Can a child be diagnosed with cerebral palsy but not have brain damage visible on ct and mri?

Unfortunately, yes.: Cerebral palsy(cp) can occur with no logical explanation, although prematurity, fetal distress, and birth accidents seem to increase the likelihood. The baby with CP presumably either prenatally, during birth, or soon after delivery received some insult to the brain. Oftentimes the injury is on a microscopic level that can not be detected by ct or MRI studies--but is still just as devastating.

Yes: Mri and ct show only the anatomy of the brain and not how it functions. So although in most cases something is seen on MRI there are cases where the MRI is normal but the child still appears to have cerebral palsy.

Yes: CP is triggered by an injury to the motor cortex,(a defined region of the brain). The injury could be from loss of blood flow, oxygen or infection at any point from when it forms to the 3rd birthday (research definition).Such an injury does not leave a calling card for an MRI or CT.It is not like an adult who fell off the turnip truck & had brain injury.