There is insufficient research on adults living with cerebral palsy, (as referenced in my previous blog post on cerebral palsy and adulthood). Although there is a paucity of studies examining mental health in this population, medical researchers have speculated that the rate of depression is three to four times higher in people with disabilities such as CP than it is in the general population.
I’m at that age when Facebook friends begin to get engaged and married, and shortly after, have children. So, I feel the pressure to proceed onto the next stage of my adulthood. But, as anyone with cerebral palsy knows, everything in life is a tad more complicated with this disability.
To give you an idea about genetic variation between each of us, there are about three million differences in our genetic code. They go to influence the color of our hair and the color of our eyes, the way we walk.
Receiving early diagnoses or high‐risk for CP classification is a parent priority. Alignment between parents and providers exists for International Classification of Function domains of body functions/structures and activity, but less for those of environment, personal, and participation.
Cerebral Palsy affects body movement, muscle control, muscle coordination, muscle tone, reflex, posture and balance. Depending on the part of the brain that is injured depends on how someone’s muscle tone will be effected. For people with spastic CP they have increased muscle tone because of the part of the brain that's injured. If causes very tight muscles which in turn effects the movement of the joints and of the limbs. For others who have dyskinetic CP they lose the ability to have voluntary control over their muscles, and they can have jerky and uncontrolled movement patterns.
Although the brain injury that causes cerebral palsy is nonprogressive, adults with CP can experience a variety of symptoms as they age which often depend on the type of CP they have, as well as the level.