What is Cerebral Palsy?
- The textbook defines cerebral palsy as motor impairment caused by brain damage, which is usually,
acquired during the parental period or during the birth process.
-This
can involve a wide variety of symptons ranging from mild to severe.
The Causes
-The causes of cerebral palsy are not clearly known are are varied.
-Has been attributed to occurrences of injuries, accidents, or illness.
-Can happen during prenatal, perinatal, or postnatal stages.
-This
results in decrease of oxygen to low birth weight newborns.
-Mental
Retardation of the mother
-Premature birth
-Low
birth weight
-Delay of 5 minutes or more when the baby first cries.
Characteristics
There is a disturbance
of voluntary motor functions that include:
-Paralysis
-Extreme weakness
-Lack of coordination
-Involuntary convulsions
-Other motor disorders
-They may have little or no control of their arms, legs, or speech depending on the type and degree of impairment.
Diagnoses
-Severe forms may be diagnosed in the first few months of life.
-In most cases cerebral palsy is not detected until the child is two or three when the parents
notice the child is having difficulty crawling, balancing, or standing.
Different
types of Cerebral Palsy
Monoplegia- when only one limb is affected
Hemiplegia- two limbs on the same side of the body are affected.
Triplegia- three limbs are affected.
Quadriplegia- all goru limbs are affected
Paraplegia-
only legs are impaired
Diplegia- impairment primarily
involves the legs, with less severe movement of the arms.
Double hemiplegia- impairment primarily involves the arms, with less severe involvement of the legs
Preventative techniques
-Recent improvements
in obstetrical delivery and neonatal care have not decreased the incidence of cerebral palsy.
-These incidences have remained steady for the last 20 years.
-Incidences occur about 1.5 in every 100.
Educational Considerations
- 1/3 of all children have normal intelligence
- 1/3 have mild cognitive impairments
- 1/3 have moderate to sever mental retardation.
- There is no clear relationshp that exists between the degree of motor impairment and intellectual ability.
