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The purpose of this assignment is to explain show the experiences and difficulties a person with cerebaral palsy may have and the effects that this may have on their family Information was collected by interviewing a friend of mine whose daughter was born with cp Mary is a 13 year old girl from from cork who lives with her parents and twin sister and older brother.
She was born thirteen years ago, along with her twin sister two months premature after a somewhat complicated pregnancy, mary was born with cerebral palsy and is unable to write using pencil and paper and is wheelchair bound although she can walk with the aid of a walker.. Her family was concerned because she is falling behind at school and is unable to keep up on written course work. They were interested in increasing her independence as she had previously dictated all written work to family members and school personnel.
She utilized dictation to another person as her main mode of writing. She is a very bright young girl. Table of contents What is Cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy also known as CP is a condition caused by injury to the parts of the brain that control our ability to use our muscles and bodies. Cerebral affects the brain. Palsy means weakness or problems with using the muscles. Often the injury happens before birth, sometimes during delivery, soon after being born. CP can be mild, moderate, or severe. Mild CP may mean a child is clumsy. Moderate CP may mean the child walks with a limp.
He or she may need a special leg brace or a cane. More severe CP can affect all parts of a child’s physical abilities. A child with moderate or severe CP may have to use a wheelchair and other special equipment. Sometimes children with CP can also have learning problems, problems with hearing or seeing (called sensory problems), or intellectual disability, usually, the greater the injury to the brain, the more severe the CP. However, CP doesn’t get worse over time, and most children with CP have a normal life span http://www. nichcy. org (2009) How is it diagnosed
Doctors diagnose cerebral palsy by testing a child’s motor skills and looking carefully at the child’s medical history. In addition to checking for slow development, abnormal muscle tone, and unusual posture – a doctor also tests the child’s reflexes and looks for early development of hand preference. Reflexes are movements that the body makes automatically in response to a specific cue. For example, if a new-born baby is held on its back and tilted so the legs are above its head, the baby will automatically extend its arms in a gesture, called the Moro reflex, that looks like an embrace.
Babies normally lose this reflex after they reach 6 months, but those with cerebral palsy may retain it for abnormally long periods. This is just one of several reflexes that a doctor can check. Doctors can also look for hand preference — a tendency to use either the right or left hand more often. When the doctor holds an object in front and to the side of the child, a child with hand preference will use the favoured hand to reach for the object, even when it is held closer to the opposite hand. During the first year, babies do not usually show hand preference.
But babies with spastic hemiplegia, in particular, may develop a preference much earlier, since the hand on the unaffected side of their body is stronger and more useful. The next step in diagnosing cerebral palsy is to rule out other disorders that can cause movement problems. Most important, doctors must determine that the child’s condition is not getting worse. Although its symptoms may change over time, cerebral palsy is not progressive. If a child is continuously losing motor skills, the problem is more likely to be genetic diseases, muscle diseases, disorders of metabolism, or tumours in the nervous system.
The child’s medical history, special diagnostic tests, and, in some cases, repeated check-ups can help confirm that other disorders are not at fault. The doctor may also order specialised scans of the brain, including CT (computerised tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), EEG (electro encephalogram), or Ultrasound, to learn more about the possible cause of cerebral palsy. Finally, doctors may want to look for other conditions that are linked to cerebral palsy, including epilepsy, mental impairment, and vision or hearing problem Symptons
The aymptons of cerebral palsy are usually not noticeable in early infancy but become more obvious as the child’s nervous system matures. Early signs include the following: •Delayed milestones such as controlling head, rolling over, reaching with one hand, sitting without support, crawling, or walking •Persistence of “infantile” or “primitive” reflexes, which normally disappear 3-6 months after birth •Developing handedness before age 18 months: This indicates weakness or abnormal muscle tone on one side, which may be an early sign of CP.
Problems and disabilities related to CP range from very mild to very severe. Their severity is related to the severity of the brain damage. They may be very subtle, noticeable only to medical professionals, or may be obvious to the parents and other caregivers. •Abnormal muscle tone: Muscles may be very stiff (spastic) or unusually relaxed and “floppy. ” Limbs may be held in unusual or awkward positions. For example, spastic leg muscles may cause legs to cross in a scissor-like position. •Abnormal movements: Movements may be unusually jerky or abrupt, or slow and writhing.
