What is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral Palsy is a term used to describe a group of chronic disorders affecting body movements and muscle coordination that appear in the first few years of life and generally do not worsen over time. It is most commonly the result of failure of a part of the brain to develop or damage to motor areas in brain, either before birth, during birth or in early childhood.

The disorders vary from barely noticeable to extremely severe. No two children with cerebral palsy are the same; it is as individual as children themselves. Movement problems may also change over a period of time. However, a few symptoms identified by experts include having difficulty with fine motor tasks, such as writing or using scissors, experience difficulty with maintaining balance and walking, or be affected by involuntary movements, such as uncontrollable writhing motion of the hands or drooling.

Some people with cerebral palsy are also affected by other medical disorders, including seizures or mental impairment. But cerebral palsy does not always cause profound handicap. While a child with severe cerebral palsy may not be able to walk, talk, eat or play in the same ways as most other children and require extensive, lifelong care, a child with mild cerebral palsy may only be somewhat graceless and need no special support.

Early signs of cerebral palsy usually appear before 3 years of age. Infants suffering with cerebral palsy are often slow to accomplish developmental milestones such as learning to roll over, sit, crawl, smile, or walk.

It is important to know that cerebral palsy is neither progressive nor communicable. Although education, therapy and applied technology can help persons with cerebral palsy lead productive lives children who have cerebral palsy will have it all their lives.