Cerebral Palsy and its psychological effects

(This is my honors project)

No one can deny the correlation between physical and mental health. Sometimes, when people are born different, due to a birth disease or any other later developed in life, it can have a great impact not only to themselves but also to people who care about them. One such disease is Cerebral Palsy, which affects on average 10 thousand babies per year.

Cerebral Palsy is a condition marked by impaired muscle coordination (spastic paralysis) and/or other disabilities, typically caused by damage to the brain before or at birth. It is a permanent condition but not unchanging.

Symptoms:

~Variations in muscle tone, such as being either too stiff or too floppy

~Stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity)

~Stiff muscles with normal reflexes (rigidity)

~Lack of muscle coordination (ataxia)

~Tremors or involuntary movements

~Slow, writhing movements (athetosis)

~Delays in reaching motor skills milestones, such as pushing up on arms, sitting up alone or crawling

~Favoring one side of the body, such as reaching with only one hand or dragging a leg while crawling

~Difficulty walking, such as walking on toes, a crouched gait, a scissors-like gait with knees crossing, a wide gait or an asymmetrical gait

~Excessive drooling or problems with swallowing

~Difficulty with sucking or eating

~Delays in speech development or difficulty speaking

~Difficulty with precise motions, such as picking up a crayon or spoon

~Seizures

Causes:

~Preterm birth

~Term infants

~Genetics

Some types are:

~Spastic Cerebral Palsy

~Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy

~Hypotonic Cerebral Palsy

~Ataxic Cerebral Palsy

~Mixed Cerebral Palsy

Therapeutic options:

~Physical therapy

~Occupational therapy

~Recreational therapy

~Speech and language therapy

There are also drug and surgical treatments. Stem therapy, which is believed that it can be a cure for many diseases, is still under investigation.

Mental Health:

Like I mentioned before there is a link between physical diseases and mental health, and CP is no exception. People with CP, have 3 to 4 times higher chances of suffering from depression. People staring and pointing at them as they are ‘different as well as excluding them from many social functions can have a negative effect on them and also it shows our society is not as accepting. Some people with cerebral palsy may feel frustrated, angry or sad as a result of having physical or cognitive impairments, especially if the impairments pose challenges to finding a significant other or living independently. Poor self-esteem and a negative self-image may develop from distress related to impairments.

Also while in school children & teenagers with CP are usually targets of bullying as they stand out from the rest of their classmates and as bullies think people with CP are unable to defend themselves. According to doctor Peter Raffalli : No matter how you look at it, bullying is a form of abuse victimization, plain and simple. Its a case of the strong – or at least the stronger – preying on the weak. It says volumes about where we are as a culture and race.

Cerebral Palsy in adulthood can be also difficult .The majority of individuals with CP will experience some form of premature aging by the time they reach their 40s due to the extra stress and strain the disability puts upon their bodies. The developmental delays that often accompany CP keep some organ systems from developing to their full capacity and level of performance. As a consequence, organ systems such as the cardiovascular system and pulmonary system have to work harder and they age prematurely.

Ways to prevent health problems of CP:

The are numerous steps the person himself/herself suffering from CP can follow, to take care of their mental health which include :

~Talking to their doctor

~Talking to a therapist

~Exercising

~Take part in social outlets

~Developing a mindfulness exercise

As there are also ways the community can help to make them feel more accepted :

~Giving them a fair treatment (no discrimination)

~Making products, communications, and the physical environment more usable by them

~Modifying items, procedures, or systems to enable a person with a disability to use them to the maximum extent possible

~Eliminating the belief that people with disabilities are unhealthy or less capable of doing things

Conclusion:

All in all ,Cerebral Palsy describes a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, communication and behavior, epilepsy, and by secondary musculoskeletal problems.One fact, CP is the most common physical disability in childhood. Despite the therapies, there is no known cure. Hopefully the stem cell therapy, can change that in the future.

Heres a nice video, explaining Cerebral Palsy in a few words:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsk3VQ-gr34

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cerebral-palsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20353999

https://www.healthline.com/health/cerebral-palsy

https://cerebralpalsynewstoday.com/2017/10/17/cerebral-palsy-and-affect-on-mental-health/

https://www.livestrong.com/article/140774-early-signs-cerebral-palsy-infants/

https://www.cerebralpalsyguidance.com/cerebral-palsy/living/bullying/

https://www.yourcpf.org/

https://www.1800wheelchair.com/news/physical-disability-mental-health/

Questions:

1) How did you feel reading about this? What did you learn?

2) Do you know someone who was diagnosed with this disease?

3) Do you believe there is a correlation between physical and mental health?

4) Do you suffer or know someone who does, from a similar disease? If yes ,can you tell us a bit about it?

Thanks for reading!