Cerebral palsy denotes a group of non-contagious, non-progressive conditions that cause physical disabilities in human development. It’s estimated that about 10,000 infants and babies are diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year in U.S alone. Cerebral refers to a part of brain called cerebrum and palsy denotes a disorder of movement. The cerebrum is primarily affected in cerebral palsy patients but other parts of brain may also be involved. Cerebral palsy is caused by damaged to the motor centers of the developing brain and more than 75% of cases occur during pregnancy.
The symptoms of this disease are very diverse and may include abnormal muscle tone, joint and bone deformities, spasms, involuntary movements, abnormal gait including, scissor walking and toe walking, decreased muscle mass and irregular postures. The affected child may also suffer from secondary disturbances of perception, sensation, cognition, and communication. New symptoms may appear or existing symptoms may change as a child with cerebral palsy gets older.
Unfortunately, no cure is yet available for cerebral palsy patients. Occupational therapy remains the cornerstone of overall treatment and rehabilitation of affected child. Occupational therapy can help your child to function and live more effectively. Most experts suggest that earlier treatment ensures better opportunity for children overcoming developmental disabilities and learn handling news tasks challenging for them. Occupational therapy focuses on helping children with cerebral palsy receive independence in all areas of their daily life. Occupational therapy provides a positive framework for fun activities to improve cerebral palsy patient’s physical, cognitive, and fine motor skills and thus increase their sense of accomplishment and self-esteem.
The major goal of cerebral palsy is to meet children’s needs by working on their compromised motor skills to enable them holding objects including toys and also improve their handwriting skills. The hand-eye coordination improvement is necessary to enable the child to refine play skills like batting a ball, hitting a target, or copying from a blackboard. The affected children also face difficulties in their daily routines such as brushing their teeth, bathing, getting dressed, and feeding themselves. This is where occupational therapy can help your child a lot to enable them to perform their daily routines successfully. Behavior disorders are also very common in children with the cerebral palsy and occupational therapist can help a kid in learning the anger management techniques. If your child hit you or others or act out while angry, the occupational therapist can help your child in channeling the anger feeling in more creative way like participating in physical activities or writing about the feelings.
If your child is having cerebral palsy, it’s always better to consult your child’s healthcare provider to arrange an occupational therapist. Occupational therapy centers are well equipped and have trained staff to evaluate your child. No matter how good care is being provided to your children at home, it can’t be a replacement for an occupational therapy. Occupational therapy will use your child’s strength and enable him/her overcome disabilities related to cerebral palsy. There is no cure available and best you can do for your child is to provide a good quality of life by creating a higher sense of self-confidence and independence.
