Cerebral Palsy

What is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a disorder of movement and posture due to part of the brain not working properly or not developing. It is not a disease or an illness and it is non-progressive. No two people with CP are the same, movement difficulties can vary from the barely noticeable to the severe.

What are the main types of CP?

The three main types of cerebral palsy correspond to the different parts of the brain affected.

People with Spastic CP find that some muscles become very stiff and weak, especially under effort, which can affect their control of movement. This is the most common type of CP, affecting different areas of the body.

People with Athetoid CP has some loss of control of their posture, and tends to make involuntary movements.

People with Ataxic CP usually have problems with balance. They may also have shaky hand movements and irregular speech.

Often people will have a mixture of the different types of CP.

What causes CP?

Cerebral Palsy is most commonly the result of a failure of part of the brain to develop, either before birth or in early childhood. Occasionally it is due to an inherited disorder. It is sometimes possible to identify the cause of CP, but not always.

What are the effects?

The effects of CP vary widely from person to person. At its mildest, cp may result in a slight awkwardness of movement or hand control. At its most severe cp may result in virtually no muscle control, profoundly affecting movement and speech. Sometimes other parts of the brain are also affected, resulting in sight, hearing, perception, learning difficulties and epilepsy. Although people may have difficulty controlling their movement and facial expressions, it does not necessarily mean that their mental abilities are in any way impaired. Some common symptoms of cp include muscles going floppy or tense, difficulty in grasping things, painful cramps in the arms or legs. For further information about the types, causes and effects of CP, please, see the books listed below.

Is there a cure for CP?

There is no cure for CP, but we do know that good positioning of children a structured play from an early age can ease its affects. One approach is conductive education - a learning system developed in Hungary that is designed to enable children and adults to function more independently.

Professionals that can help include physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapist, and educational psychologists.

How many people have Cerebral Palsy?

Although improvements in maternity care have meant that fewer babies develop cp as a result of traumatic births, many more babies of very low birth weights are now surviving and these are more likely to have cp. It is believed that currently about one in every 44 children is affected by cp, i.e. about 1,800 babies are diagnosed with cerebral palsy in GB each year, and there are approximately 120,000 people with cp in England and Wales.

Other sources of information

This information has focused on the ’medical model’ of CP (i.e. th medical and physical condition). For information on the ’social model’ (which emphasises society’s responsibilities) see our information sheet on ’disability issues’.

Cerebral Palsy - A Complete Guide to Care giving. Miller, F and Bachrach, S.J.John Hopkins University Press, 1995.0801850916

Cerebral Palsy Handbook - A Practicle Guide for Parents and Carers. Stanton, M. Vermillonn, 1997.009181507X

I felt Like Running Away - The Social and Emotional Implications of Cerebral Palsy. Bamford, D. et al. Boys and Girls Welfare Society, 1991.1869801105

Living with Cerebral Palsy. Pimm, P. Wayland Publishing, 1999.

Scope Information Sheets on therapies, conductive education and disability issues. Please send an SAE to the Cerebral Palsy Helpline.

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