Mixed Cerebral Palsy?

The term mixed cerebral palsy is applied when the patient exhibits symptoms from combined types of the illness, such as spastic cerebral palsy and athetoid cerebral palsy. Different forms of the movement disorder may exist simultaneously. Generally, however, health care professionals that work with cerebral palsy patients classify the person as having whichever movement disorder predominates, and mixed is a term that is used less often.

The most common combination of movement disorders is spastic and athetoid. In these patients, the variety of symptoms is produced by damage mainly to two areas of the brain:

• The cerebral cortex, which accounts for the spastic symptoms of the disease
• The basal ganglia, which accounts for athetoid symptoms

Symptoms Of Mixed Cerebral Palsy

A person with the mixed form of cerebral palsy combining spastic and athetoid might exhibit a combination of some of the following symptoms:

From athetoid cerebral palsy:

• Slow, writhing movements
• Involuntary, purposeless movements, especially in the face and arms
• Grimacing
• Tongue thrusting
• Drooling
• Poor posture

From spastic cerebral palsy:

• Tightened flexor muscles that cannot relax (the more the patient tries to stretch these muscles or someone tries to stretch them, the more they resist straightening)
• Arms pulled into the sides of the body
• Legs pulled together to the point where they may overlap and produce a “scissors walk�?
• Legs rotated inward, sometimes to the point that the hips become dislocated or there is abnormal growth of the hip socket
• Weak extensor muscles, such as the muscles that extend the legs; they sometimes are so weakened that they lose their functionality
• Walking on the toes, because the heels are pulled up and the toes are pulled down
• Exaggerated startled response
• Some mental retardation
• Impaired breathing
• Curvature of the spine

All of these problems with the muscles originate not in the muscles but in various parts of the brain. The symptoms of cerebral palsy correspond to the area of the brain that is damaged.

Contact A Connecticut Cerebral Palsy Lawyer

If your child is born with cerebral palsy, you might be eligible for compensation for the pain and suffering he or she is experiencing, plus the cost of the many types of therapy needed. To schedule a consultation with a qualified cerebral palsy lawyer in Connecticut, please call 1-866-479-7909.