Question
Someone wants to know what the early symptoms of infantile cerebral palsy are. A friend’s child has been diagnosed with neonatal cerebral palsy, so they want to understand the early symptoms to take appropriate preventive and treatment measures.
Answer
The early symptoms of infantile cerebral palsy may include:
- Regression in motor development, with a reduction in active movement of the limbs. The child may not reach the motor development milestones of same-age children or show the average developmental level of same-age children.
- Abnormal muscle tone, varying by clinical type. Spastic type is characterized by increased muscle tone, while hypotonic type is characterized by soft limbs, yet may still lead to spastic reflexes. Variability in hypotonia.
- Due to abnormal muscle tone and delayed disappearance of primitive reflexes, the child may have different limb positions.
- Disappearance or delay of various primitive reflexes.