Types of cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy can be described by the way it affects people’s movement, the part of the body affected and by how severe the affects are.
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Spastic (70-80%)

The most common form of CP characterised by muscles that feel stiff and tight
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Dyskenetic (6%)

Characterised by involuntary movements out of a person's control
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Ataxic (6%)

Characterised by shaky movements, affects balance and sense of positioning in space

Mixed: a combination of types

Parts of the body affected

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Quadriplegia

(a form of bilateral CP)
Both arms and legs are affected. The muscles of the trunk, face and mouth are often also affected.
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Diplegia

(a form of bilateral CP)
Both legs are affected. The arms may be affected to a lesser extent.
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Hemiplegia

(a form of unilateral CP)
One side of the body (one arm and one leg) is affected.

Severity

The following systems are used to identify the level to which a person is affected by cerebral palsy

References:

  1. Cans, C., Dolk, H., Platt, M. J., Colver, A., Prasauskiene, A., & Krageloh-Mann, I. (2007). Recommendations from the SCPE collaborative group for defining and classifying cerebral palsy. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 49(Suppl 1), 9-24.
  2. Krageloh-Mann, I., & Cans, C. (2009). Cerebral palsy update. Brain Development, 31(7), 537-544. doi: 10.1016/j.braindev.2009.03.009 See abstract
  3. McIntyre, S., Morgan, C., Walker, K., & Novak, I. (2011). Cerebral palsy–don’t delay. Developmental Disability Research Reviews, 17(2), 114-129. doi: 10.1002/ddrr.1106 See abstract
  4. Paneth, N. (2008). Establishing the diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 51(4), 742-748. doi: 10.1097/GRF.0b013e318187081a See abstract