Cerebral Palsy

From ATWiki

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a group of problems related to mobility, dexterity and sometimes cognitive disability caused by problems during birth or early in childhood. The problem has to do with injury to the part of the brain that controls muscle function, not with the muscles themselves.^[1]

Contents 1 Causes 2 Symptoms 3 Treatment 4 Organizations 5 Notable People with Cerebral Palsy

Causes

• Complications from premature birth.
• Not enough blood, oxygen, or other nutrients before or during birth.
• A serious head injury.
• A serious infection that can affect the brain, such as meningitis.
• Genetic conditions that affect brain development.

Symptoms

Children with CP may show little signs of the disorder, however the severity of the disease does not increase with age. Symptoms may appear and disappear though.

Symptoms for Cerebral Palsy vary from mild to severe and always involve some sort of mobility or dexterity problems. People with mild CP may only have a slight limp. More severe cases involve little or no control over extremities and other parts of the body such as the tongue and mouth. Someone with CP may also have poor posture due to an abnormal spine.^[2]

CP can also lead to seizures and cognitive disability.

Treatment

Potential treatments include physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, drugs to control symptoms, surgery, braces and other orthotic devices; wheelchairs and rolling walkers; and communication aids such as computers with attached voice synthesizers.

Organizations

• United Cerebral Palsy
• March of Dimes
• Easter Seals
• [[United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) Research & Educational Foundation]]

Notable People with Cerebral Palsy

• Christy Brown
• Steady Eddie
• Chris Fonseca
• Jhamak Ghimire
• Stephen Hawking
• Geri Jewell
• Anne McDonald
• Chris Nolan
• Thomas Ritter
• Ruth Senkenwitz Mercer
• Jerry Traylor