Profile of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy at Universitas Hospital, Bloemfontein, 1991-2001

Cerebral palsy is a term used for a group of non-progressive but often changing motor deficits, which are a result of a lesion of the brain occurring at an early developmental stage. Cerebral palsy may be classified physiologically or topographically. Physiologically, there are five types of cerebral palsy1: spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, hypotonic, and mixed. Topographically, there are six types1: hemiplegia (one arm and leg on the same side of the body are affected), monoplegia (one limb is affected), diplegia (both legs more affected than arms), quadriplegia (all limbs, body and face symmetrically affected), triplegia (three limbs are affected, usually both legs and one arm), and double hemiplegia (both sides of the body are affected asymmetrically, arms usually more than the legs).For full text, click here:SA Fam Pract 2006;48(3):15-1