Welcome to That Mom With CP-a space created to celebrate and support mothers with cerebral palsy through shared stories, adaptive parenting tips, and honest conversations about self-care and disability.
Discover how living with cerebral palsy has made me a more patient, adaptable, and intentional mom—and why disability can be a strength, not a setback.
An honest, uplifting look at motherhood with CP — what I feared, what I learned, and how becoming a disabled mom became my greatest strength.
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 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.
