CEREBRAL PALSY

Physical Impairment and Cerebral Palsy

Physical Impairment and Cerebral Palsy

Introduction

There are several children in this world who are dealing with difficulties in their daily life due to various physical impairments. Same is the case with Jo who is a year 10 pupil, suffering from cerebral palsy and in need of adequate provision to help her continue education without any difficulty. This study is aimed at finding the ways and support that can aid Jo in overcoming the difficulties which she encounters every day during her education at school, by briefly determining those difficulties and discussing the supportive measures which can help her and other children with cerebral palsy.

Physical Impairment

Physical impairments include all those conditions in which the abilities of movement and its coordination are reduced permanently. The type and degree of a physical impairment decides the extent of care and assistance that a child will need in performing educational activities. Neurologic, physical or metabolic factors can be the cause of physical impairment. Access to educational facilities and equipments are required by some children with physical impairment (Data retrieved from: www.wiltshire.gov.uk). Such children can also have difficulties in communication and learning and sensory impairments. Infections, illness, genetic factors, injuries and development before birth are the contributing factors to physical impairment.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects the control of movement, coordination and posture. It is caused by damage to brain and classified into spastic cerebral palsy, ataxic cerebral palsy and dyskinetic cerebral palsy, according to the region of the brain which is affected. It affects about 1 in 400 children and is caused usually due to abnormal development of brain before birth, infections during pregnancy, difficulties during birth and injuries to brain during early infancy.

Dyspraxia

Dyspraxia is a disability of development of organisation of movement caused due to brain's immaturity that leads to problems in the transmission of messages to body. Children with dyspraxia might find difficulty in learning and performance of physical activities along with sensory information processing and coordination of movements that are necessary for speech.

Signs for Detecting Presence of Physical Difficulties in a Child

There are several signs that can help in identifying a child for having physical difficulty. These signs may vary among different children and include:

Difficulties with muscle control and mobility

Difficulties in moving around obstacles

Unusually tight or loose muscle tone

Poorly developed coordination

Improper balance

Difficulties in learning, writing and speech

Provision of Support for Physically Impaired Children at School

Children with physical impairment require special assistance to excel in education. Jo is also among such children who face difficulties in continuing education due to cerebral palsy. She has difficulty in mobility on uneven terrains and she cannot speak and write for long durations as she gets tired very quickly. There are several supportive strategies and equipments which can help her and other children like her in overcoming the hindrances in acquisition of education at school. These supportive measures include:

Mobility Difficulties and Mobility Equipments

Children with physical impairment may find difficulty in mobility due to poor muscle control and ...