Cerebral Palsy Essay

Skilled movements are the second focus area in kinesiology. It involves presentations where accuracy of direction,

A study conducted by Mahani, Karmiloo, and Amirsalari (2011) compared the effectiveness of the Modified Adeli Suit therapy (MSAT), Adeli Suit therapy (AST), and Neurodevelopmental therapy (NDT) for children with cerebral palsy. All of the main contributors to this article have received higher-level degrees, and the article was published in a reputable occupational therapy journal. This clinical randomized trial studied a total of thirty-six children that have cerebral palsy and who met the inclusion criteria. The thirty-six children were randomly placed into one of three groups: Modified Adeli Suit therapy, Adeli Suit therapy, and Neurodevelopmental therapy, and each child received their assigned therapy for two hours a day, five days a week for four weeks (Mahani, Karmiloo, & Amirsalari, 2011). The AST group received one hour of prep work, and the second hour was spent wearing the suit where they completed vigorous exercises. In the NDT group, the children spent the entire two hours performing passive and active movements. Lastly, the MSAT group conducted movements similar to the NDT group, during the first hour, and spent the second hour in the suit, where they performed fun and meaningful goal based activities. The Gross Motor Function Measure was used at zero, four, and sixteen weeks to compare the effectiveness of each treatment. The results show that the MSAT was the most effective treatment, and there was no significant difference in outcomes between the AST and NDT groups (Mahani, Karmiloo, & Amirsalari, 2011). However, any of the three intense therapies produced positive improvements. The experimenters believe that the shortened amount of time spent on each movement and the goal based activities correlated with the positive outcomes in the MSAT group (Mahani, Karmiloo, &

The cerebrum is divided into two hemispheres, each of which are specialised for certain behaviours — called the right and left cerebral hemispheres. When it comes to intended actions such as walking or hitting a ball, the right hemisphere controls the left side of your body, and the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body. The right side of the brain specialises in visual imagery and spatial abilities, whereas the left side of the brain dominates in logical abilities and language.

Cerebellum and Medulla:
In general, the cerebellum is responsible for controlling motor movement and muscle coordination. The cerebellum receives information from the sensory systems, the spinal cord, and other parts of the brain — and regulates motor movements. The cerebellum coordinates voluntary movements including posture, balance and speech, which are factors that provide for smooth movement and activity. In addition, the cerebellum is responsible for motor learning. This means that it is responsible for learning an individual movement or action and facilitates the development of it. 

The brain stem is the stem-like part of the brain that connects to the spinal cord. The medulla has many basic functions, including the regulation of heart rate,

The word “cerebral” refers to the brain, while “palsy” refers to its effect on the muscles. The various presentations of the disability appears to reflect the parts of the brain that are not fully functioning. There are three different types of cerebral palsy including spastic cerebral palsy, athetoid cerebral palsy, and ataxic cerebral palsy. As previously mentioned, spastic and athetoid cerebral palsy includes restricted movements and involuntary movements. Ataxic cerebral palsy refers to how balance and depth perception are affected. Correlations between cerebral palsy and other disabilities have been observed, including bladder incontinence,

According to Beek, Peper, and Stegeman (1995), “the motor control theories provide an explanation on how the nervous system will solve the degrees of freedom problem and serve to direct movement command.” The following theories are the generalized motor program theory and the dynamical systems theory. The GMP theory “proposes that the movement plan is retrieved from memory within the central nervous system and neural instructions are sent down to the effectors via the efferent pathways.” The dynamical systems approach on the other hand, “does not propose a hierarchical control, but suggests that movements emerge through self-organization of the interaction of the body and environment.” It can be said that everybody’s “bodily movements occur in the context of the everyday functioning of people while realizing specific task goals.” As a general, yet acquired rule, “such movements involve the participation of multiple joints and limbs.” Moreover, when in action, these body parts are “coordinated and are brought into proper relation to one another as well as to the surrounding layout of surface.” The coordination of these body parts may “look relatively simple, as in picking up an object, or relatively complicated, as in juggling, performing an attacking forehand drive in table tennis or playing the drums.” To the psychomotor scientist or researcher, however, “all coordination is complex in that he or she is confronted with the challenge to explain

in the face of damage to specific regions. Recent studies of the abilities of persons with left and

Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) is a treatment approach that has been found to be effective in unilateral (hemiplegic) spastic cerebral palsy. It involves constraint of the less impaired upper extremity and repetitive practice of the affected arm and hand. Casts, splints, and slings are used to restrain the unaffected arm while the individual is encouraged to use the impaired arm. The individual performs motor activities repetitively for up to 6 hours a day for 2 to 4 weeks. In order to perform more complex functional motor acts, the task is broken down into smaller movements and rewarded at each step of the

