Cerebral palsy (CP) refers to the group of brain disorders influencing a person’s normal movements. Prior to birth, the brain can undergo abnormal development due to injuries, which are considered the main cause of CP cases. Individuals suffering from cerebral palsy experience problems with controlling their movement, posture, and balance. Depending on the degree of severity of brain disorder, some people with CP can have mental impairment and disabilities, which means they have difficulties in reading, learning language and developing important living skills. In the United States, about three children out of a thousand suffer from cerebral palsy (Bjorklund 11). Although there is no cure for the disease, there are efficient treatment approaches to help children lead active, full lives with schools, workplaces, and relatives.
Due to the brain transformations, children with CP have motor symptoms that are caused by major malformation and abnormal cortical development. Apart from major physical impairment of the locomotive system, individuals with CP can have visionary and auditory disabilities as well. Some of the cases can be accompanied by seizures (Gage et al. 239). With regard to different types of CP, there are various signs and symptoms. Hence, spastic CP belongs to the most common type of the disorder and involves neuromuscular mobility impairment caused by upper neuron lesion and motor cortex problems. This type of disease is accompanied by muscle spasms, pain, and stress. Individuals having ataxic cerebral palsy can suffer from writing, typing problems due to the problems of operating objects by means of hands.
The prenatal complications often constitute the major cause of CP cases. Prior to birth, the fetus can experience asphyxia, which underlines the symptoms and causes pointing to the inevitability of the disease occurrence. Postnatal causes of cerebral palsy also occur to 18 % (Tecklin 180). The point is that newborn infants have CP symptoms because of prenatal influences. The ratio of children with cerebral palsy is significantly higher in developed countries than in the developed world. As the majority of children were affected with the diseased prior to birth, extreme labor and stressful conditions influencing pregnant women can result in the birth of infants with disabilities.
Apart from clinical practices and medical treatment, the therapy of patients with cerebral palsy should be enhanced by a learning approach and collaborative work in teams. In particular, there should be professionals that could work in teams and exchange their experience in bringing up children having CP (Levitt 13). Thus, “the child should be seen as having primarily a motor impairment but may have individual associated impairments due to the brain damage” (Levitt 13). Apart from traditional treatment and interventions, there are also radical therapies. In particular, Panteliadis and Strassburg propose operative treatment multilevel surgery could be introduced to address the main orthopedic problems associated with the disease (228). Soft-tissue procedures related to muscle management can also be engaged.
In conclusion, although cerebral palsy is a well-examined disease, there is no specific cure for it. Nevertheless, due to the fact that the brain is the least researched organ of the human body, there is still the probability to find the most effective treatment. At the current moment, it is also possible to predict and prevent the occurrence of the disorder, which requires pregnant women to be more careful and attentive to any problems with their fetuses. Prenatal examinations, therefore, should be regular to detect the disease at earlier stages.
References
Bjorklund, Ruth. Cerebral Palsy. US: Marshall Cavendish, 2006. Print.
Gage, James, R., Schwartz Michael H., Koop, Steven, E., and Tom F. Novacheck. The Identification and Treatment of Gait Problem in Cerebral Palsy. US: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print.
Levitt, Sophie. Treatment of Cerebral Palsy and Motor Delay. US: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print.
Panteliadis, Christos, P., and Hans-Michael Strassburg. Cerebral Palsy: Principles and Management. US: Thieme, 2004. Print.
Tecklin, Jan Stephen. Pediatric Physical Therapy. US: Lippincott Williams & Williams, 2008. Print.