Trackpad glitch possible solution?

The trackpad seems to look and mechanically perform fine. However upon starting the computer, as soon as I touch the trackpad the cursor on the screen freezes in downpressed mode and I have to reboot the computer. Startup with a USB mouse attached and set to disable the internal trackpad works fine but I was wondering what could be wrong with the trackpad and if there might be an easy fix. The problem could have occured related to less than gentle treatment by a young child but that part is somewhat speculative. Thanks.