The following presents the topic of early childhood interventions for children with cerebral palsy with a description and review of prevalence, contributing factors, complications, and relevance to pediatric nursing. Applications of the topic presented include an integration of information in practice, the important support to offer, future research and nursing implications, and a synthesis of data. This is followed by a conclusion.
Cerebral palsy, or static encephalopathy, is a term that is used to describe a condition in which trauma to the brain trauma affects the motor abilities to varying degrees ranging from slight to extreme. Cerebral palsy includes the following four categories: Spastic, Athetoid (or dyskinetic), Ataxic, and Mixed. Spastic cerebral palsy is found in up to 80% of cerebral palsy patients. Spastic cerebral palsy includes the characteristics of stiff muscles or muscles that are permanently contracted. Athetoid cerebral palsy is found in up to 20% of cerebral palsy patients. Athetoid cerebral palsy includes the characteristics of uncontrolled and slow, writhing movements. Ataxic cerebral palsy is found in up to 10% of cerebral palsy patients. Ataxic cerebral palsy includes the characteristics of poor coordination and problems with moving quickly or precisely due to an inability to sense or perceive depth. Mixed cerebral palsy takes place when a patient has symptoms of two or more of the above types, most commonly including the spastic and athetoid forms of cerebral palsy (Cerebral Palsy Source, 2005).
Current estimations are that there are 800,000 children and adults in the United States affected by some type of cerebral palsy and there are an additional 8,000 children diagnosed per year. Up to 20% of children with cerebral palsy acquire the disorder following birth while most develop the disorder during prenatal development or childbirth (Cerebral Palsy Source, 2005). Yeargin-All...