Cerebral Palsy (CP) describes a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing foetal or infant brain.
Described in 3 categories
- Type of motor disorder
A) Positive = Hypertonic/Hyperkinetic (Hyper = Increased)
B) Negative = Ataxia/Weakness (Reduced) - Topography
A) Unilateral / bilateral = “one side or both”
B) Monoplegia / Hemiplegia / Diplegia / Triplegia / Quadriplegia = “how many limbs are involved” - Function
Multiple functional classification scales as below
Functional Classification Scales
- GMFCS = Global Motor Function
- FMS = Functional Mobility
- MACS = Manual Ability
- CFCS = Communication Function
- EDACS = Eating and Drinking Ability
- VFCS = Visual Function
Associated Impairments
Likely to be multiple associated secondary impairments including:
- Pain
- Intellectual disability
- Non-ambulant
- Non-verbal
- Hip displacement
- Epilepsy
- Behaviour disorder
- Bladder incontinence
- Sleep disorder
- Blindness
- Non-oral feeding
- Deafness