Wanting Information on Cerebral Palsy

You are already getting awesome advice from the mom's here but I wanted to add that there is a great video on You Tube, the man is a dear friend of mine, he is now almost 44 was dx with CP as a child and has made some amazing progress the past few years, its so cool, even since I have known him he has freed up vocal mucsles and others, can do all sorts of things he couldn't do before, he attributes it to drinking raw cows milk the search would be for David Boyum, Raw milk.. something like that I can find a link but for anyone who has a family member with CP it would bring much hope! blessings..

Hello "Mama J",
I came from another page, when I saw your request on CP appearing in the little window. I am A German MD, live in Sedona, AZ and work as a hands-on-healer. I cooperate locally with a few other very gifted people who are trained in Western techniques, yet integrate far more than that. One of my colleagues is a trained osteopathic healer, works as a hands-on-medical intuitive and is literally capable of sensing the position of vessels, nerves, tissue, etc. in the body. We cooperate on patients and assess a lot together. My colleague's name is Luc Chabot, you can reach him at ###-###-####. He offers free 30 min assessment session and is then able to tell you, what you are dealing with, whether he is able to work with it or whatever else you can do. His knowledge and 20 years work experience with cases like your child's and many others is profound and I deeply respect what he does!
A severe bump on the head hardly causes CP, but it can cause impingement of connective tissue inside the brain, can cause the sutures of the skull plates loose their mobility, etc.

I know, you don't live right around the corner, but this may be worth it. The earlier you catch neurologic problems in children, the better their later development. I'll write another mail to the mother with the son, who is walking on tiptoes, which is caused by a continued pull on the spinal cord...all symptoms that can be treated manually -

Good Luck to You and feel free to contact me even by phone, if you prefer ###-###-####

Greetings K. von Merveldt-Guevara

Hello!
In case this comes in useful once a doctor has seen him, try http://www.azdes.gov/AzEIP/.
It is an early intervention program geared to help children 0-3 with developmental assistance they may need. To my knowledge the service is either free or low-cost.

All the best to you and your little boy!

I would definately make an appointment. It may be nothing but it could be something. Good luck.

My step son is 3 years old and he has mild cerebral palsy. You should take you son to a neurologist after taking him to see his primary care doctor. Our son walks around on his tip toes, he stands on his tip toes, and runs and jumps on his tip toes. He has a fair amount of extra drool action going on as well. He can speak but he is behind other children the same age. He has been some what clumsy. From what I know CP is caused at birth and sometimes after. CP comes from problems in labor included Meconium stained fluid, maternal fever during deliver etc. To determine CP you will have to have an MRI done on your child however even if it is something else you probably want to have one done.

CP is a movement and postural disorder caused by permanent, nonprogressive damage of a developing brain. There are several classifications such as spastic, athetoid, ataxic, and mixed.Traditionally, CP was believed to result from difficulties during the birth process. The causes of CP include abnormal development in uterio, metabolic abnormalities, disorders of the immune system, infections, trauma, and hypoxia. Cognitive, visual, auditory and speech deficits are frequently assoc with CP. Growing into deficit is common in CP. Although the nervous system damage is not progressive, new problems appear as the child reaches each age for normal developmental milestones: that is when your child reaches the age when most children walk, the inability of the child with CP to walk independently at the usual age becomes apparent. CP is usually diagnosed when your child misses these milestones. CP does not impair intelligence and memory in fact some people have above normal intelligence. One of my friends is a lawyer with CP very smart. Hope this helps a little. Maybe just go in for a regular check up.

try UCP United Cerebal Palsy of Central Arizona.
www.ucpofaz.org. They are somehow connected with Arizona Early Intervention program that is designed to help children ages birth to three with developmental issues. Thats how I got the contact information maybe they can direct you to the Colorado branch

I say if you feel something is wrong have it checked out and if a doctor tells you nothing is wrong but your gut feeling is there is get a second opinion. I caught my sons speech delay issue early enough that later on it wont be an issue. Hope fully you can do the same for your son address the issue now that way he is better prepared for the future.
good luck and god bless.

