What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy covers a group of neurological disorders that involves communication between the brain and muscles. This impacts over 10,000 people that are diagnosed each year. The brain holds our motor functions. These take charge of involuntary actions, such as breathing, and voluntary actions, such as walking. These actions may have difficulty being carried out when the motor functions are damaged, which is the essence of cerebral palsy. Although the exact causes of it are unknown, risk factors such as prematurity, lack of oxygen during birth, and brain injury during early infancy are possible causes.
Symptoms
Symptoms and severity can vary from kid to kid, but common symptoms of cerebral palsy include difficulty with moving the body, stiff or floppy muscles, involuntary movements, and other coexisting conditions. There are four main types: spastic, athetoid/dyskinetic, ataxic, and mixed. All of these delve more specifically into the different causes and symptoms.
Treatment
While there is no known cure, interventions can be taken to help people with cerebral palsy live their lives fully. Early therapy focusing on physical mobility in children is especially effective, since the brain is very adaptable in the early stages of life. Ways of learning how to thrive with cerebral palsy include anything from occupational therapy, psychologists, and braces to medication, orthopedic surgery, and seeing neurologists.
How You Can Help
As always, the most basic form of respect is using correct terminology, educating yourself, and spreading awareness. There are multiple ways to volunteer and get involved, whether by showing your support by writing an encouraging letter, or donating to organizations. For active forms of helping, check out volunteering and educating opportunities at the organization March of Dimes.
March of Dimes website: https://www.marchofdimes.org/volunteers/volunteer-opportunities.aspx
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