Cerebral palsy or cp, is not a single condition but rather a
group of disorders which cause motor disability affecting body
movements and muscle coordination caused by damage to one or
more specific areas of the brain
Many variables contribute to the cause of cerebral palsy, the
most commonly of which is brain injury before or during birth.
It can also happen after birth due to brain damage in the very
early years, perhaps from bacterial meningitis or a head injury.
Children with cerebral palsy may not be able to walk, talk, eat
or play in the same ways as most other children and will,
unfortunately, have it all their lives.
Although children with very mild cerebral palsy occasionally
recover by the time they are school-aged, it is usually a
lifelong disability.
In most cases, the movement and other problems associated with
cerebral palsy affect what a child is able to learn and do to
varying degrees throughout their life.
However, It is important to realize that cerebral palsy is not a
disease or illness. It isn't contagious and it doesn't get worse.
Depending on which areas of the brain have been affected, one or
more of the following may occur: muscle tightness or spasm;
involuntary movement; disturbance in gait and mobility; abnormal
sensation and perception; impairment of sight, hearing or speech
and seizures.
In the United States today, more people have cerebral palsy than
any other developmental disability. About two children out of
every thousand born have some type of cerebral palsy. Studies
have shown that at least 5000 infants and toddlers and 1,200 -
1,500 preschoolers are diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year.
In all, approximately 500,000 people in the US have some degree
of cerebral palsy.
The term cerebral palsy itself encompasses many different
disorders of movement and posture. To describe these,
pediatricians, neurologists, and therapists use several
classification systems and many different labels.
Doctors frequently delay in making a diagnosis of cerebral palsy
in young children. This is due to the plasticity of a child's
central nervous system. The brains of very young children have a
much greater capacity to repair themselves than do adult brains.
Also a child's nervous system organizes over time, therefore
health care professionals need to assess the child's strengths
and needs in all areas.
Generally, however, a child's motor symptoms stabilize by two to
three years of age. After this age, tone is probably not going
to change dramatically.
New insights into the nature of cerebral palsy are being
researched and discovered providing more effective therapies to
assist children with cp to learn how to optimize their
manipulative capacities.
About the author:
Haig Meyer is a veteran of the alternative medicine industry and
has a wealth of knowledge and expertise that he likes to share
with others of like mind. He has written extensively on health
issues over the years and is well known for his humor and
incisive reports. If you have a question, he usually has the
answer. You can visit his website at:
http://www.cerebral-palsey.info
