Cerebral palsy is a umbrella type term referring to abnormalities of motor control or movement caused by damage to a child's brain early in the course of development.  Cerebral palsy is caused by faulty development of or damage to motor areas in the brain that disrupts the brain's ability to control movement and posture. The brain injury can occur before birth, during birth, or in the first few months following birth.  Physical symptoms typically appear in the first few years of life and generally do not worsen over time.  Cerebral palsy is usually diagnosed within the first year or two following birth.

Some people with cerebral palsy are also affected by other medical disorders, including seizures or mental impairment, but cerebral palsy does not always cause profound disability. 

Early signs of cerebral palsy usually appear before 3 years of age. Infants with cerebral palsy are frequently slow to reach developmental milestones such as learning to roll over, sit, crawl, smile, or walk. Cerebral palsy may be congenital or acquired after birth. 

Several of the causes of cerebral palsy that have been identified through research are: 

Doctors diagnose cerebral palsy by 

• testing motor skills and reflexes, 
• looking into medical history, and 
• employing a variety of specialized tests. 

Although its symptoms may change over time, cerebral palsy by definition is not progressive, so if a patient shows increased impairment, the problem may be something other than cerebral palsy.

There is no standard therapy that works for all people with cerebral palsy.  Some of the therapies used to treat children with cerebral palsy include:

Cerebral Palsy Syndromes

Everyday functioning in young children with cerebral palsy: functional skills, caregiver assistance, and modifications of the environment. Sept. 2003. Norway.

Development of hand function among children with cerebral palsy: growth curve analysis for ages 16 to 70 months. July 2003. Ontario, Canada.

Stress and adaptation in mothers of children with cerebral palsy. April 2003. North Carolina.

Intrauterine exposure to infection and risk of cerebral palsy in very preterm infants. Jan. 2003, California.

Cerebral palsy in twins: a national study. London. Sept. 2002

Pain in children with cerebral palsy: common triggers and expressive behaviors, Sept. 2002. To obtain parents' identification and description of the behaviors, health care procedures and daily living situations associated with pain in children with cerebral palsy. Canada.

Cerebral palsy in twins:  a national study, Sept. 2002

Minocycline markedly protects the neonatal brain against hypoxic-ischemic injury July 2002

Brain reorganisation in cerebral palsy: a high-field functional MRI study, June 2002. 1 subject, 15 years old, with perinatal left-sided hemiparesis.  Australia.