March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month

With March just around the corner, I wanted to talk about Cerebral Palsy because March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. This month is important to me because I have cerebral palsy. Before I get into how cerebral palsy has impacted my life, I wanted to tell you a little bit about what cerebral palsy is.

Cerebral palsy is a group of conditions that affect movement and posture, present issues with muscle tone, and are marked by impaired muscle coordination (spastic paralysis). Between 5,500 and 13,100 children are born with it each year.

There are three types of cerebral palsy. Spastic cerebral palsy involves spasms and muscle tightness, and dyskinetic cerebral palsy involves issues with muscle control. The last type is mixed, which involves both spastic and dyskinetic symptoms.

There are many causes of cerebral palsy, but many can happen before or even during birth. For example, common causes are premature birth, congenital malformations due to disruptions in fetal brain development, and infections in the central nervous system in the brain or spinal cord. The last cause means strokes are affecting the developing brain. After birth, accidental injuries and physical abuse can cause cerebral palsy.

The symptoms of cerebral palsy can vary. In some people it can affect their whole entire body, but in other people it might just affect one side of the body. The symptoms of cerebral palsy include stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes, which is the most common symptom. Symptoms also include jerky movements that can’t be controlled, known as tremors, slow withering movements and trouble with fine motor skills. People with cerebral palsy may also struggle with delays in speech development and trouble speaking. Other people with cerebral palsy can have development symptoms such as intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities and delayed growth. Cerebral palsy also has risk factors such as maternal health. Cerebral palsy can be a huge risk when it comes to pregnancy, because it can increase the risk to the baby.

For me, cerebral palsy affects the right side of my body because I had a stroke on the left side of my body where my parietal lobe is. Through these past 19 years I never thought that I would be able to do the things that I do today such as walk, talk or do anything a normal kid would do. But with the support of my family and friends I have done it all.