| |
When a 3-month old baby
fails to respond to sounds, is unable to follow things with his
eyes, lacks facial ex-pressions and drools all the time, it is
time to check him out for Cerebral Palsy. These may just be
those really early symptoms of CP which only a parent or
caregiver will notice. Normally, the CP symptoms go unnoticed in
infancy, but become more visible only as the child grows and his
nervous system develops.
Some key symptoms to look out for are his failure to reach
developmental milestones, like holding his head up, learning to
roll over, sit with and without support, smile, crawl, walk and
hold things with one hand. CP affects gross motor skills like
walking or running and fine motor skills, like writing and
speaking.
CP doesn’t always lead to a severe physical handicap. The
handicap depends upon the severity of the case. At its mildest,
the problem may barely be noticeable, like a slight difficulty
in motor movements - holding something, writing, buttoning or
using a pair of scissors. At its most severe, there may be
virtually no muscle control - inability to keep balance, walk or
even speak. In case of severe CP, the symptoms may be noticed at
birth or soon after, while the minor ones may be visible only at
about 3-months or so, like difficulty in sucking, a weak and
shrill cry, a very loose and relaxed body or a very stiff body,
which the baby arches back throwing out his arms and legs, when
picked up.
Different forms of Cerebral Palsy have different symptoms
depending upon the area and extent of damage to the brain. More
than one symptom could mean that the person has more than one
from of CP. But all forms have some common characteristics, like
abnormal muscle tone, posture, reflexes i.e. motor development
and coordination. Thus some symptoms too are common like
spasticity, paralysis, seizures, an unsteady gait and Dysarthria
(difficulty in pronouncing words). A large number of people also
suffer from mental retardation.
Very often, the muscles of the arms and legs remain small owing
to an injured or underdeveloped nervous system. These small
muscles do not allow the person to fully use his limb, and this
inactivity affects the growth of that limb. A very typical
example of this characteristic is ‘Drooling’. Poor control over
facial and throat muscles makes it impossible for the person to
swallow, because of which there is constant drooling. This
drooling, in turn, irritates the skin around the mouth and the
chin and creates associated problems. It is such associated or
secondary symptoms which are more difficult to handle, and which
also get aggravated with time.
Some symptoms become more obvious over a period of time, like
feeling pain even when touched lightly, as in brushing teeth.
This leads to cavities and tooth decay; uncontrolled and
unusually jerky movements, which sometimes camouflage a seizure
that the child may be experiencing; Shortened limbs, if not
corrected, create skeletal deformities, which become problematic
as the person ages. Because of some abnormal sensations the
child may not be able to use his sense of touch to tell the
difference between things by touching them, have bowel and
bladder control or regular breathing.
Although Cerebral Palsy doesn’t affect a person’s intelligence
per se, associated symptoms, like retardation, may lead to a
range of intellectual functioning - from bright, to normal, to
severely retarded. All people with Cerebral Palsy, irrespective
of the severity of the case, need very careful handling and
support. In some cases, the severity has been known to come
down. |
- editor Sunayana Sadarangani .Copyright©2000.Indianchild.com.
Category recommended
India site :
http://www.nrcissi.org/ - The National Resource Centre for
Inclusion. - The Spastics
Society of India. |
|
