What
is the Definition of Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is a term used to describe a group of chronic conditions
affecting body movements and muscle coordination. It is caused by
damage to one or more specific areas of the brain, usually occurring
during fetal development, or during infancy. It can also occur before,
during or shortly following birth.
"Cerebral" refers to the brain and "Palsy" to a disorder of movement or
posture. If someone has cerebral palsy it means that because of an
injury to their brain (cerebral) they are not able to use some of the
muscles in their body in the normal way (palsy). people with cerebral
palsy may not be able to walk, talk, eat or play in the same ways as
most other people .
Cerebral palsy is neither progressive nor communicable. It is also not
"curable" in the accepted sense, although education, therapy and applied
technology can help persons with cerebral palsy lead productive lives.
It is important to know that cerebral palsy is not a disease or
illness. It isn't contagious and it doesn't get worse. people who have
cerebral palsy will have it all their lives.
Cerebral palsy is characterized by an inability to fully control motor
function, particularly muscle control and coordination. Depending on
which areas of the brain have been damaged, one or more of the following
may occur:
-
muscle
tightness or spasm
-
involuntary movement
-
disturbance in gait and mobility
-
abnormal
sensation and perception
-
impairment of sight, hearing or speech
-
seizures
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