Characteristics and Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is caused by traumatic injury to a developing brain, including the parts of the brain responsible for motor control, coordination and balance.

Damage to different parts of the brain’s motor control centers causes different types of cerebral palsy. The level of disability depends on the severity and timing of the brain injury. About 70 percent of cerebral palsy cases are caused by prenatal injuries, 20 percent are caused by injuries during birth and 10 percent are caused by injuries after birth.

Cerebral palsy can be classified into three types. The first type is spastic cerebral palsy. It is the most common type of cerebral palsy amongst people who have cerebral palsy. Spastic cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the brain’s motor cortex. Typical symptoms of spastic cerebral palsy include stiff and exaggerated movements. A spasticity is a form of hypertonia or increased muscle tone. When a muscle is affected by spasticity, the faster the limb is moved, the stiffer it seems. This results in stiff muscles which can make movement difficult or even impossible. The second type is athetoid/dyskinetic cerebral palsy. This type is caused by injury to the brain’s basal ganglia, which controls balance and coordination. Children with athetoid/dyskinetic CP often exhibit involuntary tremors. The third type is ataxic cerebral palsy. Ataxic cerebral palsy is characterized by lack of coordination and balance. This is caused by damage to the cerebellum, which is the part of the brain that connects to the spine.

Cerebral palsy can also be grouped by the severity or location of paralysis stemming from damage to the developing brain. This is described using the suffix “–plegia”, or paralysis, of one or more limbs. The location of paralysis is described as; monoplegia, diplegia/paraplegia, hemiplegia, quadriplegia and double hemiplegia. Monoplegia is the paralysis of one limb. Diplegia/Paraplegia is the paralysis of two limbs, usually the legs. Hemiplegia is the paralysis on one side of the body. Quadriplegia is the paralysis of the whole body like the face, arms, legs, and torso. Double hemiplegia is the paralysis of the whole body used to distinguish those whose arms are more affected than their legs.

The symptoms of CP range from mild to severe. They also vary depending on the part of the brain that was affected. Some of the more common symptoms include:

• delays in reaching motor skill milestones, such as rolling over, sitting up alone, or crawling
• delays in speech development and difficulty speaking
• stiff muscles
• abnormal muscle tone
• a lack of muscle coordination
• tremors or involuntary movements
• excessive drooling and problems with swallowing
• difficulty walking
• favoring one side of the body, such as reaching with one hand
• neurological problems, such as seizures, intellectual disabilities, and blindness