Cerebral Palsy (CP)

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Cerebral palsy (CP) is defined as an umbrella term for a group of non-progressive syndromes characterized by motor impairment and various muscle movement patterns that arise from a brain injury or malformation during a child’s early developmental stages (Sankar & Mundkur, 2005). If a child is suspected to have CP, a careful identification process and the use of several evaluation measures are crucial due to the wide range of motor impairments, muscle movement patterns, and levels of severity that exist for individuals with CP. Accurate identification of the type of CP, the primary characteristics, and associated conditions that an individual may present with, are critical when considering the selection of the type of service delivery …show more content…

Based on studies conducted through the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring CP Network, CP was reported more amongst boys than girls and more amongst African American children versus Caucasian and Hispanic children (Bhasin et al., 2006). Other populations that are reported to have an increased risk of CP are the children of mothers that show signs of infection in the placental membranes or have maternal genitourinary infection (Russman et al., …show more content…

Studies conducted by the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Surveillance Program, found that 60% of children with CP also have another developmental disability (Bhasin et al., 2006). Almost half (41%) of children with CP have co-occurring epilepsy and is reported most frequently in children with limited to no mobility (Bhasin et al., 2006). Co-occurring developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), are reported in about 7% of children with CP (Bhasin et al., 2006). Co-occurring ASD is most frequently reported with children with hypotonic CP. Over 40% of children with CP also have a co-occurring cognitive impairments and more than 15% have a vision impairment (Christensen et al., 2012). Other associative conditions and co-mitigating factors include hearing impairment, psychological disorders, speech impairments, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and

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