Hello, my 2 year old was diagnosed at 18 months with mild CP. She was preterm at 33 wks. I had no worries at first because she met all her milestones when she was suppose to til she got about 16 months and wasn't walking. Then I took her to a Neurologist and they id an evaluation on her and then told me what she had. I wrnt to two different Neurologist and they both said the same thing. Does your son have tightness in his legs or arms? Can he roll over 360 degrees? Sit up by himself? Can he crawl or walk independently? If he walks does he walk on his toes or stand on his toes? These are the things that your pediatrician should ask u and mabe refer you to a phsyical therapist and or occupational therapist. In Cali they have a program called the Regional Center where my daughter attends for PT and OT. You should try to start him as early as you can so he can have a head start. Good luck and I hope my input helps you. If you have any questions feel free to email me. Kelly

I agree with the PP. It's a process of elimination and seeing how they're developing. Not meeting milestones is the first sign, but there are lots of other reasons that happens too. Being over or under muscle toned, standing on the toes, a big toe that still goes up, inability to sit on the sit bones independently, and other delays can signal CP. Call your local Children's Hospital or get a referral from your pediatrician for a physiatrist or rehabilitation specialist. They know the signs to look for and what to do about them. Nothing's worse than a wrong diagnosis though so don't worry yourself too much, just have him checked out so you better know what to look for. Best of luck, he's a doll :)

Hi Joyce,
What a handsome boy! Here's the thing with CP. It's not degenerative...it only gets better. My boy was born at 26 wks and weighed 1 lb, 10 oz. He is a teenager now, and has his issues, but hands down is the happiest kid I know. There's been so many new innovations since Joseph came along. Get your boy into an early-intervention program as soon as possible. It's just more playtime to him, but everything they do and you'll learn is for his better good. I remember asking the doc to show me older CP kids, so I would know what to expect, but it just doesn't work that way sweetie. We obviously knew Joe had issues so he's been going since he was 2 months out of the hospital! I know most don't agree with this, but throw the milestones out the window. It's a gauge, that's all, and will show you what the early intervention should concentrate on. Your boy will keep showing you new little miracles every day when he's darn good and ready! ALL kids do, issues or not. Love him, try to keep your sense of humor...and personally, I pray my butt off...but that's up to you.

the way my mom knew is i couldn't suck my thumb and i was very stiff. she didn't know exactly what was wrong with me but she knew something was wrong with me. she was very glad but sad to have a diagnosis. my mom is a very strong woman. people with cp, yea sure we get down but we are very strong. it takes awhile first to really back from something. thanks to all the supportive people in my life, i've gone through many many struggles. im in the middle of a struggle that i have the support of my fiancee and everybody else in my life. just keep going. let me know if this helps.

Joyce,

Hi, my son hit all his milestones like he should. He didn't walk until he was almost 3. Yet he regressed in his talking so milestones are not the way to diagnose, but a way to realize there could be a problem. My own personal opinion about milestones is that there is a one month window before and after the 'date' the doctors give you. But even then kids develop at their own rate. You know your child best and if he seems 'off' then check it out. Talk to your child's pediatrician and get them to do an evaluation on him. Tell him about your concerns and that if there is something wrong you'd like to find out sooner rather than later. There is no test out there that will confirm or deny CP it's based on everything going on with your child. They will look at how your child walks, feel the muscles in his body and they know what's going on. They also can be wrong too! Doctors are human and make mistakes like we do.

My son was diagnosed at 3 years 3 months and lost a lot of therapy time. Most kids are diagnosed by 18 months. He has been a toe walker ever since he started walking!

Some kids are really tight and some kids are just the opposite and floppy. These are good to know since they determine which CP your child has.

Yes CP is not degenerative, but 2 years ago my son was walking independently and now he's using a walker and a wheelchair. So my son is proof that this isn't necessarily true. I kept thinking about that fact and nothing made sense to me on why my child was getting worse. I am taking it day to day and that's the easiest way for me to deal.

Yes, CP kids are extremely happy! My son is always smiling...and people notice. He's 9 and still has no idea there is anything wrong with him...lol :)

Good luck and if you want to email me feel free...mommie2codybug@aol.com just put daily strength mom in the subject line and then i'll be able to save it later and remember you!

Brenda

My daughter is one and a half and was diagnoised with cp when she was between 5 and 6 months old. The dr can usually tell if your child has cp by when or if they hit their milestones, but alot of times it is the parent who makes the diagnosis. you are the one who knows your child the best and if you think there is something wrong then you are probably right. I was so worried about my daughters milestones i did alot of research and just point blank ask her pediatritian if cp was what i was looking at and he agreed that it was the correct diagnosis. my daughter had a lack of oxygen at birth that led to more complicated infections, and sezures. She has still not met milestones that she should have met at 3 months old. It is so hard to tell how severe cp will get until they get older.

