Cerebral palsy is a physical impairment suffered by about one in 400 children. It affects movement – no two people afflicted are the same and movement problems vary from barely noticeable to extremely severe.

 

In some people muscles become very stiff and weak, and can affect their control of movement, others have some loss of control of their posture and tend to make unwanted movements, while others have problems with balance and speech.
 
Many people with cerebral palsy are hardly affected, others have problems walking, feeding, talking or using their hands. Some are unable to sit up without support and need constant enabling.

 
Some are of higher than average intelligence, others have moderate or severe learning difficulties. Most, like most able-bodied people, are of average intelligence.

 
Cerebral palsy is most commonly the result of failure of a part of the brain to develop, either before birth or in early childhood.

 
This is sometimes because of a blocked blood vessel, complications in labour, extreme prematurity or illness just after birth. Infections during pregnancy, or infancy and early childhood, can also cause the condition.