Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral PalsyBy: Jhanetta Nicholson

Cerebral Palsy

• Cerebral Palsy results from damage to the brain. This damage can be caused by an infection or improper nutrition during pregnancy, physical injury to the brain during birth, or lack of oxygen during birth.

• It can be acquired during the developmental years as a result of a tumor, head injury, or brain infection.

• Cerebral palsy is characterized by lack of control of voluntary movements.

• Speech problems are often found in children with cerebral palsy.

• These problems are caused by the inability to control the muscles used to make speech sounds.

Kids with Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions, such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking.

The several types of cerebral palsy: spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, hypotonic, and mixed.

Cerebral palsy is caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain.

Most of these problems occur as a baby grows in the womb, but they can happen at any time during the first 2 years of life, while the baby’s brian is still developing.

Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy

Be very mild or very severe.

Only involve one side of the body or both sides.

Be more pronounced in either the arms or legs, or involve both the arms and legs.

Muscles that are very tight and do not stretch.

Joints are tight and do not open up all the way.

Muscle weakness or loss of movement in a group of muscles.

Causes of Cerebral Palsy

The exact causes of most cases of CP are unknown, but many are the result of problems during pregnancy in which the brain is either damaged or doesn’t develop formally.

Premature babies particularly those who weigh less than 3.3 pounds (1,510 grams) have a higher risk of CP than babies that are carried full-term, as are other low birth weight babies and multiple births, such as twins and triplets.

Some types of Cerebral Palsy

Signs in early childhood

These signs may include cerebral palsy: early feeding difficulties, delayed development, poor muscle control, muscle spasms, and lack of coordination.

Although the damage to the brain will not worsen, the effect on the body can become more obvious with age, and physical deformities can develop.

Cerebral palsy may affect a person’s mobility, their ability to talk, or their outward appearance. However, like most people, someone with cerebral palsy also has abilities and goals in life that are much the same as everybody else’s.

Cite Sources:

Working With Young Children text bookhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001734/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/cerebral_palsy.html

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Cerebral_palsy_causes_and_implications