Cerebral Palsy

[3GirlsMum]

My nephew is finding it increasingly hard at school now. He is due to start senior school in september and I am really worried how he and my sister will cope. It seems that as he gets older his problems are a lot more noticeable.

His concentration span is really bad and my sister is wondering whether or not he has something such as ADHD as well as his CP. Its almost as though he has ants in his pants most the time, he cannot sit down and relax and seems to be bouncing, running or jumping everywhere.

His speech is slower than most childrens although this has been the case for many years. He is a bright lad and excels in his lessons at school, particularly maths for which he has always been well ahead of the rest of his class.

I suppose what I am looking to find out is if what I have described above is typical of children with CP or if its likely there could be something else as well?

What type of cp does he have? Even then every child with cp is different. Has he been statemented so his extra needs will or should be ctared for? If your sister is concerned I would get her to talk to his paediatrican asap to see if she is correct. It's really hard to say if his behaviour is typical, because although there are specific types of cp, it will be in varying degrees for each person iyswim.

He hasnt been statemented although its something I have discussed with my sister, particularly as he is due to start senior school this year.

I guess he would be classed as having mild CP as he just has it on the one side and it affects his left hand and his speech. She does have an appointment with her doctor to today as she was told it was not necessary for him to see a paed.

He has been in a mainstream school and generally had no problems, however, over the last year he has found it increasinlgly difficult to make friends and he seems very old for his years when he speaks to other children his age.

The worry is that just lately his behaviour has become more erratic.

Yikes sorry for the typos!

I would suggest that whatever the gp says she pushes for a referral to see a paediatrician with an interest in neurological conditions like cp. I can't imagine why a doctor would say he didn't need seeing by a specialist. Has he been diagnosed or is this something you have realised yourself? If he has cp he should be at least assessed to see if he needs statementing. Does he get any physiotherapy or OT? All these things would be arranged via a consultant if you got referred which would help him enormously. And you could mention the change in his behaviour at the same time, get that investigated too. Starting secondary school is a big step, and he should have as much as possible in place to enable him to cope with it, and give him support if/when he needs it.

I agree with lou your nephew really should be seen by a paed especially if he hasnt been diagnosed properly. Your sister should have some kind of specialist support in place.

Sorry I didnt word my last post properly. Its not my nephews doctor that said he doesnt need to see a pead. When he was younger he was diagnosed with CP from a young age and and used to see a specialist. He also at that time had physioptherapy on his hand, however, when he got to the age of about 5/6 my sister was told it was no longer needed.

As far as we are aware in order to see the specialist she first has to see the doctor who has to then refer her. All the advice is much appreciated and I will pass these comments on to my sister.

Ask the gp to re refer him again 3girls, it's been a while since he was last assessed, his needs and what is available to him have probably changed.

The latest is that my sister had been to see the doctor and he has diagnosed Aspergers as well as CP! Thanks for all your help and comments on this.

can i ask can u get mild celebal palsey that just effects ur legs and nothing else please please advise

yes you can as ds's friends brother just had it where it affected his walking.. think it slowed him down a bit if you know what I mean