Neurologist and movement disorder specialist, Heather Riordan, MD, describes the Chorea in Cerebral Palsy and what to do if it is impacting your function.
CPF Executive Director Rachel Byrne and Dr. Heather Riordan, Director of the Phelps Center for Cerebral Palsy at the Kennedy Krieger Institute discuss dyskinesia.
Dr. Tom Novacheck, of Gillette Children's, describes the characteristics of the 4 types of unilateral, otherwise known as hemiplegic gait, and how the use of clinical instrumented gait analysis can help with treatment decision making.
Dr. Tom Novacheck, Gillette Children's, describes what to look for in each of the 4 different gait patterns seen for those with bilateral cerebral palsy and considerations for each type.
Hypotonic CP, also known as hypotonia, is a form of cerebral palsy that causes low muscle tone. In other words, the muscles are overly relaxed and your child may feel floppy.
Mixed types of CP refer to symptoms that don’t correspond to any single type of CP but are a mix of types. For example, a child with mixed CP may have some muscles that are too tight and others that are too relaxed.
Dysarthria is a motor speech disorder that affects how clear and understandable a person’s speech is. Between 50-90% of people with CP have dysarthria.
Dyskinesia is an umbrella term encompassing a range of different movements. These are all movements that can be out of your control. Dyskinesia is very common in cerebral palsy.
People who have dyskinetic cerebral palsy experience involuntary movements that are difficult to control. These movements can be slow, twisting and writhing, or rapid and jerky, and can impact movement in the hands, arms, feet, legs and even the face or tongue.
A lot of people with cerebral palsy will experience pain over the course of their life. Through better assessment we can provide better interventions, which will lead to a better quality of life.
The Cerebral Palsy Foundation has created a factsheet to help guide you in understanding and treating pain with CP. This fact sheet has been created for individuals with cerebral palsy to provide basic guidance surrounding common causes and potential treatment of pain.
CPF Executive Director Rachel Byrne talks with Lily Collison and her son Tommy about their journey with Cerebral Palsy, Lily's new book, Tommy's work and much more.
Drooling is an important problem for many individuals with CP and there are a number of interventions available to treat symptoms. If an individual with CP or their caregiver have concerns about drooling it is important to discuss with a health care provider. Care pathways such as the AACPDM pathway can be a starting point for shared decision making. In all cases, working together as a team is important in choosing the best alternative. Children and adults with CP may have trouble with drooling, or saliva management. In the medical world, drooling is referred to as sialorrhea. Saliva plays an important role in eating but also can interfere with airway clearance and breathing, as well as social participation. When drooling has this kind of impact it becomes important to consider intervention.