what is cerebral palsy?
Cerebral Palsy (often called CP) is a group of PERMANENT movement disorders.
The muscles are affected. They can be too stiff or too floppy and co-ordination can be affected.
This can cause difficulties with walking, talking, swallowing, sensation, vision and/or hearing.
The condition is usually present from birth. Problems will vary widely between people with CP and will show up during the early weeks, months and years.
In some cases, one side of the body will be more affected by CP (called hemiplegia). Sometimes all four limbs are affected (called quadriplegia).
what causes cp?
CP is caused by brain injury or malformation that occurs before, during or after birth while the brain is still forming.
It sometimes occurs alongside other disorders like epilepsy, impaired vision and/or hearing, learning difficulties or impaired growth.
how does cp affect people?
Every person with CP is different and will be affected differently by the condition.
Some people will walk and talk fairly well.
Some will walk well but have a lot of trouble talking and some will talk well but not be able to walk.
Some may not be able to talk and will have to use a wheelchair as they become bigger.
It’s important to treat everyone as individuals and that includes people with CP as well.
When my daughter was diagnosed with CP, even the doctors could not agree what that would mean for her. Some thought she’d never walk or talk but many refused to say and just referred us to clinics that could help her best.
Around three quarters of people with CP have significant pain associated with it.
how often are learning difficulties associated with cp?
Between 50 and 70 percent of children with CP will NOT have significant learning difficulties.
Of those that do have learning difficulties, these will vary from mild to profound.
where to find out more about cp...
Good places to look for more information about Cerebral Palsy are…
what should I do when I meet someone with cp?
- Don’t assume you can tell how able to communicate someone is by how they look. They may surprise you.
- Be friendly and kind (as I know you always are).
- Make eye contact if they are happy to.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions. People love to talk about themselves!
- Sometimes the person with disabilities will be with a carer. If you are being friendly and kind, they may be happy to answer some of your questions if the individual can’t answer for themselves.
