SPASTIC HEMIPLEGIA CEREBRAL PALSY
Hemiplegia is a classification of cerebral palsy where the child suffers from disability that affects both an arm and a leg located at the same side of the body. Fortunately, most children affected by this condition do not appear to be mentally impaired and can function relatively normally as adults despite their physical disabilities. In some cases "double hemiplegia" is diagnosed which affects all four limbs but generally affects the left and right sides differently.
This general condition is classified into spastic, ataxic, athetoid and mixed cerebral palsy with further sub classification into five more categories being monoplegia, diplegia, triplegia, quadplegia and hemiplegia dependent on the limbs that are involved.
Children with the more common spastic hemiplegia cerebral palsy generally have an arm which is more severely affected than the leg and because of the spasticity there are usually difficulties in movement of the hand, ankle and wrist. Confirmed diagnosis of this particular condition generally only takes place when the child is several years old.