What Is Involved In Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis

Cerebral palsy diagnosis early in an individual's life allows parents to learn how to best care for their child. A cerebral palsy diagnosis is usually made within the first three years of a child's life.

Usually, parents and caregivers are the first to notice that their child is developing slower than normal.

If you have noticed some of the early signs that a child might have cerebral palsy like:
* Slow to reach developmental milestones - these include rolling over, sitting, crawling, and walking
* Abnormal muscle tone - the infant's body may seem limp or abnormally stiff
* Unusual posture

These may be indicators that the child suffers from cerebral palsy. Parents should seek out a physician who can provide a cerebral palsy diagnosis and determine whether the child exhibits signs of spastic, ataxic, and/or athetoid cerebral palsy.

In cerebral palsy diagnosis the doctor will take into account several risk factors such as:
* Breech birth
* Complicated labor and/or delivery
* Low Apgar score - An Apgar score is determined by monitoring the infant's condition. Babies are rated according to heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes, and skin color in the first 10-20 minutes after birth
* Premature birth or low birth weight
* Multiple births
* Nervous system defects
* Other physical defects
* Maternal bleeding in the last three months of pregnancy

In addition to examining the child's medical history when doing a cerebral palsy diagnosis, the health care provider will also test the child's motor skills. The health care provider will check for slow development, abnormal muscle tone, and unusual posture, as well as reflexes and hand preference.

After checking all of these factors, the health care provider will then need to rule out other disorders that cause movement irregularity. Specifically, the physician while doing a cerebral palsy diagnosis, will look into if the condition is getting progressively worse. Cerebral palsy is not a progressive disorder, so if the child's condition is deteriorating, it may be due to some other disorder.

When the health care provider can make an accurate cerebral palsy diagnosis, there are several tests that may help determine the cause of cerebral palsy. A CT scan is used to reveal abnormal cysts, areas of the brain that are underdeveloped, and other physical abnormalities within the brain. The physician may also choose to use an MRI to reveal areas that may not show up on a CT scan.

Finally, when a cerebral palsy diagnosis is made and a course of treatment is begun, the doctor will order tests for other conditions linked to cerebral palsy. These include: mental impairment, seizure disorders, and vision and hearing problems.