Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy | Gillette Children's

Cerebral palsy (CP) symptoms include problems with muscle tone, movement, balance or coordination. In some infants, problems are evident soon after birth. In others, diagnosis comes in later infancy or toddlerhood. Learn more: https://www.gillettechildrens.org/con...

“In infants who are developing typically, we often see symmetric use of the arms and the legs,” says Marcie Ward, MD, a pediatric rehabilitation medicine physician at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. “That’s what we would typically expect to see. In a child who may be exhibiting signs or symptoms of cerebral palsy, may show us asymmetry in their arm movements, in their hand movements, or in their leg movements.”

Cerebral palsy symptoms in babies might include: stiff limbs or low muscle tone; inability to use one side of the body; or asymmetry (when one side of the body moves differently than the other side).
As a child grows, he or she might show additional symptoms of cerebral palsy such as: inability to hold up her head on her own; inability to sit on his own; difficulty holding and using objects; clumsiness and frequent falling; losing previously acquired skills; or toe walking.

Tim Feyma, MD, is a pediatric neurologist at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. It’s important to see a team for the diagnosis of CP because lots of things can look like CP but aren’t CP,” says Feyma. “It’s very important to make sure that we’ve settled what the diagnosis is.”

“There are many reasons for children to exhibit delays in their development,” says Ward. “It’s important for them to get in with their primary care provider, to have those motor delays investigated. And if the primary care provider feels that it’s appropriate, then to refer to a center that can take a really good look at their child and give them some advice on how to move forward.”

“The most common concern we hear in the Motor Delay Clinic is parents realize that there is something that’s not right,” says Feyma. “They need to make sense of that so we can begin to help the child. At the end of the day, talk about diagnosis, at the end of the day parents just want to know what’s next and where do we go from here.”

0:00 What are the symptoms of Cerebral Palsy?
0:42 Cerebral Palsy Symptoms in Babies
03:07 Motor Delay Clinic