Please tell me about mild CP and is it possible to go undiagnossed until a child is 7+?

[Marne]

I keep going around in circles trying to find an answer to dd1's problems, she has a dx of Aspergers, we can cope with her Aspergers but she has other problems which cause more stress, she has very weak arms and legs, she's very stiff one minute and then floppy the next, when she runs she is very stiff and doesn't bend her knees, her feet and legs are turning inwards and she just seems very weak (can't open doors and cant ride a bike), she doesn't quite fit all the dyspraxia traits (her pencil/pen skills are good and she doesn't fall over/not clumsy).

Her birth did not go easy, i was in labour for a long time and pushing for 8 hours , there was a couple of times when the midwife was considering c-section as baby was distressed.

I keep stubbling across CP when i'm googling her traits, could it be possible that she has mild cp or would it have been picked up by someone (GP) before now?

Im not sure my dd has just had mri scan and results came back with scarring on the brain the part of the brain affected was the part that causes floppiness or stiffness of the body.
I asked dr if that meant dd had cp but he said no not on physical examination
as she only has mild hypotonia and walks quite well but she still cant do stairs on her own.
We still have a dx of development delay.

Have you seen physios and or the OT ?

I think it would be worth investigating Marne, has she ever been seen by OT or physio's.

Dd3 has poor upper body strength, she can't open doors either but she can ride a bike, although she does crash quite alot.

Dd3 was not floppy as a baby, in fact when anyone other than me held her she used to be rigid. My sister who is a physio used to hold her up and she would be stiff like a gymnast and hold her body still. It sounds wierd when I type it.

Dd1 who has no dx and Dd3 who has possible AS both had really traumatic births. They are very spectrummy but have other things going on as well.

You will probably have to fight to get a referal I had a right game getting Dd3 referred to OT and have now managed to get a physio referal as well.

Good luck

we are due to see OT for DD1 who has a dx of autism but has other physical difficulties. She has very tight tendond in her calfs, in a lot of pain. She never crawled, didnt want till after her 2nd birthday!
Im thinking mild CP is possible for her and plan to ask OT when we see her in 2 weeks. We have 3 children with CP in the family, but no one would ever listen to me when she was younger :( She was an emcs due to distressed and weighed 5lb at fullterm due to placental breakdown at about 32 weeks, but not complete breakdown, just very damaged :(
will update you when we know more.

She is seeing the paed in May (after being referred by our GP last summer), school keep trying to get her referred to OT, she did the 'lern to move' 9i think thats what its called) at school and could not do any of the tasks (standing on one leg, hopping ect..), she was a very stiff baby and didn't sit until 10/11 months but was walking by 15 months, she would never sit up straight in the buggy (always slipped down) and slumped in her car seat.

Lisa, your dd always sounds very similar to mine, dd1 always complains of her legs hurting (after walking for 5 minutes), will be intersting to see how your dd gets on with OT.

DGS has CP and similar symptoms lisad and marne only much more pronounced and obviously CP. DD had placental insufficiency, abruption at 37 weeks (weight 4.5 lbs) and DGS MRI showed basal ganglia damage. He has fluctuating tone between floppy and stiff. Still at 2.5 yrs is rigid like and ironing board if held up high.

My dd also has similar issues and despite having basal ganglia brain injury is still officially undx. She also has the floppy/stiff muscles going on and has hypermobility and hypertonia in her trunk so also struggles with stairs and her balance. She runs very similarly with legs stiff, knees locked and feet turned in. Her walking is ok most of the time but her fine motor and speech are also affected.

I do know of some children that have been dx as late as age 7 so is possible. However it does sound like it would be a very borderline dx for your dd Marne as she can manage so many things even if she does have some difficulties.

i dontv know how it can be missed but a friend of mine was only recently diaganosed with mild cp hes 55, he has aspergers and was developing some mucle and bone related problems when he went to the docter who did some scans and was shocked. so it can happen