Treating Cerebral Palsy
in Children
Treating Cerebral
Palsy
 Because brain damage
is permanent, cerebral
palsy can not be cured.
Someone with cerebral
palsy will always have
ongoing challenges, such
as impaired balance or
muscle control.
Proper medical treatment,
however, helps manage the
condition's symptoms and
effects. In addition, the
uninjured parts of the
brain sometimes learn
functions that the
damaged parts would have
otherwise controlled. The
extent of such
adaptations depends on
the location and extent
of the injury.
Behavioral
Therapy and
Counseling:
Because the symptoms
of cerebral palsy
can cause behavioral
and emotional
problems, many
children benefit
from counseling or
behavior therapy.
Behavioral therapy
utilizes
psychological
techniques to
improve physical,
mental, and
communicative
skills. The
activities used vary
greatly according to
age and disability.
Some techniques will
be used to
discourage
destructive
behavior, others to
encourage
self-sufficiency.
Ultimately, a
behavioral therapist
will act as a coach
to patient and
family, suggesting
ways to improve
behavior, as most of
the work will be
done in the home.
Occupational therapy:
This plays a
large role in the
development of a
child with Cerebral
Palsy. The job of an
occupational
therapist is to hone
the ability of the
fine-motor skills
and small muscles,
which include hands,
feet, mouth, fingers
and toes. An
occupational
therapist will
likely advise you
and your child on
easier methods of
feeding, dressing
and everyday
mobility. They will
also help you find
the specialized
equipment your child
needs to help him in
everyday activities,
such as modified
spoons and cups for
easier feeding, toys
that will help the
development of motor
skills and seats,
wheelchairs,
pushchairs, standing
frames, walking
frames and side
lying boards that
will help improve
your child’s
mobility, posture,
etc.
Medication
Therapy: to
control seizures,
also known as
anticonvulsants, are
general depressants
chosen for the
treatment of
seizures because
they reduce
excessive
stimulation in the
brain without
depressing vital
centers (such as the
respiratory center)
and without sending
the patient to
sleep. The cause and
type of epilepsy
must be established
before treatment is
offered. Selecting
the most suitable
drug and dosage for
a patient’s
individual needs is
important and may
take several months
to find one that is
capable of
controlling all the
patient’s symptoms.
Physical therapy
is one of the
most important
aspects of cerebral
palsy therapy. The
referral to the
physical therapist
is often the first
referral made in a
cerebral palsied
child’s treatment.
The job of the
physical therapist
is to help a child’s
mobility to develop
and to carry out and
teach exercises
designed to avoid
contractures, bone
deformity and
unwanted movement.
In general, they are
trained to work with
your child to enable
him or her to obtain
maximum physical
function.
Speech and language
therapy is
primarily concerned
with a child’s
communication. Since
communication
functions as both
the ability to
understand and the
ability to
communicate with the
outside world, a
speech and language
therapist will focus
equal attentions on
both facets of a
child’s
communicative
ability. They are
concerned with
establishing how a
child understands
language, whether he
or she can
understand verbal
instructions or
whether he or she
needs clues from his
or her environment
to understand what
is going on around
them. The speech and
language therapist
will give the child
some means of
communication with
the outside world
within what he has
already accomplished
in his communicative
abilities.
Types of Cerebral
Palsy
Cerebral Palsy is an
umbrella-like term for a
vast array of symptoms
and disabilities caused
by damage to the brain
before birth, during
birth and generally
before the age of three.
Because of the large
number of differing
symptoms that arise with
cerebral palsy, a child
with CP will likely need
many different forms of
therapy.
Cerebral palsy affects
people in various ways,
depending on where and to
what extent the brain has
been injured. In some
children, symptoms such
as muscles that are too
weak or too tight are
apparent at birth. In
other children, problems
don't become evident
until later.
Babies who are born
prematurely risk
developing cerebral
palsy. So do children up
to a year of age who
experience:
- Interruptions in
oxygen or blood flow
to the brain
- Bleeding in the
brain
- Infections of
the central nervous
system, such as
meningitis or
encephalitis
- Illnesses that
cause them to go
into shock
- Poisoning from
drugs or other toxic
substances
- Physical
injuries
Children who
experience seizures at or
before one month of age
might also develop
cerebral palsy.
Sometimes, it's
impossible to pinpoint
the factors that cause a
specific child to develop
cerebral palsy. Very
rarely, cerebral palsy is
inherited. Unless your
child is diagnosed with a
genetic form of the
disease, however, your
risk of having another
child with cerebral palsy
is very low.
Cerebral palsy is
divided into three types,
depending on which parts
of the body the condition
affects.
- Diplegia
affects the
legs more than the
arms. It's most
common in premature
babies.
-
Hemiplegia
affects one side of
the body. It's most
common in babies who
experience strokes
or traumatic brain
injuries.
-
Quadriplegia
means that
cerebral palsy
affects the entire
body - all four
limbs. Quadriplegia
is most common in
babies whose oxygen
supply is
interrupted.
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