Cerebral Palsy Meagan Ricks

What is it? 0 Cerebral Palsy is a group of disorders which can affect the brain and nervous system. 0 Oftentimes, this can result in delays and disabilities with movement, hearing, seeing, thinking, and learning. 0 Cerebral Palsy is not contagious and can vary greatly between individuals.

How Does it Happen? 0 Cerebral palsy is a result of injury to or abnormal development of the brain. This most often occurs in the womb but can also happen at some point before the age of 2 years. 0 Issues with the brain resulting in cerebral palsy may be due to lack of oxygen, bleeding in the brain, infections, jaundice, or injury. 0 Premature infants are at an increased risk of developing cerebral palsy. 0 Sometimes, the exact cause cannot be identified.

What Does it Look Like? 0 Symptoms of cerebral palsy typically show up before a child reaches the age of two. Sometimes, the disorder presents itself as early as three months of age. 0 Each person with cerebral palsy may have different symptoms and varying severity of the disorder. 0 The earliest signs of cerebral palsy often include issues with reaching, sitting, rolling, crawling, and walking. 0 There are different types of cerebral palsy which affect people in different ways. These are: spastic and non- spastic which can be broken down to dyskinetic and ataxic. Some people also experience mixed cerebral palsy.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy 0 Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common type of the disorder and causes unusual tension in the muscles. 0 Symptoms include: 0 Stiff muscles that do not stretch or relax 0 Seizures 0 Abnormal walking 0 Arms that tuck into the sides or legs that cross 0 Muscle weakness 0 Paralysis 0 Affects on the tongue and mouth which can cause difficulties with speech, eating, and breathing 0 Joint dislocation 0 Botox injections into the muscles may reduce spasticity for up to 4 months. Other infusions have been used but carry increased risks. Procedures may also be done such as tendon- lengthening surgery to increase mobility.

Non-spastic Cerebral Palsy 0 Non-spastic cerebral palsy results in loss and fluctuation of muscle tone. Children with non-spastic cerebral palsy often have a “floppy” look to them and their arms and legs will hang like a ragdoll. 0 Common symptoms of the dyskinetic type are: 0 Involuntary movement of the arms, legs, and hands 0 Contracture of the spine which results in abnormal posture 0 Jerky movements 0 With the ataxic type, people often experience issues with balance and posture. They may have: 0 A very wide gait when walking 0 Issues with controlling eye movement 0 Impaired depth perception 0 Trouble with hand-eye coordination

Mixed Cerebral Palsy 0 Some people with cerebral palsy have disabilities and impairments involving both spastic and non-spastic symptoms. 0 A child with mixed cerebral palsy will have some limbs which are overly tense and spastic and other limbs which are severely undertoned and “floppy.”

Outlook and Treatment 0 Cerebral palsy does not affect life expectancy. 0 Because severity and vary greatly, the amount of assistance also varies but some children grow up to be able to live independently. 0 There is no cure for cerebral palsy but many treatments are available for making life more comfortable and enabling independence. These may include: 0 Exercise and physical therapy 0 Glasses, hearing aids, etc. 0 Medications to treat muscle tension, tremors, and seizures 0 Feeding tubes

In the Classroom 0 Children with cerebral palsy can have “normal” intelligence but learning disabilities are common and speech issues are prevalent in those with cerebral palsy. 0 Cerebral palsy students may attend a special needs preschool after the age of 3 in which an IEP will be started. This IEP will make the transition to kindergarten smoother. 0 A child with cerebral palsy will have special education teacher and/or a therapist with them in the school setting.

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Sources: palsy-spasticity/about-cerebral-palsy-spasticity