The Types , Early Signs and Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy How It Affects Me

Before I get into today's blog post, I just wanted to put a disclaimer out there that I have done a lot of research on the information that I am about to tell you guys and most of the information is from the CDC website.

About CP - cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. Cerebral means having to do with the brain. Palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles. CP is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain that affects a person’s ability to control his or her muscles.

Types of cp: there are 4 types of cp, Spastic Cerebral Palsy, Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy,Ataxic Cerebral Palsy and Mixed Cerebral Palsy.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy- Spastic Cerebral Palsy is the most comon type of cp, it affects about 80% of people with CP. People with spastic CP have increased muscle tone, this means the muscles are stiff. There are 3 types of Spastic Cerebral Palsy, Spastic diplegia, Spastic hemiplegia and Spastic quadriplegia.

Spastic diplegia - In this type of CP, the muscle stiffness is mainly in the legs and the arms are less affected or not affected at all. People with spastic diplegia might have difficulty walking because tight hip and leg muscles cause their legs to pull together, turn inward, and cross at the knees, this is also known as scissoring.

• Spastic hemiplegia - this type of CP affects only one side of a person’s body, usually the arms are more affected than the legs.

• Spastic quadriplegia - Spastic quadriplegia is the most severe form of spastic CP and affects all four limbs, the trunk, and the face. People with spastic quadriparesis usually cannot walk and often have other developmental disabilities such as intellectual disability, seizures, or problems with vision, hearing, or speech.

Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy - People with dyskinetic CP have problems controlling the movement of their hands, arms, feet, and legs, making it difficult to sit and walk. The movements are uncontrollable and can be slow and writhing or rapid and jerky. Sometimes the face and tongue are affected and the person has a hard time sucking, swallowing, and talking.

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy - People with ataxic CP have problems with balance and coordination. They might be unsteady when they walk. They might have a hard time with quick movements or movements that need a lot of control, like writing. They might have a hard time controlling their hands or arms when they reach for something.

Mixed Cerebral Palsy - Some people have symptoms of more than one type of CP. The most common type of mixed CP is spastic-dyskinetic CP.

Early Signs - The signs of CP vary greatly because there are many different types and levels of disability. The main sign that a child might have CP is a delay reaching motor or movement milestones (such as rolling over, sitting, standing, or walking). Following are some other signs of possible CP. It is important to note that some children without CP also might have some of these signs.

symptoms of CP - The symptoms of CP vary from person to person. A person with severe CP might need to use special equipment to be able to walk, or might not be able to walk at all and might need lifelong care. A person with mild CP, on the other hand, might walk a little awkwardly, but might not need any special help. CP does not get worse over time, though the exact symptoms can change over a person’s lifetime.

How CP effects me - I am not quite sure but I think I have Spastic diplegia cerebral palsy because my cp effects my legs more then my arms. Life with cerebral palsy is extremely challenging, there are many things in my daily routine that are very challenging. For example, something as easy as putting something in the microwave or putting the milk away in the refrigerator is very difficult for me because I am too short to reach in my wheelchair.

Living with cp has come with a lot of challenges and ups and downs but I am so grateful for how far I have come and were I am today!