Speech Cerebral Palsy I Am

Speech Cerebral Palsy I am here today to speak about cerebral palsy, a misunderstood condition that, according to author Al Condeluci, writing for the Journal of Rehabilitation, the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) estimates there are 700,000 Americans with this debilitating condition. It can show up as light behavioral problems to severe shaking, mental disorder, and even trouble with vision, speech, and hearing. It affects almost every patient at least slightly differently. What is cerebral palsy? Many people believe this condition is a disease, but it really is not.

Unlike the flu, colds, and other infectious diseases, you cannot "catch" it from someone. Author Condeluci continues, "It is not something you can catch, nor is it something that is progressive in nature. Rather, cerebral palsy is a group of conditions" (Condeluci). All these conditions originate in the brain, which is where the world "cerebral" comes from.

"Palsy" comes from the uncontrolled shaking and muscle weakness that accompanies the condition, because the condition attacks areas of the brain that contain muscle movement, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a leading research institute devoted to brain disorders. Cerebral palsy usually shows up before a child is three years old, and can show up in infancy, too. That is perhaps the biggest tragedy of this condition, and why people should understand more about it. It attacks children, and it is incurable.

While cerebral palsy is not a disease, it can create a variety of different symptoms and condition in the body, as author Condeluci outlines: "Other associated challenges may be seizure, vision, hearing, speech and learning difficulties, or psychological and behavior problems" (Condeluci). In addition, some scientists feel it can be hereditary, but more feel it comes from some kind of minor or major damage to an immature brain.

That damage can come from birth defects, it can come from too much smoking or drinking by the mother or it can even come from abuse or neglect of an infant. How is cerebral palsy treated? While the disease cannot be cured, some patients can benefit from a variety of treatments. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke notes that the earlier treatment begins, the more the patient can benefit.

In fact, many cerebral palsy patients go on to live nearly normal, healthy lives if their treatment begins early enough. Drugs may be used to help control seizures, but most treatment includes physical, speech, and/or occupational therapies, surgery to control some muscle defects, wearing braces to correct misshaped limbs, and in more severe cases, wheelchairs or voice-synthesizing computers. None of these will cure the disease, and research continues into finding ways to enhance treatment.

How can you tell if your child is afflicted with the condition? The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke offer these most common signs of the condition in children. "lack of muscle coordination when performing voluntary movements (ataxia); stiff or tight muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity); walking with one foot or leg dragging; walking on the toes, a crouched gait, or a 'scissored' gait; and muscle tone that is either too stiff or too floppy" (Editors). These symptoms can show up in infancy, but they almost always.