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By Mayo Clinic staffHow you learn about your child's condition — if your child has cerebral palsy — may depend on how severe the disabilities are, when problems first appear, and whether there were any significant risk factors during the pregnancy or delivery.
Well-baby visits
It's important to take your child to all regularly scheduled well-baby visits and annual appointments during childhood. These visits are an opportunity for your child's doctor to monitor your child's development in key areas, including:
- Growth
- Muscle tone
- Muscle strength
- Coordination
- Posture
- Age-appropriate motor skills
- Sensory abilities — vision, hearing and touch
Questions you should be prepared to answer during regular checkups might include the following:
- What concerns do you have about your child's growth or development?
- How well does he or she eat?
- How does your child respond to touch?
- Do you observe any favoring of one side of the body?
- Is your child reaching certain milestones in development, such as rolling over, pushing up, sitting up, crawling, walking or speaking?
Talking to your doctor about cerebral palsy
If your family doctor or pediatrician believes that your child exhibits signs of cerebral palsy, you may want to discuss the following questions:
- What diagnostic tests will we need?
- When will we know the results of the tests?
- What specialists will we need to see?
- How will we screen for disorders commonly associated with cerebral palsy?
- How will you monitor my child's health and development?
- Can you suggest educational materials and local support services regarding cerebral palsy?
- Cerebral palsy: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/detail_cerebral_palsy.htm. Accessed Sept. 27, 2010.
- Evaluating and diagnosing the child with cerebral palsy. American Academy of Neurology. http://www.aan.com/practice/guideline/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.view&guideline=124. Accessed Sept. 27, 2010.
- Cerebral palsy. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/developmental-disabilities/Pages/Cerebral-Palsy.aspx. Accessed Sept. 28, 2010.
- Krigger KW. Cerebral palsy: An overview. American Family Physician. 2006;73:91.
- Ashwal S, et al. Practice parameter: Diagnostic assessment of the child with cerebral palsy: Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society. Neurology. 2004;62:851.
- Cerebral palsy: Drug treatments for spasticity in children and adolescents. American Academy of Neurology. http://www.aan.com/practice/guideline/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.view&guideline=389. Accessed Sept. 27, 2010.
- Delgado MR, et al. Practice parameter: Pharmacologic treatment of spasticity in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (an evidence-based review): Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Practice Committee of the Child Neurology Society. Neurology. 2010;74:336.
- Information for Healthcare Professionals: OnabotulinumtoxinA (marketed as Botox/Botox Cosmetic), abobotulinumtoxinA (marketed as Dysport) and rimabotulinumtoxinB (marketed as Myobloc). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/DrugSafetyInformationforHeathcareProfessionals/ucm174949.htm. Accessed Sept. 30, 2010.
- Patterson MC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Nov. 9, 2010.
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