What is CP?

• Cerebral palsy (CP) is a term used to describe a group of disorders affecting body movement and muscle co-ordination. The medical definition of CP is "a non-progressive but not unchanging disorder of movement and/or posture, due to an insult or anomaly of the developing brain.“
• Cerebral Palsy is a condition that affects the part of the brain that controls muscle coordination and movement. The damage to the motor area of the brain prevents the individual from maintaining adequate control of muscle movement and/or posture. 
• Development of the brain starts in early pregnancy and continues until about age three. Damage to the brain during this time may result in CP. This damage interferes with messages from the brain to the body, and from the body to the brain.

  • Cerebral = "of the brain"
  • Palsy = "lack of muscle control" or paralysis.
    

Depending on which areas of the brain have been damaged, one or more of the following may occur: 

1. muscle tightness or spasms 
2. involuntary movement 
3. difficulty with "gross motor skills" such as walking or running 
4. difficulty with "fine motor skills" such as writing, speaking, doing up buttons etc., 
5. difficulty in perception and sensation 

Many children with cerebral palsy have other problems that require treatment. 
These include:

• mental retardation
• vision 
• hearing 
• speech problems
• learning disabilities
• seizures
• gastrointestinal dysfunction 
• tooth decay (dental caries)
• sensory deficits

• NOT Disease
• NOT Contagious 
• NOT Hereditary 
• NOT Life-threatening