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| Failure to Thrive For some children with cerebral palsy, eating is a difficult and challenging task. The result of the difficulties in eating is often a condition known as "failure to thrive," which is applied to children whose current weight or rate of weight gain is significantly below that of other children of similar age and sex. Pediatricians and other health care professionals use graphs on which the height and weight are plotted and compared to norms. There is a particular type of cerebral palsy called pseudobulbar palsy that affects the muscles of the tongue and mouth. It interferes with the normal coordination of chewing and swallowing. For some children, when something is introduced inside the mouth, the jaw clamps shut and the tongue pushes the food out instead of bringing it in and back toward the throat. This condition is called tongue thrust and tonic bite. In diagnosing and treating a child who fails to thrive, physicians focus on identifying any underlying problem and promoting weight gain. From there, they work with the family to get the child back into a healthy growth pattern. Giving the child foods packed with nutrition and calories can improve and reverse the condition. Lack of nourishment for a long time is harmful to the proper growth of someone with cerebral palsy, just as it is for anyone. If "failure to thrive" is not corrected, the effects may be long lasting. Normal growth and development may not be achieved. It can take a great deal of time and patience to feed children who cannot feed themselves and who have so much difficulty with the coordination of eating. It can be hard on the caregivers. If a child does not begin to show improvement and growth, it is often recommended that tube feeding be considered. (A feeding tube is a small, plastic tube that is usually put through the mouth into the stomach. Then a liquid food is poured into the tube.) Damage to the part of the brain responsible for the creation and release of growth hormone can also cause “failure to thrive,” but it is far less frequently the cause than pseudobulbar palsy. Muscle Growth For children with spastic cerebral palsy, delayed muscle growth and spasticity cause their leg muscles to be short, and as a result, the amount of movement possible can decrease as a child grows. The joints will also become stiff. The feet and ankles present more problems than the knees, and the hands present more problems than the elbow. Generally, the closer to the end of the arm or leg, the more problems there will be as a result of uneven muscle growth. |
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