Hi Joyce,
Im acually a person who is living with cp.Im 19yo and was diagnosed with cp at around 9-10 months old.My parents noticed I was a little late in walking and talking but,just thought it was just a stage some babies go through and eventually I would catch up.Though it wasen't.When my pediatrician seen me for another check up she was suprised that I wasent talking like;moma or dada or even walking like other babies at the age.She then recommended my parents to bring me to a neurologist because,I should have met my milestones by then.When they brought me to the neuro he was even concerned so he ordered a bunch of tests.Thats when my parents found out my delayed milestones were from cerebral palsy.I was diagnosed with spastic and ataxic deplegia.Which was causing me to be late in walking.I could kinda walk but,not like other infants.I would walk on my toes in a wind up toy robot way or to some of my family members they describe it as if a person(but this case an infant)acting drunk.Ex;My right leg would move foward then ended up tightening up/rigidness(spasticity) and then do the same with my left(as like regular walking)except when my toes touched the floor on each step they would relax and start up again.The problem was I had so much spasticity it caused me to have a sissoring gait.On the other hand along with ataxia that caused me to loose balence at times,bump into things or almost cause me to fall over.Since my diagnosis my parents tried many therapies early intervention since my diagnosis,pre-school(not sure if that includes early intervention),ST(speech therapy) for 7 years,OT(occupational therapy)for 5 years,PT(physical therapy)for 10 years,and Special Educational Classed for my whole grade school and high.When my parents told me about me having cp at the age of 11 I kinda chuckled because,I thought cp was only mentally challenged kids(not trying to be mean to any parent who has a son/daughter/family member/friend or themselves just at that time I thought thats what cp was and they were joking but,they weren't.)I found out that cp can go from very mild,moderate,or severe.As I grew older I started researching cp stuff because,it came of intrest to me since I met one of the kindest friends amd found out she has cp aswell.Though a diffrent type and degree but,shes a wonderful friend.To help you I'll give you a few of my sites that I looked upon.
*www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/cerebral_palsy.htm
**www.ucp.org
***www.cerebralpalsy.org
****www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dd/ddcp.htm
*****www.orginsofcerebralpalsy.com
And ******www.neurologychannel.com/cerebralpalsy/symptoms.shtml
I hope these sites help you and I wish your son the best.

I was first diagnosed at the age of 46 with cerebral palsy by a podiatrist and months later was then officially diagnosed by a Neurologist. CP sufferers have certain physical characteristics that tell them apart from those with other conditions . They may also struggle with their abilities to learn and reach their milestones when they should, but it is not always easy to diagnose CP from that because some of those symptoms could be connected to other conditions and not to CP. An appointment with a Neurologist would be your next step if you want to find out for sure.

My son was born in October and diagnosed only at a week old with CP. The doctors all told me that my son has quadrapelgia CP and would probally end up to be a vegetable and possiably die by the age of20. Hehas numerous other issues. They way he was diagnosed was becasue he would do a bicycling motion with his legs and arms. He was not responding like he was suppose to. A neurologist finally seen him and a MRI and EEG were done and noticed his whole motor skills part of his brain had been damaged. They have all wished him the worse. He takes nothing by mouth and even had a tube put in his stomach. Now at almost three months my son is starting to take a bottle, he holds his head up on his own. He has become less stiff and even had begun to laugh,smile and coo. He tried to stand up on his own and is very strong. He wears splints on his thumbs because he trie to keep them under his fingers. He has made great progress and we are very happy. I would suggest you have a MRI or EEG done for him. Find a neurologist that has been around for a while. The earlier you canstart therapy and so fourth the better chances your son has. I do not really agree with the milestones. Just because your child does not hit every mildstone means somthing is wrong. Children grow on there own time. But really look into an MRI. And follow up with your neurologist. I really hope all works out.

My son was not diagnosed until he was 2 years old, but I had a feeling that something was not right from birth. It all started when he wasnt reaching his milestones on time even several months later. (He didnt hold his head up when he should have, he dragged a leg behind when he finally started crawling, couldnt sit up without assistance until over 12 mos old, and did not walk until he was 17mons old) I expressed my concerns with his Pediatrician who said he was just delayed because he was a preemie. We agreed until we felt like something else was going on then we were able to finally persuade his Pediatrician to write up some type of evaluation. We then found out he had hypotonia (low muscle tone) this began the process of him going to Childrens Hospital to receive Physical and Occupational therapy, which later lead to his diagnosis. I looked up so many things online throughout that time and CP just made sense! I remember telling my Mom and Sister that when I would hold his hands they felt almost like putty. I know that seems silly, but there were other symptoms going on too. The scariest for us was when he went from baby food to table food because he would choke even on the simplest smallest pieces of food! The best advice I can give to you is never overlook anything and always trust what your heart tells you! The first step is an evaluation so I would really persue that with your son's Pediatrician! Good luck and keep us posted! BTW, my son was born at 34-36wks, too! :) Feel free to add me to your friends list and msg me anytime!

Developmental delays (i.e., child consistently fails to meet primary developmental milestones) are actually the primary clinical symptom in a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. For more on cerebral palsy symptoms and diagnosing cerebral palsy see:
www.birthinjuryhelpcenter.org
https://www.birthinjuryhelpcenter.org/cerebral-palsy-symptoms.html