Spastic Cerebral Palsy
Spastic Cerebral Palsy is the most common type of Cerebral palsy, affecting approximately 80% of CP patients. Spasticity means increased muscle tone thus muscles continually contract, making limbs stiff and resistant to flexing or relaxing. Reflexes can be exaggerated and movements tend to be jerky. The arms and legs are most often affected. The tongue, mouth, and pharynx can also be affected, impairing speech, eating, breathing, and/or swallowing. Spastic Cerebral Palsy tends to increase as the child grows.
Quadraplegic
All four limbs are involved, including the trunk and face. Spastic quadriplegia is the most severe form of spastic CP. Patients usually have difficulty walking and often developmental disabilities such as mental retardation, seizures, or visual/hearing/speech problems.
Diplegia
Primarily affects the lower body, with the arms less affected or not affected at all. Patients have difficulty walking because tight hip and leg muscles. Legs tend to pull together, turn inward, and cross at the knees (also known as scissoring).
Hemiplegic
Spasticity (muscle stiffness) on one side of the body is affected, usually the arm more than the leg. The side that is affected may not develop properly.
Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy
The second most common type of cerebral palsy. Muscle tone changes(vary) from weak or tight causing random and uncontrolled body movements. Athetoid cerebral palsy describes patients with difficulty controlling voluntary movement particularly in the arms, legs, and hands. Dystonia/Dystonic cerebral palsy refers to patients where the trunk muscles are more affected than the limbs, resulting in a fixed, twisted posture. Intelligence will nearly always be normal, but the whole body will be affected by muscle problems. The child will have problems walking, sitting, maintaining posture, and speaking clearly (tongue, vocal cords, and/or facial muscles are hard to control).
Ataxic Cerebral Palsy
Ataxic cerebral palsy affects balance, posture and coordinated movements. Control of fine motor skills, eye movements and depth perception may be impaired. The child will find it difficult to tie his/her shoelaces, button up shirts, write, etc. They might have a difficult time controlling their hands or arms when they reach for something. Most children are of normal intelligence and have good communication skills, but may have erratic speech.
Mixed Cerebral Palsy
A child’s impairments can fall into both categories, spastic and non-spastic. The most common form of mixed cerebral palsy involves some limbs affected by spasticity and others by athetosis.