Dyskinetic cerebral palsy, also called athetoid cerebral palsy, is one of the most severe manifestations of this injury. It is sometimes comorbid with other types of CP. This disorder affects the entire body, the muscles to the greatest extent, and can cause significant disabilities. It is caused by an injury during birth where the child’s brain is starved of oxygen. Because brain damage is irreversible, this means that the child will be affected with this condition for their entire life and all the difficulties and expenses such a condition entails.

This type of cerebral palsy affects approximately 20 percent of all sufferers. The muscle tension throughout the body becomes irregular and the affected person has a hard time developing motor skills. This means that simple, everyday tasks such as opening a door, pouring a cup of coffee and walking are extremely difficult. It can take years of treatments for the affected individual to develop basic motor skills. Some of those with this injury never do develop those motor skills. While no form of CP is degenerative, the symptoms do tend to get worse with age. Adjustment can be very difficult.

Learning difficulties are common with dyskinetic cerebral palsy. Oftentimes, the condition is accompanied by other manifestations of CP, which means that the problems are compounded. There are also problems with hearing and speech that can make school difficult. Cognitive problems are also seen with this injury. To make it more complex, cerebral palsy in infants is oftentimes not even spotted until weeks, sometimes months, after the child has been delivered. This means that the symptoms may not even be noticed until the child starts trying to walk, crawl or talk. This may mean that there is a long delay before treatments begin.

Cerebral palsy help is not far away. There are attorneys who specialize in handling these cases. You may be able to file a lawsuit. If you win, compensation can be substantial. The attorney will have to determine whether or not the injury actually happened because of something the doctors did or didn’t do and, if they were not to blame, there is no lawsuit. Many good attorneys offer free consultations about these cases. If you have cause to believe you were wronged by a doctor during the birthing process, it may be worth it to discuss the matter with such an attorney.