Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a brain disorder that can cause many problems in people. These problems could be not being able to relax your muscles, lack of balance, or fluttering your legs at random times. There are three types of Cerebral Palsy. They are Spastic, Athetoid, and Ataxic. The most common of the three types is Spastic. Spastic CP makes it so the patient can not relax their muscles. There muscles are always stiff. Athetoid CP causes people to not be able to control their muscles. People with this type at any time could move their legs or arms. Ataxic CP causes people to be shaky with their balance and coordination. Cerebral Palsy can affect a persons ability to walk, talk, eat, or move the way that other people do. CP can be mild or severe like most diseases. Depending on how much of the brain is affected rates the severeness. In most cases doctors do not know the cause of Cerebral Palsy. Doctors do know that the damage to the brain is caused when a baby is very young. Diagnosis is usually very early in life. CP doesn't progress, but how it affects a person can change as a person grows older and lives on their own. Usually the best way to manage CP is a combination of parents, teachers, doctors, and therapists. If you know someone that has CP the best thing that you can do for them is to treat that person like you would anyone else. If they need a little extra help then give it to them, but don't make a big deal about it. Also try and include them in on things that you are doing. There is no cure for CP so being there for those who have it is the best way to give them support.

These are the types of CP and what they affect and what part of the brain that they affect.