Cerebral palsy is a disorder of the central nervous system manifested by injuries to the musculoskeletal system, meaning it directly affects movement, posture, muscle tone, and balance.
How to identify the symptoms of cerebral palsy in infants Finding symptoms of cerebral palsy in infants can be difficult because they are too small. Many symptoms appear to be just normal stages of development and are not noticed until the child grows up and begins to miss major developmental milestones.
Some of the most common symptoms of cerebral palsy in infants include:
Developmental delay
1. At two months of age, babies should be able to lift their heads, react to others, and move their arms and legs. 2. At three months of age, babies may begin to act, become more coordinated, and make sounds more consciously. They'll start reaching out and grabbing objects, sitting up straight with your help, and then rolling over. 3. At six months of age, babies may sit up on their own, express emotions through teeth and teeth, and learn to work with objects with their hands. 4. Babies as young as eight months old tend to be very curious and want to explore. They will usually start crawling and grabbing surfaces to pull themselves into a standing position, and they will begin to really develop their fine motor skills, such as gripping with pliers, and possibly using gestures to communicate. 5. Around one year of age, babies can usually stand and sit on their own, point to objects, and may begin to take the first steps or use simple words. 6. All babies develop at a different rate, if the child is a little behind, don't worry too much, when the baby may fall behind in the process of growth and development, such as crawling, communication and fine motor skills.
Irregular muscle tone
If your child is found to have high or low muscle tone, they may be at risk of cerebral palsy. Persistent high muscle tone, called spasms, is the most common type of cerebral palsy, and your child's movements are stiff and limited in movement, and may exhibit prolonged hand clenching, crossed legs, or bent knees. Low muscle tone, also hypotonia, can be identified by insufficient strength, soft limbs, and inadequate head control. Children with cerebral palsy can even have uncontrollable conditions between high and low muscle tone, which makes them look as if they are constantly moving.
tremor
If your child's arm begins to tremble as they reach for something, they may have ataxia-type cerebral palsy. This type of cerebral palsy is characterized by a lack of balance and coordination, specific exercises that compress the cerebellum (responsible for fine-tuning and precision) and cause tremors. These children have difficulty developing fine motor skills, such as writing and using tableware.
Poor feeding
If your child doesn't eat much, it may be a sign of oral movement disorders. Cerebral palsy affects all different parts of the body, including the oral muscles. This can make it difficult for your child to open or close his mouth and swallow. In general, feeding difficulties are easily identifiable.
Raising infants with cerebral palsy to recover is a long-term process, so strengthening home care is important. First of all, parents should face up to reality, build confidence, communicate more with children, encourage children to actively participate in rehabilitation training, and maintain good limb posture is very important for children's rehabilitation.
Posture:
The child faces the parents, the child's legs are first separated and then bent up, the hands are separated, the head is slightly drooped or pillowed on the parent's shoulders, the child's hands can also be extended over the parent's shoulders to surround the neck, if the child is heavier, the child can be moved to the hip side, this position not only saves effort and can correct the child's leg stiffness, and strengthen the child's control of the head.
Sleeping position:
Children with cerebral palsy should not lie on their backs for a long time, because long-term supine lying will lead to asymmetric movements and aggravate muscle spasms. The lateral recumbent position is not only conducive to improving the muscle tone of the spasms, but also conducive to symmetry of movements, but a small soft pillow should be sandwiched between the legs to avoid excessive tension of the adductor muscles caused by too tight lower limbs. If a child with hypertonia often has an angle arch and asymmetrical posture in various parts of the body, the upper and lower parts of the mattress can be raised, and the two sides are also cushioned to form a pit, so that the child lies in the middle, to ensure that when the supine position is in the middle position, the head is in the midline position, and the hands are placed on the chest.
Dietary care for children with cerebral palsy:
The diet of children with cerebral palsy should have four major characteristics: rotten, fine, fresh, soft, and easy to digest. It should be fine, soft, tender, rotten and fresh. According to its cause, you can also choose more foods that nourish the kidney and brain, benefit the liver and spleen, nourish the heart and nourish the blood, strengthen the muscles and bones, such as eating more longan meat, peanuts, sesame seeds, black beans, structure, chestnuts, walnut kernels, pig kidneys, cattle spinal cord, etc., and it is advisable to eat a small amount of meals.
Psychological counseling, more encouragement and more praise:
Communicate with children patiently, carefully, softly intonation, slow down, use simple and clear language, listen patiently and fully, and try to answer the questions raised by the children. Comfort and encourage the child more, criticize less, the child has made some progress, and praise and encouragement should be given in time.