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The symptoms of cerebral palsy aren't usually obvious just after a baby is born. They normally become noticeable during the first two or three years of a child's life.

Speak to your health visitor or GP if you have any concerns about your child's health or development.

Movement and development problems

The main symptoms of cerebral palsy are problems with movement, co-ordination and development.

Possible signs in a child include:

The severity of symptoms varies significantly from child to child.

The parts of the body that are affected can also vary. Some cases only affect one side of the body, some mainly affect the legs, and some affect the whole body.

Other symptoms

People with cerebral palsy can also have a range of other problems, including:

Types of cerebral palsy

Your doctors may refer to your or your child's condition as a particular type of cerebral palsy, based on the symptoms you or your child has.

There are four main types of cerebral palsy:

You may also hear terms such as hemiplegia or diplegia. These refer to the parts of the body affected by cerebral palsy.

Hemiplegia means one side of the body is affected, diplegia is where two limbs are affected, monoplegia where one limb is affected and quadriplegia means all four limbs (and usually the whole body) are affected.