Not Your Average Nigerian Teacher: Cerebral Palsy: Faith,Hope, Believe

Cerebral palsy is one of the most common congenital (existing before birth or at birth) disorders of childhood. About 500,000 children and adults of all ages in the United States have the condition. The three types of CP are:

spastic cerebral palsy — causes stiffness and movement difficulties
athetoid cerebral palsy — leads to involuntary and uncontrolled movements
ataxic cerebral palsy — causes a disturbed sense of balance and depth perception

Cerebral palsy affects muscle control and coordination, so even simple movements — like standing still — are difficult. Other vital functions that also involve motor skills and muscles — such as breathing, bladder and bowel control, eating, and learning — may also be affected when a child has CP. Cerebral palsy does not get worse over time.

Signs and Symtoms
Signs and symptoms can vary greatly. Movement and coordination problems associated with cerebral palsy may include:

Variations in muscle tone, such as being either too stiff or too floppy
Stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity)
Stiff muscles with normal reflexes (rigidity)
Lack of muscle coordination (ataxia)
Tremors or involuntary movements
Slow, writhing movements (athetosis)
Delays in reaching motor skills milestones, such as pushing up on arms, sitting up alone or crawling
Favoring one side of the body, such as reaching with only one hand or dragging a leg while crawling
Difficulty walking, such as walking on toes, a crouched gait, a scissors-like gait with knees crossing or a wide gait
Excessive drooling or problems with swallowing
Difficulty with sucking or eating
Delays in speech development or difficulty speaking
Difficulty with precise motions, such as picking up a crayon or spoon