Cerebral Palsy Treatments in India

The functional priorities of a person with CP are, in order of importance, communication, activities of daily living, mobility in the environment, and walking. Medical professionals must remember that the patient and family have only a certain amount of time and energy to devote to these priorities and to various aspects of treatment. Gross motor function in CP is related to the degree of involvement, which in turn is a manifestation of the site and severity of the central nervous system (C.N.S.) lesion. This primary injury to the C.N.S. produces positive features such as spasticity, hyper-reflexia and co-contraction, and negative features including weakness, loss of selective motor control, sensory deficits and poor balance. Clinicians have traditionally focused more on the positive features because it is possible to treat spasticity, but it is the negative features which determine when or if a child will walk. The secondary abnormalities are best characterised as growth...

DOs: Do Use Terminology Properly Become aware of proper meaning behind terms. Improper use leads to hurt feelings, offended individuals, and disrespectful use of language. Do Respect the Person, First Referring to an individual by their impairment is no longer acceptable. Acceptable terminology accentuates the person first, then mentions their impairment, only if pertinent. Labeling an individual is inappropriate. Describing an individual is appropriate. Do this by placing emphasis on the person, not their condition. It is proper to say ‘person with disability’ as opposed to ‘disabled person.’ It is proper to say ‘person with epilepsy’ versus ‘the epileptic.’ It is appropriate to state ‘the boy with quadriplegia’ versus ‘the quadriplegic.’ Do Get to Know the Level of Impairment A person with total hearing loss is considered ‘a person who is without hearing,’ but is not considered a ‘deaf person.’ Likewise, a person with partial hearing loss is referred to as...

Cerebral palsy is non-life-threatening – With the exception of children born with a severe case, cerebral palsy is considered to be a non-life-threatening condition. Most children with cerebral palsy are expected to live well into adulthood. Cerebral palsy is incurable – Cerebral palsy is damage to the brain that cannot currently be fixed. Treatment and therapy help manage effects on the body. Cerebral palsy is non-progressive – The brain lesion is the result of a one-time brain injury and will not produce further degeneration of the brain. Cerebral palsy is permanent – The injury and damage to the brain is permanent. The brain does not “heal” as other parts of the body might. Because of this, the cerebral palsy itself will not change for better or worse during a person’s lifetime. On the other hand, associative conditions may improve or worsen over time. Cerebral palsy is not contagious; it is not communicable – In the majority of cases, cerebral palsy is ...