Trey Sutter Matthew Leitzen

 Cerebral Palsy is a condition, sometimes thought of as a group of disorders that can involve brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing, and thinking.  There are several different types of cerebral palsy, including spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, hypotonic, and mixed.  Cerebral Palsy can also be loosely categorized as mild, moderate, or severe.  About 500,000 children and adults of all ages in the United States have the condition.

 Parents may notice that their child is slow to reach developmental milestones or displays abnormal behavior.  May not respond to sounds  May not be able to bring hands together  May not be able to sit up on own without support  May not be able to crawl at 1 year

 Difficulty communicating with others  Use signs or gestures if you’re having trouble communicating  A speech therapist can offer ideas and provide equipment that could possibly be used  Want to “fit in” just like everyone else  Feel as if the “chair” makes them and outsider

 Symptoms and severity are variable  Mild case would result in minor difficulty in fine motor skills  Severe case could result in significant muscle problems in all four limbs, mental retardation, seizures and difficulties with speech and vision

 There is no treatment for the repair of a damaged brain. However a portion of the nervous system that remains can be made functional through a training program.  The physical educator needs to build functional developmental motor patterns with the appropriate parts of the body  There is evidence that sensory and perceptual delays can be improved upon training.

 Activities should address the individual’s unique needs.  Swimming (with floats and supervision)  Also a great place to fall  Trampoline (a child with limited ability can still feel the sensation with a little help)  Remote control devices (many can operate “switches” with heads, hands, and feet)

 Provide large enough items that students can grasp when writing.  Provide a “tee” when playing games such as baseball or softball.  Also could allow “friend” to push student around bases to encourage relationships during class.  When playing soccer allow student to dribble ball by placing it in lap.  When playing volleyball, lower the net and allow the student to stand closer to net when serving.

 Varying levels of the disability make it hard to say what they can or can’t do.  Ex. I interviewed Zack (UWP football manager) and he had a very mild level of C.P., so he was pretty much able to do anything.  Try to avoid any activities that have a high level of coordination in either the hands or feet.

 The CP Group The CP Group

 Auxter,Pyfer,Zittel,Roth. (2010). Adapted Physical Education and Recreation. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill   _palsy.html _palsy.html  cerebral-palsy.html cerebral-palsy.html  html html  injury.com/cerebral-palsy-symptoms.html injury.com/cerebral-palsy-symptoms.html