Cerebral Palsy Research Paper

Cerebral Palsy a neurodevelopmental disease that is non-progressive that results from brain damage. It is a lack of muscle control. It commonly is a There is a nerve blockage in the brain that inhibits the necessary function that needs to be carried out. Therefore the brain is unable to send appropriate signals to tell the muscles when to contract or relax.

Causes:

Cerebral Palsy can be caused in many ways such as during the prenatal period, having the baby prematurely, delivery complications, and having increased levels of bilirubin. Environmental factors that may take place are drugs, hypoxia, infections within the mother, and hypertension can also lead to Cerebral palsy. Its is said that most children with Cerebral palsy had brain damage

due to unnecessary labor precautions. About ten percent of children in the United States have Cerebral palsy that is due to complications during birth. Complications such as hypoxia and head trauma. There are three types of Cerebral Palsy, spastic, athetoid, and ataxic. The most common is spastic cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy patients with spasticity tend to have muscles that can’t relax appropriately which leads to the muscles becoming very stiff and hard to maneuver. Athetoid cerebral palsy inhibits the child to control their muscle movements, in this case you would see them moving their limbs around. Ataxic cerebral palsy which means without order is when a child has poor coordination and balance. In some cases, children, may have all three types of cerebral palsy in different ways. Choreoathetoid cerebral palsy is a combination of chorea and athetoid which is an involuntary movement of muscles, they are uncoordinated and repetitive movements. They have difficulties while tasking such as picking up a cup, walking in a straight line, or pressing buttons on a remote control.
Diagnosis:
Children with Cerebral Palsy are diagnosed at an early age from sixteen to eighteen months.

It can be a little more challenging to diagnose a child younger than sixteen months being that they are still developing and harder to predict if it is indeed Cerebral palsy. By the time the child is a toddler the neurologist can determine if the child, has hemiplegia, diplegia, or quadriplegia. Hemiplegia is a form of Cerebral palsy that targets one side of the body such as the right arm and the right leg. Diplegia refers to paralysis from the waist down and these children can also have minimal movement of their upper limbs. Quadriplegia is paralysis from the neck down which can inhibit children from keeping themselves balanced on their own. Children start showing signs that are linked to Cerebral palsy such as incoordination, dragging limbs while crawling, and rattling toys on the specific side and child doesn’t respond. The way the child walks can be a sign as well. Children with Cerebral palsy that are starting to walk tend to walk on their toes which is a result from the tendons being overly contracted, they tend to drag their lower limbs, loses their balance easily, and they may have one or both sides of the body that droops. Most children start holding their heads up, balance themselves while sitting and standing which then leads to walking on their own. Cerebral palsy patients don’t have that luxury because the simplest things to one person can be a challenge to the person

with the disability. There are many people that have a mild to severe form of Cerebral palsy and its always a good idea to keep an eye out for those signs. About thirty to fifty percent of children with Cerebral palsy may have epileptic seizures. Epilepsy is a type of seizure that is a result from a massive brain injury and is most common in children that are quadriplegic because there is minimal mobility and have greater mass of trauma to the brain. Thirty to fifty percent of children with Cerebral palsy have problems comprehending, problem solving, speaking, and have a short attention span. The life span of people with Cerebral palsy ranges from thirty to seventy years of age depending on how severe the case is. For example, children with quadriplegia tend to have a lower life expectancy rate due to the massive brain trauma.
Treatment Options:
Treatment options for children/adults may include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy or surgical procedures to alleviate pain in the joints, and medication such as muscle relaxers.

A great contributing factor is having a supporting family to help motivate the child/adult to keep going strong. This can help the cerebral palsy patient to be more confident within themselves and become independent. There are ways to help prevent the risks of Cerebral palsy. The best thing to do is to set a doctor’s appointment as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. Prenatal vitamins, controlled blood pressure, eating healthy are a few ways that may help possibly analyte the chances of having a child with Cerebral

palsy.
Prognosis:
As of today, there is no cure for Cerebral palsy. There have been many advances that have been improved in the last 20 years, which have had a great result with children born with Cerebral palsy. Advances in technology, including computers and engineering devices that have been invented for the people with Cerebral palsy. Devices such as the Robotic Exoskeleton, this contraption is a glove that allows children to have more mobility in their hands. Neurological surgical procedures are currently in the process to fix the brain damage in cerebral palsy patients. The future may bring more new and exciting opportunities for people living with Cerebral palsy to help them lead a normal lifestyle.
Cerebral palsy is something I live with every day. My form of Cerebral palsy is hemiparesis and it affects my right extremities. While writing, I learned and refreshed my knowledge on this condition. I was diagnosed at the age of six months that I had a mild form of Cerebral palsy. I received physical and occupational therapy from the day I got diagnosed up until my pre-teen years. The cause of my Cerebral palsy is due to labor and delivery delay which in this case I am part of the ten percent of children that were born hemiplegic. People always assume that because you have a disability that you won’t amount to anything and that isn’t true. I have been very blessed that my family has always supported and pushed me to do anything I put my mind to. When I felt like giving up on myself, my family would always say I can. That’s why I want to become an Occupational therapist so I may be an inspiration to kids just like me and remind them that yes, they can no matter the challenges they might face throughout their lifetime. I don’t view Cerebral palsy as a disability but as an opportunity to empower people to succeed.