Cerebral Palsey

Throughout this paper I will be discussing what Cerebral Palsy is, the affects it has on the body, the history of Cerebral Palsy, and the affect it has had on my family. I will also discuss other parts of Cerebral Palsy. What is Cerebral Palsy? According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke accessed on September 9, 2006 CP is a group of chronic disorders impairing the control of movement that appears within the first five minutes of birth. Damage to the motor areas of the brain result in Cerebral Palsy. It disrupts the brain’s ability to control some movements. Some ways to detect Cerebral Palsy is people with it have trouble balancing or walking. But some symptoms differ from person to person some affects of CP my result in other mental and or physical disorders. There is really no explanation of how Cerebral Palsy is developed. The most common signs of CP occur when a baby is born premature. It is almost certain that a child has CP if the baby is very small and does not cry within the first five minutes of being born. According to the Hopkins Press small premature infants have better than a 90 percent chance of developing Cerebral Palsy. CP can also occur before birth while the baby is inside the womb. This could caused by an infection or in any accident that the mother is injured by. Since there are so many ways CP is developed there is a very good chance that your child could develop CP because any slight mishap during a babies life can trigger CP.

There are three general classifications of Cerebral Palsy. They are Spastic, Ataxic, and Athetoid. Spastic Cerebral Palsy is when muscle tone is too high are too tight. This form of CP is common when you see someone who is really stiff and has trouble moving from position to position. They often have trouble letting something out of their hands because their muscles are so stiff. Out of the three types of Cerebral Palsy this is the most common. Actually according to the University of Virginia’s Health System more than have of all patients with CP have Spastic CP. Next is Ataxic Cerebral Palsy, with this form of CP people have low muscle tone and very poor coordination. Children with Ataxic CP look very uncomfortable when trying to move, their movements are very shaky. They often need something to help them stay up when moving from place to place. They often have small tremors in their muscle much like an older person would have with the affects of old age. These often have these tremors when they are doing simple tasks such as folding a paper or turning a page of a book. And because of the tremors they are the children that take longer to their writing assignments. The third kind of Cerebral Palsy is Athetoid in this form of CP is used when the muscle tone is mixed between too high or too low. Often children with this form of Cerebral Palsy have a tough time holding themselves up and they often make movements in the face and upper body that they do not try to make. Some children with Athetoid CP have trouble concentrating. They also have