Nkiru Anigbogu
Mrs. Brunelle
English 11
2 March 2015

Spastic Cerebral Palsy
One of the most common congenital disorders is cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that appears at infancy or during early childhood that cannot be reversed. It is said that 2 to 3 children per 1000 children have cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy has many forms. Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common form which is classified as having stiff muscles and awkward jerky movements and is diagnosed to 90% of cerebral palsy victims. Spastic cerebral palsy is also divided into three different forms: spastic hemiplegia, spastic diplegia, spastic quadriplegia. These three forms are organized by their severity starting with hemiplegia as the least severe to quadriplegia the most severe. Spastic cerebral palsy is one of the leading disorders in children nationwide because of its three forms, irreversible effects on the brain, and its delayed specific diagnosis.
Spastic cerebral palsy comes in three forms: hemiplegia, diplegia, and quadriplegia. Hemiplegia is the paralysis of one side of the body. Hemiplegia often affects the leg and arm of one side of a child. The hand and foot are most likely to have a bigger and more noticeable problem than knees or shoulders. This is also one of the only ways that spastic cerebral palsy can be seen in early childhood. Most children determine which hand they find most dominant in the first 18-24 months of life, but if a child early on favors one side or only picks things up toys with one hand than it may be an indication that they may not have the ability to use the other side.
Diplegia is the form of cerebral palsy that is not as severe as quadriplegia, but more severe than hemiplegia. Diplegia usually affects the legs of children. It can also affect the arms but not as severely as in hemiplegia. When a child has diplegia it is most common that because of their delayed muscle growth their leg muscles are short. Due to the their short muscles this leads lack of range of motion and tighten toes that make them point. The tightness of the feet can also affect the hips and dislocate them and because of this childrens hips must be monitored closely. Although they have trouble walking and have jerky stiff hand movements usually their knowledge base and speaking is normal.
Spastic quadriplegia is the most severe of the three types. Children with this type are categorized with having moderate to severe intellectual abilities. The difference is that because its cause is widespread damage to the brain four limbs are affected. Victims usually have floppy necks and can almost never walk. It is also extremely difficult to understand them and epilepsy is also very common as a result.
These three forms of spastic cerebral palsy makes spastic