Cerebral Palsy as it is known does not get worse over time though the muscles that are affected could get weaker as time goes by. As such if there are any remedies that can be sought in order to prevent this from happening early on, they should be looked into as soon as possible to avoid further damage to the child or any of their limbs. The sooner the condition is diagnosed the better for the family and the child. Therapy that is available for the child should be started as soon as possible.
There are several signs that the child could be suffering and the main one is the delayed milestones especially in infancy. These include controlling the head movements and even holding up the head. Rolling over and reaching with one hand could also be affected in one way or another as could sitting without support. All developmental milestones should occur within a particular time frame if the child is healthy. If the child's development is extremely delayed or missed all together, it should be looked into by a qualified physician and the necessary precautions taken. Crawling and walking that is expected to occur in nine months or so tends to be delayed in children that are suffering from Cerebral Palsy. As a result, the reflexes are primitive and the muscle tone is abnormal. The movements of the child could be slow, jerky, and abrupt all of which could be an indicator for Cerebral Palsy that is caused by damage to a portion of the brain. Skeletal deformities may also occur in the form of scoliosis and so on and all these greatly impact on the child's ability to make simple movements.
Stiffening of the joints may occur as the child grows older and this is due to uneven pressure being put on some of the limbs especially during movement. Mental retardation could also occur though in some children the reverse happens as their intelligence become normal. Hearing loss is another sided effect of Cerebral Palsy and in this case, the one solution would be to teach the child sign language or the use of a hearing aid depending on the degree of loss. This can be diagnosed easily by checking to see if the child responds to different sounds as expected. Delayed speech may come in combination with the hearing loss. Swallowing problems due to poor, muscle formation could also occur and this affects the child's eating and drinking.
This also affects the saliva swallowing capacity of the child and in severe cases; the food and or fluids could find their way into the lungs. Such a child needs to be closely monitored as they take in any food. Drooling could be an external sign of the loss of swallowing capacity by the child. Bowel and bladder control problems are common in children suffering from Cerebral Palsy. Visual and dental problems are connected to this condition. However, Cerebral Palsy can be managed effectively and the child taught how to live with the condition. Where therapy is available, it should be taken on in order to improve the child's living conditions.