Question

My baby is 12 months old and was born premature. Recently, I’ve noticed that he still can’t roll over, and his cry is low and not as loud as other children. He often doesn’t like to sleep and likes to sleep. I’ve also noticed some motor incoordination. I want to know if these are symptoms of cerebral palsy.

Answer

  1. Spastic movement disorders manifest as delayed motor development, significantly lagging behind same age children. Parents usually notice when the child struggles with lifting their head, rolling over, or sitting up. The child’s limbs are rarely active, especially the lower limbs, often showing signs of hemiplegia, bilateral paralysis, or quadriplegia. Due to difficulties in voluntary movement, the child’s movements are stiff and uncoordinated, often resulting in abnormal movement patterns. 2. Abnormal muscle tone and posture are observed when there are lesions in the extrapyramidal system or basal ganglia, mainly manifested as abnormal movements, increased muscle tone, athetosis, chorea, and muscle rigidity; when there are lesions in the cerebellum, ataxia and low muscle tone occur; when there are widespread brain lesions, muscle rigidity and tremors may appear.