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.
We got the diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy when Lelia was 18 months. I was really happy, as we didn’t know what was wrong with her before then. She had low tone. She couldn’t roll over. She couldn’t sit up. Of course she didn’t walk. The diagnosis gave it a name, something I could work with, and I became a kind of vigilante mother, determined to get the best care for my daughter.
Cerebral palsy is an injury to the brain, but what we find is that it has a lot of effects on how you use your muscles.
Let me tell you about multimodal communication. We, as typical communicators, all use many different strategies. We use speech, gestures, facial expressions, technology, and no-tech solutions. As communicators, we all size up the situation based upon our communication partners, the context, the environment and then we choose to use the most effective communication strategy.
For people with a physical disability, activity is a lifestyle. It's something that can start in physical therapy, but it really is something that has to be carried over into their everyday lives. What has happened over the years is we're understanding the importance of mobility.
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.
When you don't have enough evidence about a student's performance, assume they can do whatever you're asking them to do.
Early interventions for CP should be based on the strongest possible scientific evidence for benefit and should have the smallest possible risk of harm. In the US, early intervention (EI) is a system of services available under the age of 3, to support infants and toddlers with developmental problems and their families as they interact with and care for their child.
