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Cerebral Palsy Information Those two words
encompass a wide range of problems. Most people picture someone in a
wheelchair whose body is so dysfunctional it is impossible to know if the
person has any mental abilities. That is not always the case. You might be
surprised to find out how many people have CP and you can't really tell.
There is no way I could give you every available bit of information about
cerebral palsy unless I wrote an entire book. This page is meant to give
general information in lay mans terms as well as provide you with a few
places you can go for more detailed information. I am not a doctor so
don't take my word as law. Always consult your personal physician for any
concerns you may have. Cerebral palsy can be caused by many different things. Quite a few of them are preventable. Sadly for many people there is never any certain cause for the brain damage. RH and A-B-O incompatibility can often be preventable via a blood transfusion for the baby or an immunization for the mother, Poor nutrition during the prenatal period is an easily preventable cause. If you are pregnant and not getting enough to eat (and live in the U.S.), call your local WIC office. They provide food for expectant and breast-feeding mothers as well as for babies and children up to the age of 5. If you are a woman of childbearing age always try to eat a healthy diet. Some illnesses during pregnancy have been known to cause a wide range of birth defects. Some the mother can be immunized against such as measles and chicken pox. As for most other illnesses there is only so much a mother to be can do. Unless you stay in your house continually you can't always avoid others who are sick. Sometimes the umbilical cord will wrap around a baby's neck cutting off the infants oxygen supply. There can also be problems with the placenta such as premature separation from the mother. Those can have unwanted consequences. Premature and low birth weight babies have a higher rate of cerebral palsy than full term babies and those weighing more that 5.5 lbs. No one is really sure why but there are currently being studies done to try and find out why. Too long or too short of a labor may also cause problems. (Yeah I wish I knew what that "perfect" window of time is!) During the peri natal and neonatal period high bilirubin levels (jaundice), brain bleeds, and a lack of oxygen can all cause brain damage. Anytime the oxygen supply is compromised or there is a head injury irreversible damage can occur. No matter what the persons age. Some other examples include near drownings, car accident, and falls resulting in blows to the skull. Although, *technically* this wouldn't be considered cerebral palsy, this would be classified as TBI or traumatic brain injury. The effects are pretty close to the same as are the treatments. One thing I personally feel may be responsible for CP or TBI being acquired during infancy and childhood is shaking. When a child is shook their brain bounces around within the skull. If you weigh 150 lbs and the child weighs 30 lbs I have no statistics or studies to back me up on that but I do know that shaking can kill. It stands to reason that the survivors can have some serious problems. Child abuse is the most preventable cause of cerebral palsy. You think you are stressed out and raising a "normal" active child is tough?? Try one with disabilities. 'Nuff said. It is actually rather difficult to get a diagnosis of CP. If you notice that your child is not developing at a pace you feel is normal, discuss it with your family doctor. There is a very wide range of "normal", he/she can tell you if you should worry about it at that point or just watch and wait. If your child have problems at birth and had sonograms of the brain or MRI's and there was visible damage they should be looked after closely. If your child does show developmental delays it helps if therapy and other treatments are started early. In the US (and possibly other countries) there are guidelines for Early Childhood Intervention Programs. I highly recommend calling your local school district if you suspect your child is behind. They have programs and screenings in place for children from *birth*. If your doctor is concerned he can do a battery of tests (or send you to specialists in early child development for them ) to determine how delayed your child is and then, if necessary to determine if there is damage and where that damage is. Most doctors are very reluctant to give a diagnosis of cerebral palsy until a child is 18 to 24 months old. Or until the same amount of time has passed since injury. Many will give a diagnosis earlier if the child has been at high risk or the parent truly pushes for the appropriate testing. There is no cure. I seriously doubt there ever will be. Medical science is wonderful and they are curing things that people never thought could be beat. They have yet to figure out how to repair or replace precious brain cells that have been injured. The brain is a complex and mysterious organ. I recently read an article about how infant brains have the ability to basically rewire themselves. At least to some extent. I'll look and see if I can find it again and put it up. They can and do treat cerebral palsy. There are many types of CP. Some of the terms you will hear with it are listed and described below. Keep in mind that you can have several of these terms paired in a diagnosis. For instance at one point I was told my daughter had "Spastic hemiplegia bilaterally". Spastic: This often shows in an exaggeration of voluntary movements due to the tightness of muscles. You may notice it is difficult to get your child to "ride" on your hip when carrying them or they "toe walk" This is the most common form. Ataxic: Causes the balance to be disturbed, as well as tremors or shaky movements. Athetiod: There are uncontrollable movements in the affected muscles. These are often "floppy" babies. These people also have "low" muscle tone. Some people have more than one form of CP. Bilateral: affecting both sides Diplegia: affecting two limbs Paraplegia: affecting both of the legs and lower part of the body Quadriplegia: affecting both arms and legs Hemiplegia: affecting the arm and leg on one side of the body
Occupational Therapy (OT) is used to help them learn to use their arms, hands and upper body properly. Things that may be included in this is learning how to hold silverware or a pencil. Recreational Therapy helps them learn to have fun. This can be learning to ride a horse, swimming, or learning to throw and kick a ball. Speech Therapy helps with language skills and communication. If you pay attention when you speak you will notice there are many different positions you must place your tongue and lips in to form the sounds. One of the best things for a child with spastic CP (or from my understanding ~ talking to physicians, therapists, other parents and people who have CP ~ is water. Simple huh? A pool, bathtub, or anything along those lines is great. A daily soak in warm water tends to help relax the muscles and make stretching your child or performing range of motion exercises easier. The same goes for playing in a pool. For some reason movement is a bit easier in a pool than on dry land. Once again...afterwards it is easier to do any neccessary stretching or range of motion exercises. Besides....playin in the water is fun for both the kid and parent :o).
Some of the
procedures I'm including both devices to help a person with CP get around and speak as well as adaptive equipment. There are too many for me to list and describe all of them but I will cover some of the basics. Wheelchairs: You know what these are. For the person who is not walking this can provide them with some independence. There are standard wheel chairs that are moved using the wheels but there are also motorized ones that allow them to use a joystick to stop, start, and maneuver. Walkers: These have 4 legs and allow people who can walk yet have difficulty with frequent falls to have some extra support and stability. Some go in front of the person but there are also ones that go behind them. You will see some with wheels so that they do not have to be picked up, they are dragged or pushed. TENS units: These are a small portable machine. You place electrodes on the muscles to be stimulated and the TENS unit sends an electrical current to them. If it is painful you have it turned up to high. Some children say it feels like little ants on them. Braces: There are many different types of braces. They are used to help support a part of the body and hold it in a specific position. For example....an AFO helps to hold the foot up so that a person with "foot drop" can walk without dragging their toes or they can hold a foot down so that a toe walker learns to walk properly. Adaptive equipment includes eating utensils with the handles bent so the person does not have to bend their wrist so much to keep from spilling food. You can also get special equipment to give assistance in getting in and out of the bathtub alone (pretty important to most people). There are so many forms of adaptive equipment you really should look at some of the catalogs available. Since this page truly is a work in progress, :o), I will eventually get around to some of the catalogs that are at least online. |
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