Our educational series kicked off with a panel of experts from the Weinberg Family CP Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City on Thursday, November 5th, 2020 at 6:30pm ET. This virtual event featured a multi-disciplinary panel discussion with Weinberg Family CP Center clinicians and researchers.
As a mother and a pediatrician, I’ve both felt the strain of pandemic parenting directly and indirectly. I’ve made decisions about my own family and sending our kids to daycare and school, and I’ve stayed up worrying about how parents are supposed to make these difficult choices with so little support.
The typical cognitive assessments that are used for children require them to be able to use their hands to point to pictures or hold puzzle pieces.
For a child with CP learning to move, the really important things to remember are that the child should always be active.
A speech language pathologist is someone who is trained in working with kids and adults. Everything from working with articulation errors and correcting things to what I do, which is working with people with profound physical impairments and getting them augmentative communication strategies.
Every educator needs to make a decision about technology they need to put in place. They're not sure if they should put Option A in place or Option B in place. This can be particularly difficult in the world of disabilities because there might not always be a perfect answer. Teachers can look to this solution, using the least dangerous assumption to make good decisions about what technology might be best.
If your child has cerebral palsy, there's a good chance that he or she will have a hip x-ray at some point or they may even require regular hip x-rays. It is important for you to understand the different components of a hip x-ray. Your doctor will be looking at the hip joint itself as well how well the bones are growing.
When you don't have enough evidence about a student's performance, assume they can do whatever you're asking them to do.
In general, children with cerebral palsy will have stiffness around the hips and they tend to develop atypical hip positioning as a result of their spasticity. They will develop hip flexion contractures, abduction contractures, and they will have difficulty with seating as well as bathing and hygiene.