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An Overview of Cerebral Palsy
When Your Child Has Celebral Palsy
By Kelly Burgess
Suspecting cerebral palsy, Conroy urged her doctors to test Joel, and he was diagnosed several months later with mild to moderate cerebral palsy. She says that parents have to be firm about trusting their instincts and actively pursue testing, but Dr. Goldstein says that there are good reasons for these seeming delays in diagnosis. "Given aside extremes such as an infant born who is in terrible trouble, most physicians are hesitant to make the diagnosis until 18 months because the brain has an incredible ability to compensate," says Dr. Goldstein.
"The physician may want to wait to see if the child catches up," Dr. Goldstein says. "It's true that there are warning signs, such as physical delays, but physicians are often reluctant to label these too quickly. This is especially true with premature infants because they often exhibit delays that eventually resolve themselves. This is not medical double talk; it's merely waiting until enough time has passed to make a definitive diagnosis and refer the child for further testing."
The only real warning sign that Dr. Goldstein would caution parents to be concerned about would be feeding distress. If a child can't suckle, it's a warning sign that the coordination is not working the way it should and this can be problematic for the child if he or she is not getting nutrition. This doesn't automatically indicate cerebral palsy, but it's definitely something to consult a physician about immediately.
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