere with speaking, feeding, reaching, grasping and other skills requiring coordinated movements.

  • Spastic CP affects 70-80% of patients and is the most common form. The muscles remain in a constant state of increased involuntary reflex with one or more tight muscle groups which cause stiff and jerky movements. There may be difficulty moving from one position to another or holding and letting go of objects.

  • Ataxic CP is characterised by poor muscle tone and altered sense of balance and depth perception, leading to slow, uncoordinated, unsteady and shaky movement.

  • Mixed CP is a combination of the above types but is most often a mixture of spasticity and athetoid movements, with tight muscle tone and involuntary reflex.

Once cerebral palsy symptoms have been observed it may be some years before a positive diagnosis is made. Once diagnosed most parents want to know what caused this often devastating condition. About 90% of the incidence of this condition is caused by naturally occurring phenomena that may be termed as a birth defect and often relates to established risk factors associated with the mother, the child and to a lesser extent in some circumstances the father. There are many cases where there are no obvious reasons for the disability and the cause therefore often remains a complete mystery. In about 10% of cases it can be established that the cause is medical malpractice which most often relates to oxygen deprivation immediately before, during or shortly after birth.

The medical profession usually provides a caring service with a high standard of excellence for their patients however there are occasions when things go wrong and if your child displays cerebral palsy symptoms and has been injured as a result of a failure by the medical profession and the injury was caused or contributed to by a breach of duty of care then your child may be entitled to substantial compensation.

Please consider our cerebral palsy information which contains an overview of this condition and its causes and if you believe that your child's condition is as a result of medical malpractice and you would like free advice on cerebral palsy settlements from a specialist attorney just complete the contact form and a member of The Association of Trial Lawyers of America will telephone to discuss your child's claim with no further obligation.