For the purposes of this paper, the focus is on the first stage of motor learning, the cognitive stage. The patient has suffered a recent traumatic SCI influencing his ability to perform any task independently. He must now learn how to perform everyday tasks over again. The overall goal of the cognitive stage is to provide the patient with an understanding of the skill/task at hand and provides a trial and error approach for acquisition of the skills of performing that task. The example of bed mobility skills and the ability to roll left and right may be used to explain this concept. The patient should first be made aware of the task and purpose (to improve his independence with bed mobility), a demonstration of the task should be shown, and the patient should be able to verbalize what is expected during this task. Extrinsic feedback should be provided in the form of tactile and/or verbal cues, i.e. reminding the patient to rock his body to gain momentum to roll towards the left or right side from supine. This task should be performed on a blocked practice schedule initially and then progressed to random practice, where there are a variety of tasks performed in a random sequence. For example, have the patient roll to his left side and then back to supine repeatedly followed by having him roll right, then supine, then right, then supine, then left, then supine and mix up the directions of rolling1. Each task practiced with the patient should start with the cognitive stage and then progress to the associative when he is

Imagine a life without the ability to walk, that's what my brother deals with everyday. He suffers from a condition called Cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage before or during birth, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscle control and coordination (Cerebral palsy). This affected my brother's legs making him wheelchair bound for the rest of his life. One may think this was horrible, but with the disease there comes several other complications.

Chang, Kwon, Lee, and Kim (2012) conducted a pilot study containing 33 children ages four and up, with cerebral palsy. Hippotherapy sessions were conducted twice a week for 8 consecutive weeks in an 18X27 m indoor riding arena. Each hippotherapy session lasted 30 minutes. After the intervention process, the study showed an outcome that hippotherapy can improve gross motor function and being balance in children with Cerebral Palsy (Chang, H. J., Kwon, J., Lee, J., & Kim, Y., 2012).

There are several types of cerebral palsy, and all involve lack of muscle control. Common effects of the disorder include a clumsy walk, lack of balance, shaking, jerky movements, and unclear speech. In many patients, the brain damage also causes intellectual disability, learning disability, seizures, and problems in sight and hearing. About half of 1 percent of the people in the world have cerebral palsy.

One night at Adena in Chillicothe on August twenty eighth, nineteen ninety-eight my parents were blessed with a child. I came into this world, five weeks early weighing six pounds and ten ounces around the time of three o’clock in the evening. When I was born, I was sick, which caused me to be hospitalized for two weeks, this eventually led to the diagnose of Cerebral Palsy, Cerebral Palsy is a disability of the brain and nervous system. Cerebral Palsy effected my childhood by not allowing me to do things every other child could do. For the longest time I could not use the left side of my body. It got to the point where my right hand was held behind my back to make me use my left arm. I have lived in Oak Hill my entire life and have attended

Because CP describes a group of neurological and physical abnormalities, people affected by the disorder may have other neurological and physical problems. CP may not be noticeable at birth. Children with CP develop predictable developmental milestones slowly because of their motor impairments, and these delays in reaching milestones are usually the first symptoms (Gale Enc). Doctors diagnose CP by checking the infant’s motor skills, looking for developmental delays, and considering the child’s medical history. Many Doctors use the Early Motor Pattern Profile (EMPP) to help in their evaluations. The EMPP indicates variations in muscle tone, reflexes, and movement and is used to identify children during the first year of life who are at risk for the development of CP. The EMPP can be done during a routine office visit. Observation and minimal handling can detect abnormal motor patterns, making it quick and inexpensive. EMPP is the beginning of evaluation and intervention (“Early” 692). CP is a neurological disorder affecting motor control. It is the most common physical disability in childhood. It is a lifelong condition that varies from person to person. It can be very mild or extremely severe. There is no known cure, and the cause is not completely understood. The four main categories of CP are spastic, athetoid, ataxic, and mixed. Spastic is stiff and difficult movement. Athetoid is involuntary and uncontrolled movement. Ataxic is a disturbed sense of balance and

Cerebral palsy refers to a group of chronic disorders that involve degrees of brain damage that affect body control and movement. The term cerebral refers to the brain, while palsy describes a disorder that impairs the control of body movement. These disorders are not the result of muscles or nerves problems. Instead, they are due to impaired motor areas in the brain that disrupt its ability to control movement and posture. The condition typically appears within the first few years of life and it is not marked by regression. (Mecham, 1986)

Today there are many severe disability’s that effect individuals on a daily basis. Cerebral Palsy is a condition eliminates control over a person’s movements and the way the body works. The movement disorder is non curable but can be helped with appropriate assistive technology. In this paper you will learn more about Cerebral Palsy, broadening your knowledge on the disease and giving you a better understanding in your respected field of the rehabilitation.