Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability in locomotion/movement. It is a damage caused to the developing brain either during pregnancy or shortly after birth.

CEREBRAL PALSY AFECTS A PERSON IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS:

• Affects body movement.
• Affects Muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, posture, and balance.
• Can cause visual, learning, hearing, speech, epilepsy, and intellectual impairments.
• Affects a person’s posture, balance, ability to move, communicate, eat, and sleep.

Although cerebral palsy is a permanent life-long condition, some of the signs can improve or worsen over time. And this type of disability is commonly acquired during childhood.

The parts of the body affected by cerebral palsy, the level of severity and combination of symptoms can differ for each person. For example, one person may have a weakness in one hand and find tasks like writing or tying shoelaces challenging. While another person may have little or no control over their movements or speech and require 24 hour assistance.

Persons with cerebral palsy may experience uncontrolled or unpredictable movements, muscles can be stiff, weak or tight and in some cases people have shaky movements or tremors. People with severe cerebral palsy may also have difficulties with swallowing, breathing, head and neck control, bladder and bowel control, eating and have dental and digestive problems.