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Cerebral palsy arises when there has been injury to the developing brain. The common set of symptoms in children who have cerebral palsy are abnormal muscle tone and difficulty with muscle coordination and movement.
The term cerebral palsy reflects a wide range of different types of brain injury. As a result, cerebral palsy can look very different from child to child. In some children, only the legs are involved (diplegia); in others, only the left or right side of the body (hemiplegia). In others, the entire body is affected (quadriplegia). Muscle tone may be high (spastic), or it may be low, resulting in difficulty with balance (ataxia). Involuntary or dyskinetic muscle movements may be present. Sometimes a child's arms or legs may feel rigid. This is called dystonia.
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