Cerebral palsy may be mild, moderate, or severe depending on how much of the brain is affected, the parts of the brain that are affected and the severity of the brain damage. The common classifications of the types of CP include spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic and mixed.

Spastic CP

Spastic CP is characterized by too much muscle tone or tightness (the child can't relax his or her muscles or the muscles may be stiff). Children with spastic CP have difficulty moving their muscles and may look rigid in their movements. Approximately 70-80% of children with CP have this type. It is further categorized based on the extremities involved. Categories of spastic CP include:

Hemiplegia
one side of the body is involved.
Diplegia
both legs are primarily involved or the legs are more involved than the arms.
Quadriplegia
total body involvement or the arms are more involved than the legs.
Triplegia
principal involvement of both legs and one arm.
Monoplegia
a single extremity is involved; this type is very rare.

Symptoms of spastic cerebral palsy, the most common type, include:



Dyskinetic CP

Typically, this form of CP involves slow, uncontrolled body movements and low muscle tone that makes it hard for the child to sit straight and walk. This form occurs in 10-20% of all cases.

This type of CP is characterized by involuntary movements when the child initiates a voluntary movement such as reaching for a toy. The child may show different movements fluctuating between high muscle tone (i.e., rigidity/tightness of movement) and low muscle tone (i.e., hypotonia also referred to as floppy movements like a rag doll). The different types of dyskinetic CP include:

Athetoid
refers to rapid, random, jerky movements and/or slow, writhing movements (athetosis). Typically the child's hand or arm may regularly shake or have a sudden spasm. The uncontrolled movements increase when the child is excited or exerts energy to accomplish a task. This type of CP is sometimes referred to as the dancer as the movements mimic a ballerina.
Dystonic
refers to involuntary spasms and muscle contractions that induce slow and twisting movements and postures.


Ataxic CP

This type of CP is characterized by unbalanced, jerky movements which may affect balance and coordination. Children with this type of CP often look like they are going to fall over when walking or may walk on their tiptoes. If you often them a doll and ask them to touch the doll's nose, they would be unable to do so. Approximately 5% or less children have this type of CP.

Mixed CP is a combination of the symptoms listed above. A child with mixed CP has both high and low tone muscle. Some muscles are too tight, and others are too loose, creating a mix of stiffness and involuntary movements. (United Cerebral Palsy, 2001).

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