Cerebral palsy is a permanent movement disorder occurring in both children and adults. It is caused by brain damage sustained during the life of the fetus, a newborn, or a young child.
What Cerebral Palsy Stands For:
- Cerebral refers to the brain; in cerebral palsy it refers to the part of the brain that governs movement
- Palsy means lack of ability to move properly
Following are some known facts about cerebral palsy:
- While cerebral palsy is not curable, some resulting effects from this brain damage causing condition can be treated to improve the lives of its sufferers
- This brain damage does not worsen with age
- Nearly 800,000 children and adults have cerebral palsy in the U.S.
- Annually, about 10,000 children will be born with the disorder or suffer brain damage that causes the condition
- Cerebral palsy may not be diagnosed immediately in newborns or young children, but the condition usually becomes evident by the age of three
- One million dollars is the average lifetime cost of treatment for someone disabled by cerebral palsy
- Complications during labor and delivery account for ten percent or less of the cases of cerebral palsy
Facts About Cerebral Palsy in Babies
Parents usually notice problems in their child before the doctor makes a cerebral palsy diagnosis. The child develops more slowly than other babies the same age. Babies with cerebral palsy are slower to:
- Roll over
- Sit up
- Crawl
- "Cruise" and walk
Their parents may notice unusual movements including:
- Rigidity
- Floppiness
- Tremors
- Excessive drooling and problems swallowing
Interesting Cerebral Palsy Facts
Cerebral palsy was first described in the 1860's by William Little, an English surgeon, who called the condition Little's disease. The popular belief was that all cases of cerebral palsy were the result of problems during labor and delivery. But the psychiatrist Sigmund Freud noticed that many of these patients also were mentally retarded, had problems seeing and had seizures. He thought cerebral palsy and these other conditions were connected, and conjectured that the disorder originated in the developing fetal brain.
Modern technology for imaging the brain has allowed doctors to see defects not present in the brains of normal children and adults. Cerebral palsy may seem to be more common today because more premature infants (who suffer this type of brain damage) are surviving due to advances in medical technology.
For more information and facts about cerebral palsy, or for resources to help you understand your child's cerebral palsy, contact our Cerebral Palsy lawyers. We can help you with all your cerebral palsy needs.
