Experienced New York Cerebral Palsy Lawyers

New York Birth Injury Lawyers
Explaining Types of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that can unfortunately be contracted as a result of a mistake or mistakes made during childbirth. While cerebral palsy is not curable and its causes have been identified to a degree, researchers have learned that there are different types of cerebral palsy from which a person can suffer. If your child is one of them, you need to seek the immediate help of New York birth injury lawyers. In the meantime, below is a brief overview of the different types of cerebral palsy.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy

Spastic cerebral palsy is by far the most common type, and estimates indicate that approximately 80 percent of those who have this condition suffer from this form of it. Spastic cerebral palsy results in symptoms that include a tightening of one or more muscle groups. This tightening of these groups limits movement, and can lead to unpredictable or jerky movements of the affected areas. This basically results in difficulty moving or changing positions as well as grabbing or letting go of objects.

Athetoid Cerebral Palsy

Athetoid cerebral palsy affects approximately 10 percent of those with cerebral palsy, and this specific condition results from damage done to the basal ganglia and/or the cerebellum. As a result of the damage done to these areas of the brain, the patient will suffer from involuntary movements that can interfere with speaking, feeding or other skills that require a coordination of muscle movements.

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy

Ataxic cerebral palsy is a relatively rare condition, but those who suffer from it must deal with a low level of muscle tone and difficulty in coordinating movements. Ataxic cerebral palsy patients have trouble with tasks such as walking without using an unusually wide stance, tremors that appear when he or she attempts to handle an object and difficulty with other common tasks such as writing or drawing on a page.

Mixed Cerebral Palsy

Generally, those children with mixed cerebral palsy suffer from a combination of the symptoms that usually comprise athetoid cerebral palsy and spastic cerebral palsy. As a result, patients will endure difficulties with the tightening of one or more muscle groups as well as involuntary movements. While other combinations of cerebral palsy are possible, the mixture between athetoid and spastic cerebral palsy conditions is the most common.

How New York Birth Injury Lawyers Can Help

Clearly, anyone with any type of cerebral palsy that has occurred as a result of a mistake made during child birth will deal with a lifetime of challenges that most people take for granted. If your child suffers from any form of cerebral palsy for this reason, contact the New York birth injury lawyers at Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald today to schedule a free initial consultation.