Disability Talks

Cerebral Palsy

Carrie Tynan

Cerebral palsy is defined as group of disorders such as loss of nerve function like movement. They are caused by injuries to the brain that occur during fetal development. The symptoms are as followed seizures, irregular breathing, delayed development, mentor retardation, limited and range of movement. Also Cerebral palsy also causes speech, hearing and vision abnormalities. Cerebral palsy is a life long disability that does not affect the length of life in some cases long-term care is needed. There are treatments to ease symptoms and maximize independence. Depending on symptoms of the individuals may need hearing aides, leg braces, and glasses to aid them in life. Special education services are also used to provide occupational, speech and physical therapy to improve the quality of life. Prescribed medications like muscle relaxant are used to treat muscle tremors and anticonvulsants are taken to prevent seizures. There are three major types of cerebral palsy. The first one is spastic cerebral meaning the individual is sift and has difficulty movements. Athetoid cerebral palsy refers to involuntary and uncontrolled movements of the body. While ataxic cerebral palsy is a disturbed sense of balance and depth perception. An invidual can also have a mixture of the three types, which is called mixed cerebral palsy.

I was born with mild cerebral palsy along with other disabilities like hearing and visual impairments. My disabilities may have been caused by my mother‚s exposure to the German measles. Cerebral palsy affects the left side of my body. My left hand is very weak and hard to control while I walk with a slight limp. I also deal with stiffness, aching joints and inflexibility on daily basses. During my school years I received physical therapy to help me walk and be more balanced in my movements. I also had years of speech therapy in school and a private setting. I have worn glasses and hearing aides since a very young age. Today I practice yoga, Pilates and ballet to help ease pain, stiffness and inflexibility. Yoga especially has been very effective for people with cerebral palsy because yoga focuses on stretching the muscle joints to increase flexibility. Even though I may need help with different activities like cutting, lifting and using stairs. I see my cerebral palsy has a challenge not a burden. I encourage those affected by cerebral palsy to read the book Ten Things I Learned From Bill Porter by Shelly Brady. It is a very inspiring book about a man‚s struggle to be fully independence and overcome obstacles caused by cerebral palsy. He is a very strong courageous man who touched many lives in many ways from being a friend to loving others. The United Cerebral Palsy has been the leading source of information and committed to giving people with disabilities the right to live independently in society with all available resources. They work at national and state levels providing programs like early intervention, employment assistance and support systems for people with cerebral palsy and their families. Visit http://www.ucp.org/main.cfm/1 for more information.