What is Cerebral Palsy? (CP)

It is a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone, or posture caused by brain damage before, during, or just after birth.

KEY FEATURES

• Severity of CP depends on the degree of damage to the brain.
• It can lead to impairments in multiple areas like motor, visual, speech language and cognition.
• The type of CP also depends on the area of brain damage.

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE

• Due to damage to the brain and nerves, the movement, tone and coordination of orak structures is affected.
• This can lead to slow and slurred speech and difficulty producing sounds.
• It can also lead to difficulty in chewing and swallowing.
• In presence of cognitive delay, both comprehension and expression of language are affected.

KEY MARKERS

• Delayed birth cry or birth asphyxia is known to cause brain damage.
• Damage to the brain is permanent, but with early intervention children show good prognosis.
• A child may have quadriplegic CP (all limbs paralysed) but very good cognitive skills.

INTERVENTION

• Physiotherapy can be initiated at the earliest to ensure the child achieves motor milestones.
• Occupational therapy to improve cognition, attention and fine motor skills.
• Speech and Language therapy to improve speech and language skills.
• Swallowing therapy to help in improving chewing and swallowing
  The introduction of alternative and augmentative communication options early helps in improving the child’s language abilities.