What is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a collection of motor disorders or dysfunctions that occur as a result of damage to the brain before, during or after birth. It is not a progressive disorder. It is static, meaning that the condition will not get worse over time. A child with cerebral palsy may have poor coordination, irregular or abnormal movement patterns, difficulty with balance, very tense muscles, or muscles that have very little tone and make the child floppy, or a combination of these motor disorders. Different parts of the body can be affected in different ways, and each individual with cerebral palsy will have a unique combination in type of dysfunction and level of severity.

The forms of cerebral palsy are generally classified as spastic, athetoid, ataxic, or a mixture of these. While it is a condition that affects movement, posture, and coordination, there can be associated conditions that are more likely to occur in children who have cerebral palsy.

Most of the complications of cerebral palsy are neurological. The part of the brain affected controls muscles that in turn move bones. Children with cerebral palsy often have orthopedic problems as well.

Quadriplegia is a type of cerebral palsy in which all four limbs are affected. It is usually accompanied by more severe symptoms of nerve damage interfering with normal muscle movement than the other types. Patients with severe spastic quadriplegia will not be able to walk even with a walker or other form of assistance, cannot move independently into a wheelchair, will have difficulty sitting, and usually are not capable of feeding themselves.