March is National Cerebral Palsy Month in the United States and is an opportunity to highlight the history of cerebral palsy advocacy - where we’ve been, where we are currently, and the opportunities that are ahead.
Cynthia Frisina discusses the purpose and importance of Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month and Day to bring people together to advocate for better healthcare, research advancements, funding and more those with CP and their families.
This research studied falls in ambulatory children and adults with CP specifically asking how often they’ve fallen, fall-related injuries experienced, circumstances around the fall, the level of fear or concern about future falls, and the extent to which they do or don’t avoid certain activities due to their concern about falling. This study sets a strong foundation for future fall research, quantifying the breadth and depth of the problem across a large spectrum of age and walking ability.
People with disabilities represent more than 27% of the United States adult population, making them the single largest minority group in the country. This new NIH designation, new research program and update to NIH mission are actions to ensure inclusion of people with disabilities.
Speech impairments like dysarthria are common in children with cerebral palsy (CP) which can greatly affect participation across environments. Our study examined how speech impairment severity changes over time in 101 children with CP at 4, 6, 8, and 10 years of age.
When a person is looking for a way to communicate in alternative ways, they need to find something that really works for them. They need to try to find a voice that sounds natural. They want to try to find a way to be efficient. They want to be able to communicate as normally as possible, even though they're not using their biological voice.
Jerron Herman, dancer, actor, trainer and more describes how he moves with spastic hemiplegia...and it might just surprise you!
The bipartisan, Cerebral Palsy Research Act, is introduced by Congressman Steve Cohen of Tennessee. Read more here:
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.
Dr. Debbie Song, Gillette Children's, gives an overview of common neurosurgical procedures to address global tone in individuals with cerebral palsy.
The 2023 Appropriations Act has passed and thanks to advocacy by the cerebral palsy community, it includes the strongest language and funding yet for cerebral palsy!
Understanding different gait patterns is important because it can determine what interventions will potentially be the most effective.
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.
In this 2022 episode of "Let's Talk CP" host Jen Lyman talks with neurosurgeon, Dr. Debbie Song, and physiatrist, Dr. Marcie Ward about their role in the care of Cerebral Palsy at Gillette Children's.
CPF Executive Director Rachel Byrne and Dr. Paulo Selber discuss the ins and outs of gait analysis for cerebral palsy.
On Thursday, March 24th, 2022, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation hosted the first ever Cerebral Palsy Congressional Briefing with a panel of physicians, patient and self advocates.
In this new 2022 episode of "Let's Talk CP" host Cynthia Frisina talks with Dr. Tom Novacheck and Dr. Andrew Georgiadis from Gillette Children's about gait, gait analysis, and what makes Gillette Children's such a special place.
CPF Executive Director Rachel Byrne and speech therapist, Kristen Allison, PhD, CCC-SLP discuss communication and Cerebral Palsy.
What do you do when you want to help your child but your local providers don't have the resources? You travel for treatment. In this personal story, Sophia's family describes their experiences traveling to Gillette Children's for treatment, including both neurosurgical and orthopedic surgeries.
A person’s gait is dependent on the interaction between the nervous, musculoskeletal, and cardiorespiratory systems and has many influences.
Learn about Ava's journey with gait analysis and surgery at Gillette Children's.
We all have different towns and we all have different things that we do in the course of the day. It may be that the student is a great artist or a great writer. When it comes to assistive technology we have to think about what is going to give that student the ability to do what they love without having to see roadblocks and go, "I can't do that”. There are so many tools out there, whether it's a communication app, a video app, a math tool. With assistive technology you are not making the student into what you want them to be.
