Our Child's Health
Early detection, medical monitoring, and main associated manifestations in childhood.
Detection & Signs
Early signs of cerebral palsy generally show up before the baby reaches 3 years of age. Often it is the parents themselves who suspect that their baby's motor skills are not developing normally.
Cerebral palsy often manifests with developmental delays, so babies process more slowly in reaching important development milestones for their age, such as learning to roll over, sit, crawl, smile, or walk.
Parents concerned about their baby's development for any reason should consult with their pediatrician, who can determine the difference between a normal developmental gap and a delay that could indicate cerebral palsy or another related disability.
It is fundamental to make an early diagnosis of developmental delay in the baby in any of the areas during the first year of life, since this is the ideal time to achieve the greatest degree of rehabilitation in the baby.
Comprehensive Care & Wellbeing
Cerebral palsy presents very different degrees of disability, since it can range from mild to presenting a severe degree of impairment and dependence, so the baby's health will depend on the extent of their brain damage.
In this sense, some babies present minor difficulties, while others present severe impairments. For example, the brain injury can be very mild and affect only the part of the brain that controls walking, or it can be much more extensive and affect the muscle control of the entire body and the cognitive level.
In any case, it is advisable to carry out periodic reviews and check-ups of the baby with specialists in the different fields.
Along with difficulties in movement, sensory, behavioral, personality, cognitive, communicative, or health alterations may appear.
The most common cognitive manifestations would be:
Speech and language disorders
involves difficulty in forming words and speaking clearly, and is present in more than a third of boys and girls with cerebral palsy. This capacity will depend, first, on intellectual development, and second, on the motor skill to control muscles. Many children can practice verbal communication, and for cases where it is more complicated, augmentative and alternative communication systems exist.
Learning difficulties
due to brain injury, many children with cerebral palsy develop learning difficulties, which they may show due to difficulties in attention, concentration, memorization, information processing, or impulse control.
Intellectual disability
babies with cerebral palsy do not necessarily have a cognitive deficit, they can preserve their cognitive abilities intact, and in some cases they will manifest a cognitive delay.
The most common sensory manifestations are:
Vision
the most common problem in children with cerebral palsy is strabismus, commonly called "cross-eyedness," in which the eyes are misaligned due to differences between the right and left eye muscles. It can be corrected with a patch, botulinum toxin, or surgical intervention.
Hearing
hearing impairment is uncommon, although if they have the auditory nerve affected they can develop hypoacusis.
Spatial perception
in the spatial field, children, at times, are unable to relate space to their body. They find it difficult, for example, to calculate distances or visually construct in three dimensions, since this requires the coordinated function of both eyes. This is due to a brain injury and is not related to intelligence.
