Patient's question:
I haven't been in good health for a long time. Now that I'm getting older, I can't enjoy my retirement. Recently, I suddenly fell seriously ill and contracted cerebral palsy. I'm now confused and demented. My family is very worried.Doctor's answer:
In clinical practice, the common symptoms of children with cerebral palsy are primarily manifested as follows:(1) Delayed motor development
Children with cerebral palsy exhibit varying degrees of delayed motor development. Large motor skills such as lifting the head, sitting independently, crawling, standing, and walking are slower than those of normal children. Fine motor skills, such as grasping objects and finger movements, also lag behind those of normal children.
(2) Abnormal muscle tone
Most spastic cerebral palsy children show varying degrees of hypotonia (low muscle tone) in the neonatal period. As age increases, muscle tone gradually becomes hypertonic (high muscle tone),、，。，。In athetoid cerebral palsy children, hypotonia is observed in infancy, followed by hypertonia later.
(3) Reduced active movement
In the neonatal period, there is a noticeable reduction in movement, with poor sucking ability and feeding response. At 3 months, kicking movements in the lower limbs are significantly reduced or both legs kick simultaneously. Hemiplegic cerebral palsy often manifests as reduced activity on one side.
(4) Abnormal reflexes
In normal 4-month-old infants, if they are tilted left or right, protective reflexes will appear, and their heads will automatically remain in the midline position. At 5–6 months, if tilted left or right, they can extend their upper limbs to maintain balance. At 9 months, when a normal infant is held in a prone suspended position and suddenly lowered, they exhibit a "parachute" reflex, with both upper limbs extending forward. In contrast, children with cerebral palsy show weakened or absent protective reflexes and balance-maintaining abilities.