Infants And Children With Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral
Palsy is a muscular disorder, which occurs in
children and infants. It is the inability of
the human brain to process and send signals
to the muscular areas of the body and thus the
brain cannot permit the body to move and function
properly. Infants and children with cerebral
palsy develop this muscular abnormality during,
before or after birth. Cerebral palsy occurs
in 1 of every 500 infants and children but in
most cases cerebral palsy has occurred in premature
children. It is often difficult to diagnose
cerebral palsy before birth and it takes sometime
before it becomes clear that the infant is suffering
from Cerebral Palsy. Infants and children with
cerebral palsy suffer from brain damage, which
arises due to several reasons.
Some of the
reasons includes;
- Injuries which occur in infants and children
prior to birth can cause Cerebral Palsy.
- Inadequate oxygen supply to the infant’s
brain before, during, or subsequent to birth
can cause Cerebral Palsy.
- Parents having some type of physical or
mental illness could also directly affect
the child and cause Cerebral Palsy.
Infants and Children with cerebral
palsy usually suffer from the following types
of cerebral palsy:-
Spastic Cerebral Palsy
In Spastic Cerebral Palsy, infants and children
extend tight muscular groups due to some injuries
in the brain. The muscular stiffness disables
the child from moving correctly and prevents
them from making complete use of the muscles.
Athetoid Cerebral Palsy
The infants and children suffering from athetoid
cerebral palsy develop muscular irregularity,
and this situation results in improper movement
and inability of the muscle to function properly.
Ataxic Cerebral
Palsy
Infants and children having poorly developed
muscular contractions and powerlessness of the
muscles to accurately hold up the human body
during bodily movement is referred to as ataxic
cerebral palsy.
Infants and Children with Cerebral Palsy usually
show the symptoms of this sickness in the early
stages of their lives. Infants and children
with cerebral palsy are easily identified as
they show lack of movement, inability to understand
things and have muscular abnormalities. The
symptoms do change with time, and as the child
grows, the abnormality becomes more evident.
Infants and children suffering from cerebral
palsy are never totally cured of this sickness.
The brain damage, which has a direct impact
on the infant body, is life long.
With the advancement of medical science, much
work has been done to aid patients with Cerebral
palsy. However, this sickness is not totally
treatable. The survival rate of infants and
children suffering from cerebral palsy is high
and most children live a full life having this
sickness. Only those infants and children that
have severe mental sickness and several types
of cerebral palsy occurring at the same time
have a low survival rate. |
