Cerebral palsy

• umbrella of conditions
• affect a persons ability to move, caused by brain damage sustained in pregnancy, during delivery, shortly after birth
• most common physical disability in children
• Caused by single event of decreased O2
• limits activity related to non progressive disturbance in the developing fetal or infant brain
• Abnormal muscle tone, decreased sensation, decreased communication, decreased coordination, altered mobility, seizure, hearing and vision impairment
• Severity depends on which part of the brain is effected
• Lifelong implications: manage deficits can assist child to achieve maximum potential in growth and developement
• physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy can help significantly
• classified by type of moment: spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic
• Spastic: tight/stiff upper motor neuron, hypertonia, "scissor gait", "toe-walk"
• Dyskinetic- basal ganglia, involuntary movement, dystonia
• Ataxia: without order, shaky, cerebellum, poor balance
• Pain, sleep disorders, eating, speaking, vision problem
• Treatment: physical therapy, surgery, muscle relaxants
• can be genetic, most often caused prenatally- radiation, infection, hypoxia
• Focus of nursing care: promote growth and development, promote mobility, maintaining optimal nutritional intake, provide support and education