what is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a blanket term used to define a movement disorder caused by non-progressive damage to the brain which has occurred before, during or within approximately 2 years of birth.

The effects of cerebral palsy are different to the effects of brain injury at other stages in life because it affects the brain before it has fully developed.

The term non-progressive does not mean that the effect of the damage is unchanging but that the areas of the brain which are damaged will not change.  There is no cure for CP but a good deal can be done to minimise the effects.

Causes
CP can be caused by many factors, some of these include:

• infection before or after birth
• reduced oxygen supply at any stage
• bleeding in the brain (this is common in babies born prematurely due to the vulnerability of their brains)
• unknown genetic factors
• malformation of the brain
• head injury e.g. as a result of a car accident in early childhood.
• Just under half of children with CP are born prematurely

Classification
CP is classified in 2 main ways. 

Firstly by the area of the body affected by the condition:

• Quadriplegia: All four limbs affected
• Hemiplegia: One side of the body affected more than the other
• Diplegia: Legs much more affected than arms

Secondly by the type of movement disorders that the individual displays:

• Spasticity: Increased tone or tightness of muscles
• Athetosis: Uncontrolled or added movements
• Ataxia: Uncoordinated movements and difficulty with balance
• Dystonia: Sudden changes in muscle tone or tension

It is very common to find more than one type of movement disorder affecting an individual with CP.  This is because the different types of movement disorders are caused by damage to different areas of the brain, a child may have more than one area of the brain damaged.

Additional Problems

Additional problems are likely to include.:

• Vision
• Hearing
• Speech
• Understanding
• Sensory Feedback
• Seizures and other medical problems
• Perception
• Feeding
  

An individual with CP may be affected by a number of these problems in addition to their movement disorder. Similarly some individuals will have none of these additional problems.

Secondary problems, which are common in individuals with CP are those which can occur as a result of their movement disorder.

These are often preventable with the correct positioning, position changes and active participation in their movement and environment.

These include:

• Reduced movement at a joint
• Psychological and self esteem issues
• Muscle shortening
• Muscle weakness
• Joint instability