As with many disabilities, the general public is often unaware and uninformed about the causes, symptoms and lives of those who suffer from Cerebral Palsy. Here are four facts about CP that may surprise you.
- Cerebral palsy is not a disease. CP is a group of disabilities that typically result due to an injury to the brain that occurs before, during, and sometimes after birth. An infection such as meningitis can also cause this disability to develop in children. CP can affect people differently and not all sufferers will have the same impairments. CP can affect muscle coordination and control, balance, reflexes and may result in visual impairment as well.
- Cerebral palsy is not contagious or progressive. Because it is a disability and not a disease, CP is not transmitted from mother to child or from person to person and it does not progress or worsen over time. While it is permanent, CP can be dealt with through physical therapy and regular exercise, which can help strengthen muscles and help sufferers deal with their impairments.
- Cerebral palsy is not necessarily painful. Sufferers of CP are not in constant pain although their impairment can lead to arthritis and many of the therapeutic exercise they perform can make muscles and joints sore.
- Cerebral palsy does not prevent one from living a normal life. While CP certainly presents many challenges to those inflicted with it, it does not prevent people from leaving happy fulfilled lives, getting married, working and raising children.