Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is defined as an ongoing developmental disorder of posture and movement, causing activity limitation, attributed to a non-progressive disorder that occurs in early brain development. The motor disorder in CP is often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, behavior and epilepsy. A higher incidence of psychiatric and developmental disorders is seen.

Patients and Methods: Screening was done by the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) in 470 patients aged 1 to 18 incomplete years with CP and subsequently evaluated by two different examiners. Cognitive level was also measured by standardized testing.

Results: 170 patients (41.4%) had intellectual disability (ID) associated with CP, 11 (2.3%) patients without DI, were diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and 16 (3.3%) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), 11 of these being associated with DI. Seven patients (1.4%) had behavioral disorders, 10 (2.1%) had a diagnosis of anxiety disorder, 3 (0.3 %) of depression, 2 (0.4 %) with psychotic disorders, and 1 patient with dissociative disorder. Epilepsy was present in 228 (48.5 %) patients. Could not correlate significantly the type of CP and the presence or absence of epilepsy in subgroups, except for ASD that were more frequent in left hemiparetic CP.

Conclusion: These results indicate that the occurrence of psychiatric disorders in CP should be actively investigated because its occurrence causes functional and quality of life loss. Accurate diagnosis of comorbid conditions is of paramount importance to the best treatment plan.