Disability #10 - Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone, or posture. Cerebral palsy is due to abnormal brain development, often before birth. Symptoms include exaggerated reflexes, floppy or rigid limbs, and involuntary motions. These appear by early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people. Often, symptoms include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles and tremors. There may be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, swallowing and speaking. Often, babies with cerebral palsy do not roll over, sit, crawl or walk as early as other children of their age. Other symptoms may include seizures and problems with thinking or reasoning, either of which occurs in about one third of people with CP.

Cerebral palsy shows disability in the inability of movement. As some cases can be more severe for some individuals, some with CP require a wheelchair for movement because they have quadriplegic CP, whereas some can still walk. Although daily function can be difficult at times, living with cerebral palsy is something that millions do every day. Dalila (no last name stated) has mild spastic diplegia, a less severe case of CP, but it still inhibits daily function. 
Her story: 

"My cerebral palsy (CP) made me the person I am today. It has shown me that there is strength in the weak and a world full of outsiders. 

Since I grew up unaware of my CP diagnosis, my younger self was only conscious of the fact that my stiff muscles made it taxing for me to walk straight and for long distances, to wear certain shoes, and to participate in vigorous activities. I now realize that these difficulties were strongly magnified by the negative emotions they produced. Feeling as though I did not fit in and devoting energy to try to mask that very fact caused more pain than the tangible, physical aches. I did not fully understand why my body could not move the way most kids’ could, and my confusion only worsened my perception.

As a coping mechanism, I ignored my responsibilities to stretch my leg muscles. I hoped that if I didn’t acknowledge my complications, then maybe one day they would just evaporate. I am certain that I would not have increased flexibility in my muscles without my family’s support and their reminders to stretch. My mother took me to physical therapy sessions every week and my older brother, Christopher, helped make my assigned stretches become part of my routine. Christopher, an athlete, understood the benefits and rewards reaped from exercising and targeting particular muscles in order to strengthen them. He and I would watch television in our living room regularly; he would use the time to stretch and invited me to do so too. At the time, I felt as if my condition had already defeated me and, so, completing the stretches seemed pointless. But, for a long while, there in that living room alongside my older brother was the only setting where I felt comfortable doing my assigned stretches because it was the only place where I did not feel alone in my journey. Christopher gave me exactly what I needed then– the courage to work on myself. 

After discovering I am part of the CP community, I learned that CP does not look the same on every diagnosed person. “Cerebral Palsy” is a broad term used to describe various conditions. For example, those with quadriplegia are affected in both arms and legs; those with hemiplegia have only one side of the body affected; and those with diplegia are affected in both legs. Further, there are different types, like, spastic CP which describes tight muscles, dyskinetic CP which denotes spasms, and ataxic CP which describes shakiness. I would recommend that family members of those with CP use available resources, like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to remain educated on the most recent statistical findings and utilize that information for the benefit of their loved one. Equally as important, however, I also suggest they do what my brother did for me: simply be there in any way they can. 

I started the Young Professionals Committee (YPC) within the Cerebral Palsy International Research Foundation (CPIRF) to be an example for other young adults who may not realize that CP is an idiosyncratic condition. Discovering my CP helped me realize that I am strong. I hope my work for the YPC helps others affected by CP find their strength and courage as well. I am continuously inspired by the possibility of making a difference, and potentially improving the lives of others with CP. I hope for a day when people with CP are understood and embraced by not only those who are somehow connected to it, but also by the general public.”