Cerebral Palsy - Secondary Conditions

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Cerebral palsy is a brain injury that affects the brains ability to control the movements of the body. It affects the brain, central nervous system, and the muscles. Cerebral palsy can lead to other debilitating or life-threatening conditions.

Impaired growth
Children with cerebral palsy may fail to thrive, gain weight too slowly, or grow very slowly, and are often very small for their age. This is caused by difficulty eating and digesting food.

Abnormal puberty
Puberty may come early or late, and may last longer in children with cerebral palsy than in other children.

Musculoskeletal disorders
Scoliosis, hip dislocation, and other musculoskeletal disorders are common in children with cerebral palsy. Spacicity and muscle weakness can create an imbalance of muscle strength within the body which can be so severe as to pull the spine out and other joints out of alignment. The results can cause excruciating pain, physical disability, and other health serious problems. Scoliosis can impair breathing and the function of internal organs.

Mental impairment
Mental impairment caused by cerebral palsy varies greatly from child to child. It is important to understand that over one-third of children with cerebral palsy do not experience intellectual impairment or mental retardation, even though their physical symptoms may give people the impression that they are mentally impaired. About 85% of people with cerebral palsy associated mental impairment are able to live normal lives.

Sensory or perception impairments
Damage to the central nervous system caused by cerebral palsy can cause sensory impairment. This can include but is not limited to:

• Vision impairment
• Hearing impairment
• Difficulty processing visual and auditory input
• Difficulty recognizing objects by feel

Hearing and vision problems caused by cerebral palsy are not problems of the eyes and ears. The problem is in how the brain interprets the signals it receives. In some cases this does not cause the type of vision and hearing impairment that you normally think of, but rather the inability to recognize people and objects for what they are.

Epilepsy
Epilepsy affects about 30% to 50% of people with cerebral palsy. Seizures can be controlled with medication, but the medication can have dangerous side effects of its own. Most people with cerebral palsy related epilepsy experience grand mal seizures, but can also have small seizures affecting only one limb. Epilepsy presents the constant danger of falls and other serious accidents.

Depression
For many people with cerebral palsy, depression presents the biggest hurdle they must overcome. Physical impairment and chronic pain often lead to depression in people with cerebral palsy. For children, the fact that they may talk, look, and move differently to other children causing very real social problems, can cause isolation and depression even with minor impairment. Depression can negatively impact the effectiveness of therapies and rehabilitation, and should never be overlooked. The possibilities for people with cerebral palsy are great and are directly related to their outlook on life.

If your child has Cerebral Palsy, please contact The Cerebral Palsy Lawyers Network for a free initial consultation and evaluation of your case