About Cerebral Palsy (CP)

If you or your child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy or a diagnosis looks likely, it’s important for you to know that although the condition is lifelong, there are many therapies and interventions to look into to manage the symptoms and help your child develop.

There are approximately 34,000 people with cerebral palsy in Australia and everyone will have their own experience of how the diagnosis affects them. There are some basic things to know, however, about a CP diagnosis.

What is cerebral palsy?
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term for a broad group of movement disorders that affect movement and posture due to damage to the developing brain. While it is a life-long physical disability, the way it presents in you or your child can change over time.

There is no single cause of cerebral palsy and for most people the exact cause may never be known. The brain injury leading to cerebral palsy occurs either during pregnancy or before 1 month of age. After 1 month of age, stroke is the most common cause in babies who acquire cerebral palsy. If your child has a stroke, it may occur spontaneously or arise from surgical or heart complications.

No matter the cause, CP occurs early in life. Symptoms often show up in the first years of a child’s life.

Some adults may receive a diagnosis later on in life, however the condition will have been present since their early years.

How may cerebral palsy affect me or my child?
Each person with cerebral palsy is unique. While one person might have weakness in one hand and find tasks like writing or tying shoelaces challenging, others may have difficulty walking or with other gross motor skills. Some people find one side of the body is affected much more than the other, and some find their legs are much more affected than their arms.

You may find that you or your child is only very mildly affected on one side while some people may have little or no control over their movements or speech and need assistance day and night.

People with severe cerebral palsy may also have difficulties with swallowing, breathing and eating.

What to watch out for in babies and children
Not all signs of cerebral palsy are visible at birth; you may notice that some symptoms become more apparent as your child develops, or perhaps they may start missing some developmental milestones. Always talk to your GP, paediatrician or other primary care provider if you have any concerns.

Babies
Babies with cerebral palsy might:

Feel floppy when picked up
Not be able to hold their head up
Have muscles that feel stiff
Be slow to develop developmental milestones
Have feeding or swallowing difficulties
Prefer to use one side of their body
Not make many sounds
Not take much notice of you.
Children
Physical development can be delayed, with
children:

Not walking by 12–18 months
Not saying words or making simple sentences by 24 months
Having speech that is hard to understand
Having trouble eating or drinking certain types of foods
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