Symptom Recognition and Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy in Nepal

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common movement disorder of childhood. Parents recognized the symptoms of CP at mean age of 13 months. However there was a mean delay of going to a doctor by 23 months and the mean age of diagnosis was 5½ years. Less than half of the CP children were diagnosed by a pediatrician and were receiving treatment methods with weak evidence base of efficacy. Delay in recognition of symptoms and help seeking due to lack of awareness and access to proper medical care and prevalent false beliefs were the leading reason for late diagnosis of CP in Nepal and thus children loose valuable time for intervention in their early developmental stage.