What is CP?

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is not a disease or an illness. It is the description of a physical impairment that affects movement. The movement problems vary from barely noticeable to extremely severe. No two people with cp are the same; it is as individual as people themselves.


\"Cerebral palsy\" includes a variety of conditions. The three main types correspond to injuries to different parts of the brain:

People with spastic cp find that some muscles become very stiff and weak, especially under effort. This can affect their control of movement.


People with athetoid cp have some loss of control of their posture, and they tend to make unwanted movements.


People with ataxic cp usually have problems with balance. They may also have shaky hand movements and irregular speech.

I think I have all three of them, hey am I lucky!

The main effect of cp is difficulty in movement. Many people with cp are hardly affected, others have problems walking, feeding, talking or using their hands. Some people are unable to sit up without support and need constant enabling. People with cp often have difficulty controlling their movement and facial expressions.

This does not necessarily mean that their mental abilities are in any way impaired. Some are of higher than average intelligence, other people with cp have moderate or severe learning difficulties. Most, like most people without cp, are of average intelligence.

No cure, but we do know that correct treatment from an early age can ease the effects of cp. Occasionally children who appear to have cp lose the signs as they get older. Most importantly, having a disability does not mean that someone cannot lead a full and independent life.


I think the best treatment is a few pints of beers as after a few pints I stop shaking and my speech improves. Would it be great if I could get free beer from the NHS. :woohoo:

My name is maria and for 47yrs i have had c.p but would you believe i didnt even know i had it!!! it turn,s out the reason i kept falling over was due to my c.p i had to recently undergo test,s to find out why i kept falling over.
I had a battery of test then the doctor asked me \"How long has your c.p been this bad??\" i told him i haven,t got c.p! he told me yes you have i basically stood there literally arguing wiv him i walked out in a right childish huff!! then whilst still at the hospital i rang my mother and said \"would you believe this idiot think,s i,ve got c.p!\" my mum very matter of factly tell,s me yes you were born with it??? i have been in this world 47yrs and didnt know i had c.p! i feel so foolish why didnt i know this! i then had to see my kidney specialist and told him,\"Guess what i,ve got c.p and never knew i had it!\" he tell,s me yes we assumed you knew?? i never in my life felt so stupid! why didnt i know i had it? because everyone else knew? it turn,s out my mum had problem,s with me when she was giving birth to me yet i can,t believe i didnt know? has anyone here ever heard of this???
I am wanting to know why am i being so clumsy lately more so that i normally am? i also find when i,m tired it,s worse also if i,m sick i feel as if i,m going to fall over is this normal? i would welcome any advice now

I can't believe you had cp all your life without knowing. it must be very very mild cp.

Hi There,
I knew i was different by the way i walked,i wasen,t like other children i had to walk with a frame on wheel,s which i hated! i was also bullied mercessly,when i,d ask my mum,\"what,s wrong with me?\" she,d just tell me i was special!\" i have never been able to put my left foot flat and kind of walk on my tiptoe,when i haven,t got my stick you can really see just how much it affect,s my leg,s, when i started getting problem,s with my kidney,s i remember the doctor asking my mum \"Was she born with a spastic leg and foot\" my mum made me wait outside, then i had to have very intensive physio that of course didnt work, it was only because i kept going to my g,p with bad pain in my hip leg and back, i assumed i was just different, although i knew i wasen,t like the other kid,s i didnt know i had c.p,now even thinking about it makes me mad! my mum could have saved me from alot of stuff by just telling me! but she didnt and i was left to \"get on with it!\"
After living with it for such a long time i never asked,so it came as a hugh shock when i was told!< in fact i,m still pretty angry at her foor not telling me before,so now i know and there,s nothing i can do about it and i,ve accepted it as a part of my life now.
I now cannot walk unaided if i can,t have my stick i keep falling over which is embarrassing,so i always make sure i,ve got it and i now know why i,ve got the problem,s i have,i also had a surgery on the back of my ankle when i was a kid,sadly it didnt help,it,s made me feel foolish because i should have known what it was! i guess it was a real shock coming from my mother after all these year,s maria x

Surely you realize you had a disability in your teens?

I agree. A few beers does the trick and at least we can say that we don't have to pay for looking drunk:laugh:

ade1 wrote: I agree. A few beers does the trick and at least we can say that we don't have to pay for looking drunk:laugh:

I think I look more normal when I am drunk

I think CP is only injury.

CP is part of your life but you be you its not the body that counts but the person you are. I have not got CP but have many friends that do for example when we go to a restaurant and have a meal or a pub for a drink or TWO they are always ahead of me in a electric wheelchair or crutches and theres me on my walking cane slow as a wet fish

Andra wrote: I think CP is only injury.

C.P is not an injury Andrea!! I think members who have C.P would be disgusted at what you have written. I'm shocked that you would write such a thing!

birth injuries is the reason of cerebral palsy or the reason of the wrong treatment. Birth injury - medical concept is widely used in Russia. I do not understand that offensive I wrote.

You are completely right, cp is a injury to the brain. Its not offensive to say this.. Many disabilities are due to injuries.

Its a bummer we get injuried on the first day on earth, but thats life and life goes on and we CP people don't know any different so this is why we cope with life so well.