Cerebral Palsy.
an umbrella term for brain damage. C.P. affects the ability to control muscle and movement. The injury can occur before, during or after birth. Some common causes are stroke in utero, asphyxiation at birth or an injury such as drowning. Premature babies are at a higher risk. It is not contagious or progressive. C.P. sometimes is accompanied with seizures.
There are 4 subtypes and you can display a mixture of them.
There are 4 subtypes and you can display a mixture of them.
Spastic.
Occurs in about 70-80% percent of cases, they are Hypertonic making movement extremely difficult and stiff. It can affect just one side of the body, just arms or legs, or the whole body.
Ataxic.
Only about 10% of people with C.P. are Ataxic. This affects balance and they may have difficulty with their visual and auditory processing.
Athetoid/Dyskinetic.
This is the type that Abel has. It occurs about 15% of the time. People with this type of CP have mixed muscle tone, both hypotonic and hypertonic. They have a hard time staying in an upright steady position. It is often associated with Birth Injury.
Hypotonic.
This is the opposite of Hypertonic. They can move only a little bit and have limp muscles.
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