Reflection On United Cerebral Palsy Of South Florida

After the first summer of volunteering, I was given a job opportunity to watch an 8-year-old girl with Cerebral Palsy. It was my first time being one on one with a child with disabilities, but I couldn’t let that scare me away. My job responsibilities were to feed her, change her diaper, dispense her medication, and entertain her. When I started the job, she just had hip surgery; tears from her eyes became contagious to mine. Although, I sang to her every time she began to cry. Her smile would be from ear to ear and that brought joy to my heart that I could help her when she was in pain. I

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.

"This is just wonderful," said Vicki Miller as she watched her son Joey run around Delco Park with friends. "He finally has the freedom to run like other kids."

Cerebral Palsy is an inflammation of a tendon sheath or tendon. It presents itself as soreness and pain around a joint. Some of the most common forms of this disease are named after the sports that causes the risk to increase, such as, swimmer's shoulder, jumper;s knee, pitcher's shoulder, golfer's elbow, and tennis elbow. There are several ways that tendinitis can be diagnosed. The diagnosis begins with a review of your medical history followed by a physical exam. Other tests include touching specific areas of the tendon to pinpoint the swelling or palpation; X-ray to rule out arthritis or bone problems; selective tissue test to find out which tendon is affected; taking fluid from the swollen area to rule out infection; MRI, which will show

People with Cerebral palsy may have issues speaking, swallowing, and controlling their balance, coordination, movements, or posture. About 15 million people worldwide have Cerebral palsy, and about 8 hundred thousand in the United States. Approximately 8 thousand people are diagnosed with Cerebral palsy in the United States each year. Having Cerebral palsy can have a major impact on someone's life.

Cerebral palsy is a broad term used to describe a group of nonprogressive neurological disorders that impair voluntary movement (NINDS Cerebral Palsy, 2016). It is caused by malformation or damage to the brain during pregnancy or shortly after birth. The exact cause of cerebral palsy is difficult to establish, but often damage to the brain is attributed by prematurity, low birth weight, blood clotting, lack of oxygen, or stroke. Cerebral palsy may affect different areas of the brain causing varying symptoms among individuals; however, cerebral palsy always has some sort of impact on muscle coordination and movement (What is Cerebral Palsy?, 2015).

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders which affects the development of movement and or posture, causing limitation of activates due to the permanent stationary non-progressive disturbance in the premature fetal of infant brain. (Gabr) This type of brain damage can occur in the womb, during the birthing process or in rare cases shortly after birth. There are 9 distinct categories that classify the severity of cerebral palsy and are defined by the symptoms a person displays. Depending on the location of the abnormalities on the brain, several different symptoms are visible. CP has many effects on the muscular system such as muscle control, coordination, tone and reflexes. Cerebral palsy is also accompanied by mental retardation in a majority of cases. Cerebral palsy is also the leading cause of physical disability in children that also has the possibility to cause motor disability the continues throughout life. (Gabr)

As I was nearing the age of five, I noticed that my older sister would never play or interact with me. I would sometimes contemplate why, but at the age of five, not many things stay in your mind. As I grew older, I started to understand a bit more as to why I never did “sisterly” things— my sister was just not capable of it. One day, I asked my parents why my sister could not talk like I do, walk like I do, or move like I do. They told me that my sister was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a disorder that impairs movement and results from improper brain development before birth. After learning about what the disorder was, I asked my parents if there was any cure. Unfortunately, my dad told me that they took her to see several neurologists, and

Stretching is a simple exercise that combines the bone and muscle components of the last two therapies. Also, stretching is a common daily activity; therefore, it is an easy and effective therapy treatment. The journal, Clinical Biomechanics (2013) decided to study the effectiveness of stretching on children with cerebral palsy. This source, written by researchers sharing the interest of pediatric biomechanics, claimed, “Children with spastic cerebral palsy experience increased muscle stiffness and reduced muscle length, which may prevent elongation of the muscle during stretching” (Theis, N., Korff, T., Kairon, H., & Mohagheghi, A., 2013). They believed stretching increases and maintains, joint range of motion. Thus, they created a study

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a broad term used to describe symptoms appearing in the first few years of life that impair (make difficult) control of movement and/or muscle tone.

The Center For Disease Control and Prevention estimates that every 1 in 323 children in the U.S. have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and more than 17 million people worldwide are struggling with this condition. Cerebral palsy, or CP, is “a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture.” (“Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.”) It is the most common motor disorder among children and there are four main types, those being Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy, Ataxic Cerebral Palsy, Spastic Cerebral Palsy, and Mixed Cerebral Palsy. The most common type of CP is Spastic CP, which affects an estimated 80% of the people who have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. (“Centers For Disease Control and

Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects a person’s ability to control movement and posture. This condition results from damage to the areas of the brain that control the use of muscles. It appears in the first few years of life. The condition may affect the whole body or just certain parts. Cerebral palsy cannot be cured. However, the condition will not progress or get worse, and symptoms can be improved with treatment.

My cousin has always been different. She and I have never physically been alike. I walk on two legs while she rolls on four wheels. I can turn the page of a book with my own fingers, she makes a noise and someone turns the page for her. I started to put these observations together when I was really little, around eight. I realized most people were more like me rather than Amanda. I had started to question why my cousin couldn’t do what I could do. I recently asked my mother why Amanda couldn’t walk. She told me Amanda has a few things that cause her condition. BLAH, Muscular Dystrophy, and Cerebral Palsy. Out of those three I had only heard about Cerebral Palsy.

Having been at this special school I have discovered that children with cerebral palsy impairments need special care and people who very patient working that have this disability as others are unable to help themselves at all. Children need special love, parent’s and sibling’s support from their homes as it makes them feel accepted from their families because other children are being abused of what they are. Teachers that are dealing with learners that have the impairment need to be equipped with special needs education in order to cope with the conditions. There should be workshops for parents of these children whereby they will be empowered on how to deal with the conditions of their children.

The abstract concerning the health and well-being of children with cerebral palsy covers the “experience difficulties in early childhood and the requirements to utilization of considerable health care resources over time.” Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent movement disorders. There are problems known with hearing, verbal speech, seeing, and swallowing. “Symptoms include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors/seizures.” (Wikipedia) Many children that have this muscle disease also have sensory, communicative, and intellectual impairments and most likely are limited in everyday self-care functions.