| Cerebral palsy (CP) is a broad term
used to describe a group of chronic “palsies” —
disorders that impair control of movement — due to
damage to the developing brain. CP usually develops by
age 2 or 3 and is a non-progressive brain disorder,
meaning the brain damage does not continue to worsen
throughout life. However, the symptoms due to the brain
damage often do change over time; sometimes getting
better and sometimes getting worse. CP is one of the
most common causes of chronic childhood disability. It
affects between two and four of every 1,000 live births.
The United Cerebral Palsy Association estimates that
more than 500,000 Americans have CP.
Between 35 percent and 50 percent of
all children with CP will have an accompanying seizure
disorder and some level of mental retardation. They also
may have learning disabilities and vision, speech,
hearing and language problems.
Much remains unknown about the
disorder’s causes. However, evidence supports that infections,
birth injuries and poor oxygen supply to the brain
before, during and immediately after birth result in up
to 15 percent of cases. Premature infants are
particularly vulnerable. Severe illness (such as meningitis)
during the first years of life, physical trauma and
severe dehydration can
cause brain injury and result in CP.
Symptoms
The symptoms of CP can vary from light clumsiness to
extensive spasticity (uncontrolled contraction of
muscles attached to the skeleton). Early signs usually
appear before the age of 3. Parents are often the first
to suspect that their child is not developing motor
skills normally or is experiencing developmental delays.
Often babies with CP are slow to reach developmental
milestones, such as learning to roll over, sit, crawl,
smile or walk. Some affected children seem rigid or
stiff. They also may exhibit an unusual posture or favor
one side of their body.
There are three types of CP:
- Spastic CP, the most common
type, is a disorder in which certain muscles are
stiff and weak. The stiffness can occur mainly in
the legs (diplegia), only in the arm and leg of the
same side (hemiplegia) or in both arms and both legs
(quadriplegia). A wide-based, staggering or
"scissors" gait is characteristic of this
type.
- Dyskinetic, or athetotic, CP
generally involves impairment of voluntary muscle
control. People with this form of CP have incomplete
or fragmented motor movements often involving
bizarre twisting motions, tremors or exaggerated
posturing (athetosis).
- Mixed CP is a combination of
the previous two classifications.
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