• Question: What is cerebal palsy and can you get rid of it?

    Asked by meganashleigh to Ben, James, Jen, Susanna on 20 Mar 2013.
    • Photo: Susanna Martin

      Susanna Martin answered on 20 Mar 2013:

      Hi Megan and Asleigh, Cerebral Palsy is actually a group of motor conditions which can affect physical development. Its name comes from Cerebrum (a part of the brain) and Palsy which means movement. It’s caused by damage to the motor control centers of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy, or child birth. It can impact the person physically by restricting their movements and posture and it can sometimes impact them mentally by affecting their communication and cognition.
      Doctors don’t have a cure for CP but, they are finding ways to reduce the effects and improvements in treating babies have reduced the number of CP cases.
      The problems people have with CP differ from person to person so some people will be able to function almost normally and live alone etc, while others will need full time care. Early diagnosis can help people by providing early support and care from specialists.

      The wikipedia page has a list of notable people with CP so you can see that even if we can’t get rid of it, it can be manageable and dependent upon it’s severity you can go on to lead a normal (and potentially famous) life.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy

    • Photo: Jen Todd Jones

      Jen Todd Jones answered on 20 Mar 2013:

      Hey guys

      I think Susie has this covered! Cerebral palsy is a very difficult disorder since it happens usually when we’re very young which makes recovery difficult since this is when the brain is developing and growing the fastest, whereas it tends to set as we age and when we’re older it’s much more difficult to change since the brain is set in its ways sort of. There are even different kinds of cerebral palsy depending on where the damage occurs specifically in the brain.

      Jen

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