What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral Palsy is an injury to a baby’s brain at birth, although it is typically not diagnosed until the first or second year of life. The amount that is injured affects how much the child will be affected. A person with Cerebral Palsy can have a range of cognitive and physical impairments or both. These impairments may affect their ability to think, talk or move and will be lifelong but may improve with therapies, medicines and/or assistive devices.
Cerebral Palsy affects everyone differently and isn’t always apparent from the outside.
Physically, a child with Cerebral Palsy could be in a wheelchair and unable to walk, walk with a walker, crutches or without anything at all. It is common to have certain muscles that are tight and can twist the arms, legs, or feet in certain ways, which is why often kids with Cerebral Palsy wear braces on their ankles (Ankle Foot Orthoses or AFO’s) and have legs that turn in. This can make it hard to walk or run and can increase the likelihood of tripping and getting tired faster than a kid who doesn’t have Cerebral Palsy.