They may appear uncontrolled or without purpose. •Skeletal deformities: People who have cerebral palsy on only one side may have shortened limbs on the affected side. If not corrected by surgery or a device, this can lead to tilting of the pelvic bones and scoliosis (curvature of the spine). •Joint contractures: People with spastic cerebral palsy may develop severe stiffening of the joints because of unequal pressures on the joints exerted by muscles of differing tone or strength. •Mental retardation: Some, although not all, children with cerebral palsy are affected by mental retardation.
Generally, the more severe the retardation, the more severe the disability overall. •Seizures: About one third of people with cerebral palsy have seizures. Seizures may appear early in life or years after the brain damage that causes cerebral palsy. The physical signs of a seizure may be partly masked by the abnormal movements of a person with cerebral palsy. •Speech problems: Speech is partly controlled by movements of muscles of the tongue, mouth, and throat. Some individuals with cerebral palsy are unable to control these muscles and thus cannot speak normally. Swallowing problems: Swallowing is a very complex function that requires precise interaction of many groups of muscles. People with cerebral palsy who are unable to control these muscles will have problems sucking, eating, drinking, and controlling their saliva. They may drool. An even greater risk isaspiration, the inhalation into the lungs of food or fluids from the mouth ornose. This can cause infection or even suffocation. •Hearing loss: Partial hearing loss is not unusual in people with cerebral palsy. The child may not respond to sounds or may have delayed speech. Vision problems: Three quarters of people with cerebral palsy havestrabismus, which is the turning in or out of one eye. This is due to weakness of the muscles that control eye movement. These people are often nearsighted. If not corrected, strabismus can lead to more severe vision problems over time. •Dental problems: People with cerebral palsy tend to have more cavities than usual. This results from both defects in tooth enamel and difficulties brushing the teeth. •Bowel and/or bladder control problems: These are caused by lack of muscle control http://www. emedicinehealth. om/cerebral_palsy/page3_em. htm#Cerebral Palsy Symptoms Treatment •Physical therapy. Training your child’s body, muscles, and coordination at an early age can eventually lead to less dependence on mobility aids later on. Early therapy can also prevent contractures, a difficult condition where your child’s muscles become fixed, rigid, and immobile. •Speech therapy. Some children with Cerebral Palsy have many challenges in their speech patterns, so it is important to concentrate on building your child’s ability to speak early on. This therapy can also improve your child’s ability to eat. Daily living therapy. This type of therapy concentrates on improving the skills your child needs to use on a daily basis; things such as feeding, dressing, and general hygiene. •Hearing and Vision therapy. Cerebral Palsy can affect the muscles that coordinate eye movement, so some children need corrective surgery or eye patches to remedy their situation. Hearing aids can also help your child better interact with their world. •Supportive Technology. Medical science in the 21 st century has considerably advanced since the first braces and crutches were developed centuries ago.
Many daily tasks that were once out of reach for children with Cerebral Palsy are now simpler and less challenging. Customized wheelchairs, computer programs, and voice communication enhancers augment and compliment simple aids such as handrails, magnifiers, and Velcro. •Medication. Some muscle relaxants can reduce the rigidity of underused muscles and anticonvulsants like Botox can help control muscles spasms. •Surgery. By far the most evasive and complicated way to care for children with cerebral palsy is through surgery.
Depending on the severity of your child’s Cerebral Palsy, he or she may need surgery to correct problems on muscles, joints, tendons, or nerves. These procedures can help your child move more efficiently or make better use of walking aids. Once effective operation that can help relieve medication-resistant muscle spasms is an intrathecal baclofen procedure. A large amount of the anti-spastic medication baclofen is placed into a reservoir under the skin around the spinal chord which is continuously pumped through the body to prevent spasms.
This complicated procedure requires careful planning by a team of neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, and physical therapists. Every parent wants their child to live and develop into their full potential. Even though Cerebral Palsy makes that path a bit more difficult, it is best to look on these inconveniences as challenges to be overcome and to take strength from the knowledge that many people would have relented in their struggles at the first sign of adversity. Parents who care for children with Cerebral Palsy are truly some of the unsung heroes of our time http://www. resource4cerebralpalsy. om/topics/cerebralpalsyinchildren. html dissabilty act Effects on family Every parent wants their child to live and develop into their full potential. Even though Cerebral Palsy makes that path a bit more difficult, it is best to look on these inconveniences as challenges to be overcome and to take strength from the knowledge that many people would have relented in their struggles at the first sign of adversity. Parents who care for children with Cerebral Palsy are truly some of the unsung heroes of our time It is very important to change the attitude of the family members towards the cerebral palsy affected people.
