Cerebral Palsy By: Timothy Kunsak

What is Cerebral Palsy? Cerebral Palsy is a brain disorder that someone will typically acquire while they are a baby, usually before the first year of life. Many people can even get it before birth! It is a condition that many people will have for the rest of their lives. It is not something that goes away. Also, for some people it can get progressively worse in their lifetime. People with CP can have a hard time doing simple things such as walking.

What is cerebral palsy? Only 10% of people with Cerebral Palsy were diagnosed after birth. Cerebral Palsy will also be much worse if you are diagnosed with it when you are very young. Cerebral Palsy can actually get better for someone in their lifetime. It isn’t always getting worse. There are currently about 764,000 people living in the U.S. with Cerebral Palsy.

How does someone get CP? Cerebral Palsy is caused by mainly two things, brain damage or the malformation of the brain. The malformation usually happens while the child’s brain is still developing. This will typically happen before birth, during birth, or right after birth. Some things that are known to cause CP in children are medical malpractice, abuse, accidents, infections, and negligence.

How does CP affect someone? Almost everyone with CP will show signs of physical impairment. However, the extent of the impairment and the limbs it affects will vary from person to person. It can also effect one limb, some, or even all of them! It can even affect someone’s face. Cerebral Palsy affects one’s ability to control their muscles. Their muscles can contract too much, too little, or all at the same time. Someone’s limbs can also be stiff and forced into awkward positions. The constant moving of the muscles can cause their limbs to shake or tremble. This can be very painful for the person. Cerebral Palsy can also affect a person’s balance and posture. Things that we take for granted like walking or tying our shoes everyday can be something that is near impossible for someone with CP. It can also affect the brain as it is caused by brain damage. It can affect someone’s intellectual abilities, cause vision problems, hearing problems, and even cause a seizure disorder.

Can Cerebral Palsy be spread? CAN IT BE CURED AND IS IT FATAL? Cerebral Palsy cannot be “transmitted” between people. It is not contagious. Cerebral Palsy is caused due to brain damage. Brain damage is not spread through human contact. It is also not spread through genes. However, hereditary factors can make someone more susceptible to being diagnosed with CP. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for Cerebral Palsy. There is no way to fix brain damage. However, there are treatments such as surgeries, physical therapy, medications, and technology that can reduce the effects of CP on the body. Cerebral Palsy is a non-life-threatening disease with the exception of children born with a very serious case.

Interesting facts and statistics 1 in 323 children have Cerebral Palsy. Only 58.2% of children with CP can walk on their own. Low birth weight and premature birth will result in higher percentage of a baby getting diagnosed with CP. Half of people with CP were born pre-maturely. There are more boys with CP than girls. For every 100 girls there is 135 boys. About 1 in 4 children with CP cannot dress and feed themselves. If a baby under the age of three has a stroke, it may result in them getting diagnosed with CP. 6 out of 10 people with Cerebral Palsy are intellectually superior.

Interesting facts and statistics More than half of children with CP are paralyzed on one side of the body which is also seen in adult strokes. About 1 in 3 children with CP cannot walk. About 1 in 4 people with CP have epileptic seizures. About 1 in 9 people with CP show signs of autism. About 10,000 infants are diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy each year.

Works cited "A Few Interesting Facts About Cerebral Palsy | CP Information." Cerebral Palsy Information. 10 Jan. 2014. Web. 08 Apr. 2017. <http://www.cerebral-palsy-information.com/blog/facts-about-cerebral- palsy/>. "Data & Statistics for Cerebral Palsy." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 02 May 2016. Web. 08 Apr. 2017. <https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/cp/data.html>. "Definition of Cerebral Palsy." Cerebralpalsy.org. Web. 08 Apr. 2017. <http://www.cerebralpalsy.org/about-cerebral-palsy/definition>. "Understanding Cerebral Palsy -- the Basics." WebMD. WebMD, Web. 09 Apr. 2017. <http://www.webmd.com/brain/understanding-cerebral-palsy-basic-information#1>.