I have a 15 year old with mild CP but he and his twin sister were born at 25 weeks so we knew even before he had it that he would have it (had to do with oxygen levels he needed). I agree with the others, you should make an appointment, but the chances of your child having CP without any known causes (as far as birth trauma etc) are very slim. Please keep us posted.
Good Luck,
V.

I would make an appt. I have a 27 week preemie that is now 8 months (4.5 adjusted) and he is showing classic signs of CP. Unfortunatly there is no diagnosis until around 15-18 months but you could at least rule out some other stuff like the worried brain injury and if there is something you could possibly get some therapy from Early Intervention. This is what we are doing. He has an OT, SLT, PT, and vision therapist in our home once a week. At least we can work with him early even though it looks as though it could be CP. I would just ease your mind with your pedi.

J.

your baby may be an eutelepic and may be having a sezeur time to time my sister has them to and she bumped her head good when she was 16 months old and she 30 years old now so to be on the safe side get your baby checked for sezeures and keep in touch with me

K. k

There are many different degrees is CP... I used to work with people who had CP in all different forms.... Just watch your child carefully and they can test for it after a year....

Make an appt. Record everything you can, with as much detail and information as you can. Some of it could just be normal for him as every child is different but I think you are wise to listen to your gut feeling, as it does seem like something's a little off here. The more information you can share with your pediatrician, the better response you'll get, either a referral to an appropriate specialist, or an idea of what it is/what to do next.

I am not sure if 7mo is too young or when they start (18m?), but school districts have early intervention services so if you know who to talk to in your school district, even if they can't test your baby yet, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

First of all--definitely get your son to a doctor--a specialist, if possible. If you'd like more information on Cerebral Palsy I suggest contacting the local chapter of UCP (United Cerebral Palsy). The national website is www.ucp.org and you could probably find the local info there. Good luck.

Definitely go see a pediatrician or have your pediatrician refer you to a developmental specialist or a pediatric neurologist. It is important to find out early and if you have a feeling that something is just not right, have it checked out. You know your baby better than anyone.

Hope this helps.

L. Kandell, MS, RD, IBCLC
Registered Dietitian/Pediatric Specialist
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
AFFILIATED NUTRITION CONSULTANTS, LLC
Scottsdala, AZ 85258
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You know your child better than anyone else does. If you have concerns, they may well be based on instinct. I would rather appear foolish to the doctor than risk missing something that could affect my child's health. Make an appointment to discuss what you've been seeing with the doctor. Perhaps you can take some video of these spells your son has, so you have some visual aid to present to the doctor. If your doctor dismisses your concerns, think about finding another doctor. A good doctor will take your concerns seriously, and won't ever make you feel foolish for bringing your child in for an exam when you suspect something may be abnormal.

CP has degrees of manifestation -- anywhere from mild to full-blown CP. If your son does have CP, or another neurological disorder, learning about early can only help him for the rest of his life.

One thing -- and this does not diminsh your concern, it's just my experience -- could your son be shivering when he urinates? My first-born daughter did this frequently when she was a baby. I had concerns about what I thought was mini-seizure (shivering) behavior I saw, and told her pediatrician about it. The Ped didn't know what it could be, but gave my daughter a thorough check-up after I mentioned it. She said to keep an eye on it. About a month later, I held her, naked, on my lap while I ran her bath. She shivered....and peed all over my lap. The running water had provoked her to pee, and she had a vagal nerve reaction to the urge to urinate ... something my hubby calls "Pee-ing shivers." He experiences it too. It was pretty funny once we figured it out. That daughter is now a 17 year old athlete and honors student, preparing for college.

Let us know how things turn out. I'll be thinking about you.

K. L
Apprentice Midwife, Lactation Consultant, Childbirth Educator

I don't know much about cerebral palsy but I would make an appointment with your doctor right away. Whatever it is or isn't, they will find out, and it will ease your mind either way.

I am no expert, and I sure don't want to make you paranoid. Two of my children developed seizures. Both of them had very different type of seizures. One was like the shivers. It would happen mostly at night, the other was full blown seizures. After all the stress, worry..... they are ok now. If you can videotape an episode, take it to your pediatrician when you go. It will give them a lot more information. The first couple of times I went re: the shakes, the drs didn't believe me.
Also if you do vaccinations, please do them just one at a time, and not when your child is sick. It's ok to be delayed on vaccinations