They should never use any words that hurt the patients and they should make them happy to reduce the cerebral palsy effects. Teasing may cause a very damaging effect in the cerebral palsy children. It might worsen the situation more. The family members of the patient have to behave and speak with the patient in such a manner to increase the self confidence of the cerebral palsy patient. This helps them to manage the normal life. The negative attitudes of the family will affect negatively and worsen the cerebral palsy effects of the disabled child
Being the parent of a child with disabilities is not really a whole lot different than being a parent of an average child. The biggest difference is probably that after you get through the first hoop of finding out about your child’s disability, you will find the volume of work is bigger, louder and more compelling when I first learnt of my friends child’s disability. Doctors, therapists, teachers, early intervention specialists, case workers, disability advocates, lawyers, and a myriad of others who interact with you and your family may describe your feelings and sometimes your actions to you using this feelings model.
Although, this grieving process is only a theory, it is widely believed, and you may in fact have all these feelings. But you also will find you don’t fit this scenario and may feel you are being told how to feel and resent having certain beliefs or thoughts imposed upon you. If you watch a baby who is developing typically, you will see that he is seldom still; his arms and legs are in almost continuous motion. As he rolls, crawls, and gets into and out of sitting positions, he is exercising without making a conscious effort. For babies with cerebral palsy, this kind of spontaneous exercise is usually limited.
Because they may be capable of only a few movements, babies with cerebral palsy are often relatively inactive. But exercise is crucial for children with cerebral palsy. Movement through all ranges of motion can prevent contractures or joint limitations, thereby helping a child’s body maintain its potential. Weight bearing exercises can prevent bone loss. And the sensory and motor input that exercise provides is an essential building block for future development of cognitive skills. As the parent of a child with cerebral palsy you will want to make sure that your child gets all the exercise he needs. Consequently, f your child is passive and content to lie back and watch the world around him, you may need to impose movement upon him. For young children with cerebral palsy, one of the best ways to encourage movement is through the roughhouse play that other children instinctively make a part of their regular exercise. The touch and movement input that is so much a part of this type of play is essential to the development of normal tactile (touch) and vestibular (response to movement) systems. Furthermore, your child will enjoy roughhousing, so long as you keep in mind the principles of good handling and pay attention to your child’s body. In addition to fitting exercise into their child’s daily routine, some parents of children with cerebral palsy enroll their children in formal physical fitness programs. Gym classes, movement experiences, and other programs for young children are blossoming, and many are quite receptive to children with special needs. It is not essential that you find a program with a staff trained in dealing with children with special needs, although you will want to have the help and cooperation of the instructor.
Generally, it will be up to you to apply the correct principles of reducing or increasing muscle tone and encouraging normal movement as you assist your child. Your physical or occupational therapist can tell you whether your child might benefit from any program you are considering. As your child grows older, it becomes increasingly important for his exercise routine to include outdoor activities. Walks in the stroller or in a backpack are good ways to provide opportunities for fresh air and learning about the world outside the house.
Just spending time lying or sitting on the grass while parents do yard work can be a very special event. Birds, trees, flowers, and outdoor smells and sounds are all food for developing sensory systems. Your child may also enjoy rides on the back of your bicycle if you take the proper precautions. Because your child may make involuntary movements when riding on a bicycle or may shift his weight in ways that make it hard for you to keep your balance, always make sure that your child wears a helmet and that his seat provides him maximum support.
You may have to be a bit creative to think of outdoor play activities that are within your child’s motor abilities. But since playing outdoors is the most enjoyable form of exercise for many children, the more activities you can come up with, the better. Often you can adapt indoor activities to the outdoors. For example, just crawling around outside can be exercise and especially fun if it is combined with a game of hide and seek. For children who are new walkers, pulling a wagon can be fun and can encourage walking backwards.
