A congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone or posture. Cerebral palsy is due to abnormal brain development, often before birth. Symptoms include exaggerated reflexes, floppy or rigid limbs and involuntary motions. These appear by early childhood. Long-term treatment includes physical and other therapies, drugs and sometimes surgery. People with cerebral palsy can have problems swallowing and commonly have eye muscle imbalance, in which the eyes don’t focus on the same object. They also might have reduced range of motion at various joints of their bodies due to muscle stiffness. Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain. This usually happens before a child is born, but it can occur at birth or in early infancy.
