Cerebral Palsy

Hello, my daughter was born full term 9lbs. She started having seizures right away, they did an MRI and found blood clots in her brain. They put her on blood thinner, and now they are gone. She is 6 months now and has slight weakness on her leftside of her body. The doctor says this is caused by the stroke she had. Does this mean she has Cerebral Palsy? Is there a relation between strokes and CP? and is there a relation between CP and mental redardation? Please help.

[itsmethere]

Cerebral Palsy is not a single disorder but rather an umbrella term for a group of disorders which are caused by a lesion to the developing brain, before, during or right after birth and which have an effect on the body's muscles.  There are different subtypes of CP each of which is caused by a different type of brain anomaly.

For example, I have spastic diplegia (both of my legs are tight and weak and there is slight tightness and weakness in my arms too, but it's less severe than in my legs) which is caused by bilateral damage to the periventricular white matter of the brain.  This type of brain damage, although it does occur in those who were born full-term, is more common in those who were born prematurely.

From what you describe, your daughter might have slight hemiplegia (type of CP which affects only one side of the body).  This type of CP is often caused by a stroke and many of the infants who have it were born full-term.

CP is not a very descriptive term.  What's more important is what in particular is wrong with the brain and what physical (and sometimes cognitive) effects it has.

[itsmethere]

I apologize for a repost, but I just read the second part of your question, about the relationship between CP and mental retardation.

CP sometimes but not always causes mental retardation.  Since several different brain lesions fall under the term CP, whether or not one has mental retardation depends on the type and extent of the brain lesion.  The brain lesions that cause spastic quadriplegia (all four limbs and the entire body including the speech muscles are affected) are associated with the most frequent and most severe mental retardation.  My type of CP--spastic diplegia from periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)--does cause mental retardation if it's severe, but overall, people with PVL have mental retardation less frequently than those with quadriplegia.  My PVL is moderate and I do have a learning disability, but not mental retardation.  My verbal IQ is 135, performance IQ--73 and full-scale (overall) IQ is average (around 105).  Large discrepancy between verbal and perceptual abilities with perceptual abilities much weaker than verbal abilities is very common in spastic diplegia with PVL.

Hemiplegia (which is probably what your daughter has) is the subtype of CP with the most favorable cognitive outcome.  I wouldn't worry about your daughter's cognitive outcome now, especially since she only has a slight weakness.  Just take it one day at a time and if issues surface as she grows, evaluate and address them as they come.

[Laylasmom]

Thank you very much for your response. It gives me hope. She uses her left arm and left leg but they aren't as strong as her right side. She doesn't put weight on her left leg and she doesn't hold her toys as long as she does with her right arm. But she has been working with physical therapy and I can tell she's getting better. Are you able to walk and use your arms?
Thank you again for your time.

[itsmethere]

I am very happy your daughter is getting better.   And glad to be helpful.

I walk on my own two feet without any aids, however I limp and have a characteristic gait.  My legs also tire from walking and standing very quickly.  As for the arms, I am able to write with a pen as well as type (what I am doing now).  However, my handwriting, while legible, is not great because my fine motor movements are poor.  So, overall, I function physically relatively normally.  (Obviously, I am terrible at sports).