Personal Statement: Cerebral Palsy

I was born on June 28,1999. Although i was sure to have an interesting life, I did not know what challenges I would face along the way. Doctors had diagnosed me with Cerebral Palsy when I was born. My parents were told that there was no way I would be able to live a normal life without being in a wheelchair.

There are four types of Cerebral Palsy: Spastic, Dyskinesia, Ataxic, and Mixed. Spastic is the most common form (NINDS.gov, 2017). Spastic is classified as stiffness in the muscles and awkward movements. Spastic cerebral palsy is further classified by the main affected body areas. Spastic Hemiplegia/Hemiparesis affects the arms, hands, and sometimes the legs of one side of the body. This can lead to the affected side being shorter and thinner. Persons afflicted tend to walk with a gait if they walk at all and develop scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine. Spastic Diplegia/Diparesis affects the legs and is less severe in the arms and face. Those with this form of CP have tightness in their leg muscles and require walkers and leg braces.

Cerebral Palsy, also known as CP, is a motor disability that affects a person when they are a child, and it is also the most common motor disability in found in children. CP is a lifelong disability, caused by damage to the developing brain, in which most cases it happens during the pregnancy(1). The main thing that Cerebral Palsy affects is a person’s ability to move and maintain balance/posture(2). The actual symptoms can vary among the individual. Some people with mild Cerebral Palsy, may have trouble walking properly, but can still do it nonetheless. But, someone with severe Cerebral Palsy may need special equipment to walk, and in some

Cerebral Palsy is a disorder that affects muscle movement and motor skills so people with this disorder have really bad muscle coordination they have bad balance and that is caused by brain damage that happens before or during a baby’s birth or during first 3-5 years of a child’s life.

Cerebral palsy, also known as CP, is quite prevalent in today’s society and continues to be the most common physical disability. It is estimated that about one in every 400 children born in a developed country will have cerebral palsy (Aspinall, 2007). In the United States, it is estimated that nearly 800,000 children and adults could be exhibiting some symptoms of the condition (Aspinall, 2007). Despite medical advances all over the world, newborn children and infants continue to be diagnosed with this condition and there seems to be no decline in numbers over the years (Aspinall, 2007).

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is brain damage. It cannot be cured, it is not contagious, it is not a disease, and it does not get worse. According to Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, "Cerebral Palsy is a broad term for various nonprogressive disorders of motor function in people, resulting from brain damage around the time of birth. Damage to the brain could occur before, during, or shortly after birth"(“Cerebral”). Since the damage is done during the brain’s formation, and occurs in the part of the brain that controls motor and muscle functions, people with CP might have problems with motor skills, muscle tone, muscle weakness, reflexes, balance, excessive drooling, difficulties swallowing or speaking, shaking, tremors, and

Cerebral palsy is an abnormal brain development, which alters a person’s ability to move. Cerebral palsy affects people in different ways and such as, muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, posture and balance. Although cerebral palsy is a permanent life-long condition, some of these signs of cerebral palsy can improve or worsen over time.Most premature babies will grow up without any major difficulties but some are at an increased risk for motor difficulties, including cerebral palsy.The chance of premature babies developing cerebral palsy is closely related to the degree of prematurity.

Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most prevalent pediatric movement disorder [1] and often results in pathological gait patterns that emerge during development and persist throughout life. More effective and sustainable treatments are needed for gait rehabilitation in CP. Wearable exoskeletons provide an untapped resource. A robotic exoskeleton that provides knee extension assistance was demonstrated to improve walking in children with crouch gait from CP [1]. The full effect of exoskeleton assistance on volitional actions of the user during walking remains unknown; however, active participation in concert with assistance is vital for successful motor rehabilitation [2]. Therefore, the goal of this study is to assess the feasibility of utilizing electroencephalography (EEG) to quantify the effect of exoskeleton assistance on cortical activity during walking. Recent studies have used EEG to measure cortical activity during walking in healthy populations [3, 4] but it has not been applied in those with CP or to determine the effect of robotic assistance at a single joint,

Cerebral palsy refers to a group of chronic disorders that involve degrees of brain damage that affect body control and movement. The term cerebral refers to the brain, while palsy describes a disorder that impairs the control of body movement. These disorders are not the result of muscles or nerves problems. Instead, they are due to impaired motor areas in the brain that disrupt its ability to control movement and posture. The condition typically appears within the first few years of life and it is not marked by regression. (Mecham, 1986)

“Pick a partner,” said my 7th grade teacher, as we were about to do a science experiment. Everyone in my class picked their partners, except for Melohn and me. I had no choice but to be partners with her, which I have no problem working with because we’ve known each other since elementary school. The group that has the most questions right gets bonus points. As we were about to start our experiment, one of my classmates whispered, “We’re going to finish faster than you guys.”

A kid once said I want to be normal. But CP (cerebral palsy) would make you feel less than normal. How would you feel going through life without ever being able to walk, and play sports, and be like what’s considered a “normal person” .

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a term that encompasses a group of non-progressive syndromes of posture and motor problems next to lesions in the brain from early development (Appleton & Gupta, 2001). This disorder is caused by disturbances to the fetal or infant central nervous system (Jones, Morgan, Shelton, & Thorogood, 2007). There are two types of cerebral palsy, spastic and non spastic (Jones, Morgan, Shelton, & Thorogood, 2007). CP has a variety of signs and symptoms that coincide with other neurodegenerative disorders. The clinical signs of cerebral palsy are the following: muscle tone abnormalities, impaired motor coordination and control, dysarthria, and fine motor dysfunction. In some cases these are associated with

We are truly blessed to be in a time of scientific growth and development, but even

This week was a little harder for me compared to last week. This week was my first time working with a patient diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, and I think reality hit me pretty quickly. When we all think about finally being able to work with pediatrics we all think about the bright side of it; for example: getting to play with the children, holding all the babies, and just being able to work with the younger population. But in reality these children are just as sick as our adult patients and are in the hospital for a reason. As I met my patient and her mother this week and working with her, I felt myself in an awkward position during vitals and assessment because I felt as if I was hurting the patient or making her even sicker than before. I found myself having to take some time to get my thoughts and courage up in order to get my tasks completed.

For my final project I interviewed my mother’s friend Tammy Carnes who’s son is diagnosed with cerebral palsy. During our interview we discussed what it is like we raise a child with a disability, and how the educational system aided in dealing with her child’s everyday needs. After completing this interview I feel a little more understanding of how the parent of said child may feel when dealing with the educational system meeting their child’s particular needs. A high point of the interview was Ms. Carnes’s surprise to the amount of dedication the educational system is making to ensure their teachers are well prepared for the different types of disabilities children may have. A part of the interview that surprised me was how truly patient