What's Cerebral Palsy?
Some kids with cerebral palsy use wheelchairs and others walk with the help of crutches or braces. In some cases, a kid's speech may be affected or the person might not be able to speak at all.
Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects thousands of children each year. It is not contagious, which means you can't catch it from anyone who has it.
A kid with cerebral palsy has trouble controlling the muscles of the body. Normally, the brain tells the rest of the body exactly what to do and when to do it. But because cerebral palsy affects the brain, depending on what part of the brain is affected, a kid might not be able to walk, talk, eat, or play the way most kids do.
Types of Cerebral Palsy
There are three types of cerebral palsy: spastic, athetoid, and ataxic. The most common type of cerebral palsy is spastic. A kid with spastic cerebral palsy can't relax his or her muscles or the muscles may be stiff.
Athetoid cerebral palsy affects a kid's ability to control the muscles of the body. This means that the arms or legs that are affected by athetoid cerebral palsy may flutter and move suddenly. A kid with ataxic cerebral palsy has problems with balance and coordination.
A kid with cerebral palsy can have a mild case or a more severe case — it really depends on how much of the brain is affected and which parts of the body that section of the brain controls. If both arms and both legs are affected, a kid might need to use a wheelchair. If only the legs are affected, a kid might walk in an unsteady way or have to wear braces or use crutches. If the part of the brain that controls speech is affected, a kid with cerebral palsy might have trouble talking clearly. Another kid with cerebral palsy might not be able to speak at all.
For some babies, injuries to the brain during pregnancy or soon after birth may cause cerebral palsy. Children most at risk of developing cerebral palsy are small, premature babies and babies who need to be on a ventilator (a machine to help with breathing) for several weeks or longer. But for most kids with cerebral palsy, the problem in the brain occurs before birth. Often, doctors don't know why.
What Do Doctors Do?
Doctors who specialize in treating kids with problems of the brain, nerves, or muscles are usually involved in diagnosing a kid with cerebral palsy. These specialists could include a pediatric neurologist, a doctor who deals with problems of the nervous system and brain in kids.
Three other kinds of doctors who can help kids with cerebral palsy include a pediatric orthopedist, who handles problems with bones or joints, a developmental pediatrician, who looks at how a kid is growing or developing compared with other kids the same age, and a pediatric physiatrist, who helps treat children with disabilities of many kinds.
There is no special test to figure out if a kid has cerebral palsy. Doctors may order X-rays and blood tests to find out if some other disease of the brain and nervous system may be causing the problem. To diagnose cerebral palsy, doctors usually wait to see how a kid develops to be sure.
A case of cerebral palsy often can be diagnosed by the age of 18 months. For example, if a child does not sit up or walk by the time most kids should be doing these things, the kid might have cerebral palsy or some other problem that is causing development to go more slowly. Doctors follow infant and child development closely and look for problems with muscle tone and strength, movement, and reflexes.
How Is Cerebral Palsy Treated?
For a kid with cerebral palsy, the problem with the brain will not get any worse as the kid gets older. For example, a kid who has cerebral palsy that affects only the legs will not develop cerebral palsy in the arms or problems with speech later on. The effect of cerebral palsy on the arms or legs can get worse, however, and some kids may develop dislocated hips (when the bones that meet at the hips move out of their normal position) or scoliosis (curvature of the
That is why therapy is so important. Kids with cerebral palsy usually have physical, occupational, or speech therapy to help them develop skills like walking, sitting, swallowing, and using their hands. There are also medications to treat the seizures that some kids with cerebral palsy have. Some medications can help relax the muscles in kids with spastic cerebral palsy. And some kids with cerebral palsy may have special surgeries to keep their arms or legs straighter and more flexible.
Living With Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy usually doesn't stop kids from going to school, making friends, or doing things they enjoy. But they may have to do these things a little differently or they may need some help. With computers to help them communicate and wheelchairs to help them get around, kids with cerebral palsy often can do a lot of stuff that kids without cerebral palsy can do.
Be patient if you know someone or meet someone with cerebral palsy. If you can't understand what a person with cerebral palsy is saying or if it takes a person with cerebral palsy longer to do things, give him or her extra time to speak or move. Being understanding is what being a good friend is all about, and a kid with cerebral palsy will really appreciate it.