What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral Palsy affects an individual’s muscle tone, movement, balance, and posture. Cerebral Palsy is due to abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain. The brain damage can occur before or during birth, or during the first three to five years of the child’s life. The abnormality in the brain makes it difficult for individuals to control their muscles, making movement less coordinated. Cerebral Palsy can also affect other bodily functions that involve muscles and motor skills. Cerebral Palsy ranges from mild or moderate to severe, depending on the type.
Types of Cerebral Palsy
There are three classifications of Cerebral Palsy: Spastic, Dyskinetic, and Ataxic.
Spastic Cerebral Palsy is the most common type, accounting for 80% of individuals with Cerebral Palsy. These individuals have increased muscle tone, which makes their muscles still and movement awkward. Spastic Cerebral Palsy can affect just the legs, one half of the body, or in the most extreme cases, the entire body. When an individual’s entire body is affected, it is called Spastic quadriplegia. These individuals usually cannot walk and it is usually associated with other developmental disabilities.
Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy occurs when individuals have changing muscle tone. The muscle tone can be too loose or too tight, and can change not only day to day but multiple times in one given day. Often, these individuals have trouble controlling their limbs (arms, hands, feet, and legs). These movements are uncontrollable and jerky. If the face is affected, the individual can have trouble swallowing or talking.
Ataxic Cerebral Palsy involves problems with balance and coordination. This can lead to an individual being unsteady when they walk, or having trouble with quick movements.
Diagnosing Cerebral Palsy
There are a few steps that need to be taken to diagnose Cerebral Palsy. One of the first steps is through developmental monitoring or screening. Parents or guardians should monitor the progress of their child, and track their development. Some early symptoms are if a baby feels still or floppy, a child older than six months cannot roll over or bring hands together, and if a child over ten months crawls in a lopsided manner or scoots around rather than crawls. If a parent or guardian is concerned about their child’s progress, or a child is behind on a developmental milestone, a developmental screening test should be done. A screening test checks for motor or movement delays in a child.
To learn more about screening and diagnosis, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/cp/diagnosis.html
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Technology for Students with Cerebral Palsy 