Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) refers to a group of disorders in the development of motor control and posture, occurring as a result of a non-progressive impairment of the developing central nervous system. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy can be accompanied by disturbances of sensation, cognition, communication, perception, and/or seizure disorder.
It has long been recognized that motor outcome in CP is roughly related to "severity", but the systems used to measure progress and to judge severity were poorly developed, unstandardized, and not known to be reliable. Recognizing a need for information about the etiology, treatment, and natural history of CP, a group of researchers at CanChild have dedicated several decades of research to advancing knowledge in this field.
1
400
individuals in Canada are diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and it is the most common physical disability in children.
CanChild is proud to be a member of the Cerebral Palsy Integrated Network (CP-NET), a program designed to improve our understanding of CP and accelerate the development of new treatments. To learn more about CP-NET please follow the link below:
If I Knew Then What I Know Now
Some of the parents who participated in the Adolescent Study of Quality of Life, Mobility and Exercise (ASQME Study) told us "If I knew then what I know now, I would have done things differently". We were interested in exploring this theme further and so we conducted qualitative interviews with 9 parents participating in this study in order to learn from them about their experiences parenting a child with cerebral palsy from early childhood into young adulthood. From the information we gathered in these interviews we developed a tip sheet that might be helpful for other parents caring for children and youth with cerebral palsy.
The Motor Growth Measures
CanChild researchers have developed a number of measures and tools related to gross motor function and performance for children with cerebral palsy. These include:
- Gross Motor Function Classification System - Expanded & Revised (GMFCS E&R), including the Family Report Questionnaire, and the Descriptors & Illustrations
- Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM), of which there are 2 versions, namely the GMFM-88 and the GMFM-66
- Quality FM
- Motor Growth Curves