Signs of Cerebral Palsy

Due to the impairments linked to cerebral palsy varying in severity and form, there is not one single indication or symptom to alert diagnosis.

Indications and symptoms, in a number of cases, of cerebral palsy do not show up until the brain of a child completes development, typically after three to five years.

Prior to a child being able to express his or own symptoms, that’s when most cerebral palsy cases become evident.

Thus, it is crucial for medical professionals and parents to become vigilant of early signs of cerebral palsy. It is vital early on to detect cerebral palsy to prevent subsequent injury or impairment.

Your loved one may have been diagnosed with this condition due to a medical error that should’ve been otherwise preventable. You should immediately contact a personal injury cerebral palsy attorney.

Birth injury attorneys can offer you with a review of your case, make a determination if it was medical malpractice which resulted in injuries of your loved one, and go over all your legal options with you.

The earliest indicators, for most families, of cerebral palsy ensue through delays in development.

Medical professionals and families, however, should closely monitor ill children for particular indications and symptoms, such as:

Signs of cerebral palsy, when a baby, immediately subsequent to delivery, fails to breathe. Hypotonia or floppiness; awkward position of held limbs; seizures; and deformities in bones and joints (eventual scoliosis and pelvic bone tilting).

Control and coordination impairments, such as spasms and spasticity; involuntary movements and tremors; and challenged in grasping objects. 


Abnormalities in gait, such as crawling lopsided; imbalance; and walking in a scissor gait.

Retention of typical primitive reflexes can be an issue. The reflex actions that infants exhibit in the central nervous system are primitive reflexes; this doesn’t occur with adults neurologically healthy. These reflexes are developed, ideally, in a particular sequence and order.

Whether infants retain these reflexes beyond the typical integration age, or out of sequence, functions can be disturbed of high centers like learning, behavior, and fine or gross movements.

Primitive reflex retention in signs of cerebral palsy entail the following: rooting reflex; tonic neck reflex; crawl reflexes; step reflex; and grasp reflex.

Delays in development, such as to favor one body side over another; by one month, failure to blink at noises that are loud; toward sounds by four months, failure to turn head; after 12 months, trouble with speaking; difficulty in sucking, swallowing, chewing and frequent vomiting; motor skill reaching milestones are delayed; inability to control bowels and bladder; by seven months, failure to sit up; failure to develop oral, fine, and gross motor function; trouble holding hands together; challenged to push up with hands; and even while holding firmly on to some support, lack of ability to stand.

Postural reaction delay, such as aligning head with body, upper with lower body; returning the body after displacement to a vertical position; and if the body has been displaced, protective reactions.

Other cerebral palsy indications and symptoms entail fatigue; irritability and tenseness; and problems with vision and hearing.

Contact us for a free consultation or call Anzalone Law Firm PLLC, at: 603.548.3797