There are both various types and degrees of cerebral palsy. It may be diagnosed when delayed gross motor development, abnormal motor performance, alterations of muscle tone, abnormal postures at rest, and reflex abnormalities become discernible. The four most common types of cerebral palsy are spastic, athetoid, ataxic, and mixed.
Cerebral palsy is the most common permanent physical disability of childhood.
Its incidence has been estimated at 5 per 1,000 in the population under 21 years. Approximately one third of the children with cerebral palsy have normal intelligence while the remainder may have some deficits in their learning abilities. Approximately half of the children with cerebral palsy have some type of seizures.