Building Your Care Team- The People You May Meet

When first meeting a parent who's had a child newly diagnosed with cerebral palsy, I really want to try and help them understand their baby. It can be difficult for parents to take it in all at once and many leave that first interview quite overwhelmed, but you're going to meet some really important and helpful people.

You're going to meet a pediatrician, who will monitor your child's health and guide you through some important decisions. You're going to meet child neurologists, again, to explain about the brain injury that might've occurred, and they're going to help you discuss the implications of that. You're going to meet physiotherapists, who are going to help you train your baby's motor skills.

You're going to meet occupational therapists, who are going to be key people for helping your baby to play using their hands. You're going to meet an orthopedic surgeon, who's going to help you survey your baby's hip development and anything else that might arise in their musculoskeletal development. You're going to meet child psychologists, who are going to help you in your baby's development, in their learning and coping with different situations.

You're going to meet rehabilitation specialists, who are going to help with spasticity management and potentially other medical treatments that might help in your child's active rehabilitation. Hopefully you're going to meet some other parents who are on a similar journey to you. You'll really appreciate sharing your story with one another and helping support each other as parents.

As a parent who's just learned that your child has cerebral palsy, I can't imagine what it's like, thinking about all these new people that you're going to meet. But you don't have to take it all in now, there's plenty of time. The most important person for you to get to know right now is your child.