Helping Children With Cerebral Palsy
There are over three quarters of a million children with cerebral palsy in the United States alone. Cerebral palsy is term used to refer to several neurological disorders that cause problems for children while in the womb, during labor and delivery, and soon after birth. The three main types of cerebral palsy are athetoid, ataxic and spastic. Often times, the signs and symptoms of the condition are not apparent until it is noticed that the child does not reach normal developmental milestones.
Breaking down the term “cerebral palsy” makes it easier to understand, as cerebral means brain, and palsy is any disorder of movement or posture. The brain is rapidly developing from the fetal stage in early pregnancy until a child is around three years old. Because cerebral palsy is a problem with the developing brain, it can happen during the pregnancy, during the birthing process or during a short period after birth. Typically, this condition is not known to affect a child once brain development is complete. This means that children with cerebral palsy will have signs of cerebral palsy by five years of age. If they are older than five and show no symptoms, then they are unlikely to have the condition.
As of this writing, no one really knows what if the exact cause of cerebral palsy. What researchers do know is that there are several factors found that contribute to the condition. Damage to the brain during developmental stages in utero is said to be a trigger of cerebral palsy. The areas of the brain that are affected are the ones that control motor movements. The biggest unanswered question is why the damage occurs in the first place?
The signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy are a large part of what defines the condition. Early symptoms that occur before a child turns three years old may indicate that the child hasn’t developed proper motor skill functioning. That is because cerebral palsy in infants often times will trigger a developmental delay. Parents may notice that their child is not reaching developmental milestone such as rolling over, smiling, crawling, walking or sitting like other children. Other signs include unusual posture, abnormal muscle tone and a difficult pregnancy that involves fevers, bleeding and infection.
Now that you know what cerebral palsy is, you can more fully understand how difficult it is for children with cerebral palsy to live with it. There is still no definitive cure for this condition, yet scientists and researchers have found many possible ways to prevent cerebral palsy from happening in the first place. Giving immunizations and making sure a pregnant woman receives enough folate are just a couple of ways that have been found to possibly prevent cerebral palsy in children.
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