Cerebral palsy | March of Dimes

Cerebral palsy (also called CP) is a group of conditions that affects the parts of your brain that control your muscles. This can cause problems with movement, posture (standing up straight) and balance.

Some but not all children with CP also may have other conditions, like intellectual and developmental disabilities. These are problems with how the brain works that can cause a person to have trouble or delays in physical development, learning, communicating, taking care of himself or getting along with others.

About 1 in 300 children (less than 1 percent) has CP. Most children are diagnosed by the time theyre 2 years old.

CP is the most common cause of movement problems in childhood. There are four kinds of CP that are based on the type of movement problems a child has.

Spastic means tight or stiff muscles, or muscles that spasm (get tight). This is the most common kind of CP. About 4 in 5 children (80 percent) with CP have spastic CP. These children have stiff muscles and may have awkward body movements.

Signs and symptoms of spastic CP include:

There are three kinds of spastic CP:

Yes. Other kinds of CP include:

CP can be different in each child. Some children have mild CP. They may have some awkward body movements and need little or no special help. Other children have more serious CP. They may need a lot of special care their whole lives. CP doesnt get worse over time, but its symptoms can change.

Some but not all babies with CP often have developmental delays. This means your child doesn't reach developmental milestones when expected. A developmental milestone is a skill or activity that most children can do at a certain age. Milestones include sitting, walking, talking, having social skills and having thinking skills. Tell your childs health care provider if you notice any of these signs in your baby at these ages:

Younger than 6 months

Older than 6 months

Older than 10 months

Older than 1 year

If you think your baby has developmental delays or other signs of CP, talk to her provider. Diagnosing CP usually happens in three steps.

Your babys provider also may recommend these tests for your baby:

You can work with a team of health care providers to figure out your childs needs and come up with a treatment plan. Members of the team can include:

Your childs treatment plan may include special equipment to help with movement and getting around. These can include a walker, leg or arm braces, a wheelchair or scooter. He may also need a special computer to help him communicate.

Your child may need medicines to help relax muscle spasms, including:

If your child has severe spasms and medicines dont help, your babys provider may recommend surgery called selective dorsal rhizotomy. This is when a surgeon cuts some of the nerves at the base of the spine. It may help with muscle spasms and help your child sit, stand, walk or move around more easily.

People with CP may have these health problems:

CP happens when your baby has brain damage or there are problems in how your babys brain develops. Most children with CP have congenital CP. This means they have CP at birth. In many of these children, we dont know what the exact cause of CP is.

Changes in genes that affect brain development may play a role in causing CP. Genes are a part of your body's cells that stores instructions for the way your body grows and works. Genes are passed from parents to children. A gene change (also called mutation) is a change to the instructions that are stored in a gene.

The brain damage that leads to CP can happen before birth, during labor and birth or after birth, while the brain is still developing. Your baby may be more likely than other babies to develop CP before birth if:

Your baby may be more likely than other babies to develop CP during labor and birth if:

Babies who have certain health conditions after birth are more likely than others to develop CP. These conditions include:

Last reviewed: July, 2014

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Cerebral palsy | March of Dimes