Using a walker outside can be a new challenge; learning to maneuver a wheelchair outdoors enables a child to be at the same height as other children and to have the mobility to play with them. Other new and pleasurable challenges for children of all levels abound in playgrounds. Riding a specially adapted tricycle can also be very exciting and provides excellent exercise. An outdoor activity that can benefit almost any child with cerebral palsy is swimming. Not only does swimming give children a freedom of movement they don’t have on land, but it can also help improve respiratory ability.
It is important to note that cold water can increase muscle tone, but warm water often has a relaxing effect and help reduce muscle tone. This means you should look for a pool with a water temperature best suited to your child’s tone. Other activities you may want to investigate once your child reaches school age include therapeutic horseback riding and Special Olympics. As with many aspects of raising a child with cerebral palsy, much trial and error is involved in finding enjoyable exercises that are right for your child. Like any child, your child will have likes and dislikes when it comes to certain types of exercises.
It is important to respect these feelings as much as possible so that your child comes to see exercise as a natural, enjoyable part of life, not a chore. Remember, fresh air and exercise are important for everyone, and if your child values them when he is young, he will likely value them for a lifetime http://www. mamashealth. com/book/cpalsy. asp Tips for Teachers •Learn more about CP. The resources and organizations at the end of this publication will help you. •This may seem obvious, but sometimes the “look” of CP can given the mistaken impression that a child who has CP cannot learn as much as others.
Focus on the individual child and learn firsthand what needs and capabilities he or she has. •Tap into the strategies that teachers of students with learning disabilities use for their students. Become knowledgeable about different learning styles. Then you can use the approach best suited for a particular child, based upon that child’s learning abilities as well as physical abilities. •Be inventive. Ask yourself (and others), “How can I adapt this lesson for this child to maximize active, hands-on learning? ” •Learn to love assistive technology. Find experts within and outside your school to help you.
Assistive technology can mean the difference between independence for your student or not. •Always remember, parents are experts, too. Talk candidly with your student’s parents. They can tell you a great deal about their daughter or son’s special needs and abilities. •Effective teamwork for the child with CP needs to bring together professionals with diverse backgrounds and expertise. The team must combine the knowledge of its members to plan, implement, and coordinate the child’s services. Tips for parents Will put this in after discussing with ann marie Refelections and conclusion
Children are inherently a big responsibility. Food, clothes, toys, doctor appointments, education – virtually everything that children need is incredibly expensive. For children with special needs such as Cerebral Palsy, these basic necessities can cost three or four times more than with less challenged children. It is important to realize that your child can develop into a loving, emotionally developed adult, and there are several steps you can take when your child is diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. Children with Cerebral Palsy need structured and focused long term treatment in order to fully reach their maximum potential.
Some of the more common ways to care for children with Cerebral Palsy include: Children with Cerebral Palsy often need much more attention then other children do. Special needs for movement, interaction, and communication are sometimes taxing and frustrating to even the most devoted parents, and without special help few of these loving but confused families know where to turn. The first and most important thing to realize is that most children with Cerebral Palsy have the capacity for intellectual and emotional development.
Life may be more challenging and stressful, but that should not prevent you from encouraging and enabling your child to grow and explore. It is also vital that any siblings of a child with cerebral palsy receive the appropriate amount of attention as well. With so much focus on the child with special needs, these siblings can often feel excluded and marginalized from the family, and studies show these children are statistically more likely to develop behavioral and emotional problems later in life. Schooling is also a complicated issue for caring for children with Cerebral Palsy.
Although the law dictates that children with Cerebral Palsy have the right to attend school with other children, the reality is that these children have special needs that some schools lack the ability to address. Special inclusion programs mix disabled and healthy children into a single learning environment in order to teach them about differences at an early age. Another important issue many parents of children with Cerebral Palsy must consider is that many of the support services available for families end on either the child’s 18 th or 21 st birthday.
The prospect of disabled children facing the world is often more than most parents can bear, but the increasing cost of medical care in the United States often forces these children into special group homes or caretaking hospitals. Regardless of their condition, your child needs your love and support. Cerebral Palsy should not prevent you from taking joy from your child’s life. Even though it can be difficult, there are ways to help http://www. resource4cerebralpalsy. com/topics/cerebralpalsyinchildren. html bibliog