Cerebral Palsy Symptoms & Types – WebMD

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Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects your movement and muscle tone. The condition, also called CP, is caused by problems in the brain.

CP breaks down into four main types, based on the movement involved:

The most common kind is spastic CP. If you have it, your muscles are stiff or tight, or they spasm.

Doctors break down spastic CP into three groups:

If you have dyskinetic CP, your muscle tone might be too tight or too loose. Your movements are uncontrolled: either slow and twisting or quick and jerky. If the muscles in your face or mouth are affected, you might frown, drool and have trouble speaking.

Dyskinetic CP breaks down further into these types:

Ataxic CP, which is rare, causes problems with coordination and balance. If you have it, you might be unsteady when you walk. You might also shake, which could make it hard to do tasks that need steadiness, such as writing.

People with this type of CP have symptoms of more than one type. Most people with mixed CP have a combination of spastic and dyskinetic.

The biggest clue that your baby might have cerebral palsy is a delay in doing something most babies can do at a certain age. Doctors call these milestones. Examples include rolling over, sitting up, standing and walking.

Certain movements and behaviors in babies at specific stages of development can be signs of CP. But your baby can have these issues without having CP. So youll need to see a doctor to find out whats going on. In babies younger than 6 months, those signs include:

If your baby is older than 6 months, warning signs can include:

If your baby is older than 10 months, watch for these signs:

If your baby is more than 1 year old and cant stand without support or crawl, those are also possible signs of CP.

SOURCES:

American Academy of Pediatrics: Cerebral Palsy.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Cerebral Palsy.

CDC: Cerebral Palsy (CP).

March of Dimes: Cerebral Palsy.

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Cerebral Palsy Symptoms & Types - WebMD