Together, they form an omnibus term for a variety of disorders in which faulty development or damage to motor areas in the brain disrupt its ability to control movement and posture. They can be as simple as having difficulty with fine motor tasks like writing or using scissors, or they may be as profound as an inability to maintain balance or walk. The most severely afflicted may have involuntary movements, such as uncontrollable hand motions and drooling. Others suffer from secondary or related medical disorders, including seizures or mental retardation. Some persons with severe CP might be completely disabled and require lifelong care, while others might display only a slight awkwardness and need no special assistance.
Cerebral palsy is neither contagious nor inherited.
Although it cannot be cured, science has made great strides in treating and preventing it. Incidence It is estimated that more than half a million Americans have CP, and an additional 4,500 infants and children are diagnosed annually. These numbers have remained remarkably constant over the past 30 years, in part because improvements in pre-natal, pediatric and intensive care have enabled many more critically premature and frail babies to survive infancy than in the past. The downside of this improvement is that many such children have developmental disorders or suffer neurological damage. Join a live chat or threaded forum.