Possible cerebral palsy??

[user1493400455]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for information/ support etc as I'm going out of my mind.

My baby boy is nearly 11 months old - he had a straight forward birth expect it was very quick. He also contracted group strep b but was treated with antibiotics immediately and everything was ok.

At the beginning of March we took him to see a private peadiatric consultant as his head was quite lopsided/tilted and he found it hard to lift his arms above his head. The consultant diagnosed him with torticollis and a possible brachial plexus injury (nerves in the neck which control shoulder, arm and hand movement) which would have happened at birth. He referred my son to see a neurologist to have the nerves in his neck tested to see about the brachial plexus injury and to have physio for his torticollis.

So.... I took him to a physio (who we also paid privately to see). On the first visit she had to find a worksheet with exercises for torticollis and didn't really know what she was doing? However, she went through why the neurologist would like to see my little boy's neck and what would be done. We left and all was good. In the next few weeks I did lots of physio for my son's neck and we saw a great improvement. His arms also started to loosen and improve. I took him back for his next visit - a half hour review session. The physio agreed there was a good improvement. However, casually at the end of the session she dropped in that he might have cerebral palsy???!!! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She said about a brain scan?? News to me and brain damage. I left shocked and terrified. The next day I phoned the original consultant we saw to clear things up - he reassured me and said that my son's legs were fine and it is unheard of/extremley unusual for a child to have cerebral palsy in just their arms. However I am now terrified. Why did she say? She must have seen something?

Please please please can mummy's with babies/ children who have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy inform me of their child's symptoms? What did you notice? When did you notice?

My son can't crawl, she mentioned this to me.
Thank you in advance

Lauren x x x

Wanted to reply to you as noone else had - I rarely look on here.
My daughter has CP but very mildly. It really only affects one ankle and means she walks with her foot turning in slightly.
She was late to walk and was around 2 when CP was suggested and then it was confirmed with an MRI scan. This showed a tiny area of damage.
To be honest I can't remember when she started to crawl but they all crawl or don't crawl at different times.I think it was relatively late.
Try not to worry- it may be worth getting a scan so you know what you're dealing with but CP is a very broad term and can be very mild, as in the case of DD1.

My DD also has very mild CP (sounds a lot like yours house - one ankle is tight and foot turns in, though she also has poor core strength). I always noticed she was wobbly but it didn't really seem that different from others till she was about 3 which is when she was diagnosed. She crawled at 10 months corrected iirc.

As your physio says it is very very unusual for arms only to be affected in CP. I'm no medic, but to me it seems far more likely that your son has weak arms temporarily, because he's not been using them as much as other babies (eg not been trying to pull up) due to the nerve issues. Hopefully it will sort itself out as the nerve issues get sorted and he is happier to use his arms. Just keep an eye on his arm strength and take it from there. And find a different physio!

How is he

Hello! @Littlesoul123 It's so strange now to read back what I wrote all those years ago! Thanks for reading too x x
so after the above, I took him to see a private Neurologist. He was concerned about the stiffness in his arms and the fact his neck hasn't resolved. George had so many tests including a brain scan, spine scan, metabolic, blood tests and an EMG to test the nerves in his muscles - the neurologist thought he could potentially have either muscular dystrophy or a metabolic disease. I remember being the most scared I had ever been. Every single test came back normal! The stiffness in his arms was down to his torticollis, which actually resolved quite quickly in the end. As it stands now, George is now 6 years old and in year 2 at school. He is a normal, happy little boy! He is a bit behind with his learning but that's it. When I look back and think about what could have been, I am thankful every single day. He is my little star! X x