Cerebral Palsy Life Expectancy

Cerebral Palsy Life Expectancy

Cerebral palsy can be a debilitating illness, and it affects millions of people worldwide, young and old. In America, it is estimated that more than 760,000 people have cerebral palsy. Around 10,000 infants are diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year. With many people affected by cerebral palsy, it is possible that you may know someone with the condition, someone you may care for. It is important to remember that cerebral palsy life expectancy can be very positive. Read on to know more details.

What Is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is the name given to a group of chronic conditions, or "palsies", which is a series of brain disorders. Cerebral palsy can lead a person to lose sufficient control of his or her movements and damage a developing brain. Cerebral palsy is known as a non-progressive brain disorder, which means the condition doesn't progress and increase in severity, but the symptoms that result from the brain damage can change over time, either worsening or, with hope, improving.

Somewhere between 35% and 50% of children with cerebral palsy may also have a seizure disorder. It is also possible for them to have learning difficulties, as well as vision, speech, hearing or language impairments and possibly some level of Mental Retardation.

Cerebral palsy is the most common childhood disability and often develops by 2-3 years old. Its cause is still unclear, but the main deduction of modern medical professionals is that cerebral palsy is most likely caused by birth injuries, infections, and/or a poor supply of oxygen to the brain before, during or after birth.

Cerebral Palsy Life Expectancy
Every individual's life expectancy is dependent on the severity of one's condition. But don't be pessimistic.Most children that are affected by the condition can live 30 to 70 years.With proper management, children with cerebral palsy can grow up peacefully and lead a rather long, normal, happy life.This means visits to doctors, medications, therapies and possibly surgeries.

If the condition is severe, or if the condition is not managed properly, life span will be shortened. This is why it is essential to ensure proper management of the disease. Other factors that can affect lifespan include:

• Level of visual impairment


• Level of impaired movement


• Severity of eating difficulties


• Presence of seizure


• Respiratory function

How to Extend Cerebral Palsy Life Expectancy
As mentioned above, proper management of cerebral palsy can help extend life span. Below is information that will help you manage the condition properly:

1. A Professional Team
To ensure proper management of cerebral palsy, it is important to find the right health care professionals. The following is some professionals you may need:

• Pediatric neurologists who are trained in treating infants with neurological (brain and nervous system) disorders;


• Orthopedic surgeons who are trained in the treatment of muscle and bone disorders;


• Pediatrician who help plan and oversee the treatment;


• Other areas of specialty worth noting are mental health specialists, speech-language pathologists and physical therapists, all of which can help in treatment of cerebral palsy.

2. Medication
Before consuming any medication, it is important to speak with your health care provider to assess the risk and potential effectiveness of the drugs. The medication prescribed varies depending on whether the condition is isolated (only in certain muscles), or generalized (affecting the entire body). Some medications that may be prescribed are listed below:

• OnabotulinumtoxinA (Botox): If the condition is isolated, your health care professional may suggest injecting Botox directly to the nerve, the muscle or both. This will be required once every three months or so. Side effects of this treatment include weakness, bruising, pain, possibly difficulty breathing and/or swallowing.


• Oral muscle relaxants: If the condition is generalized, then a treatment of oral muscle relaxants, such as Valium (diazepam), Dantrium (dantrolene) and/or Gablofen (baclofen), may be suggested by your health care professional. These drugs help relax stiff muscles. Side effects include the risk of developing a dependency, sleepiness and nausea.

3. Therapy
Aside from drug treatment, there is a number of non-drug therapies that can help a person suffering from cerebral palsy improve his or her functional abilities and become more positive about the cerebral palsy life expectancy. Some of these therapies are listed below:

• Physical therapy: Physical therapy, especially specialized muscle exercises, can help build strength, balance, flexibility and motor development in a child suffering from cerebral palsy.


• Occupational therapy: Occupational therapists help your child participate independently in daily activities with the help of adaptive equipment, such as quadrupedal canes.


• Speech and language therapy: Speech and language therapy can help a child suffering with cerebral palsy to speak or communicate in other ways, such as sign language or communication devices (e.g. voice synthesizer).


• Recreational therapy: Recreational therapy, such as therapeutic horse riding, can help improve a child's motor skills, as well as his or her emotional well-being.

4. Surgery
In some instances, surgery may be required to reduce muscle tightness or to fix bone abnormalities caused by the spasticity of the muscle. The types of surgery that may be offered include:

• Orthopedic surgery: Children who suffer from severe muscle, bone or joint deformities may need surgery to correct the fault and realign the bones, joints and muscles. Surgery can help improve mobility and decrease pain.


• Dorsal rhizotomy: If other treatments have failed to ease the condition, surgeons may perform a procedure called "dorsal rhizotomy". This means cutting the nerve endings that serve the spastic muscle. Severing the nerves helps reduce pain and relax the muscle, although it is known to cause numbness.

Famous People with Cerebral Palsy

Famous People with Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is quite complicated and can appear with different levels of severity, as well as a variety of different symptoms. Listed below are brief biographies of famous individuals that suffer from cerebral palsy. These individuals all refuse to allow this disease to define them and choose to create a meaningful life for themselves in spite of this obstacle.

Geri Jewell

This award winning performer, author and motivational speaker has worldwide recognition for being the first person suffering from cerebral palsy to be cast in a prime time series. Geri Jewell stars on NBC’s The Facts of Life, acting as a role model for millions in the LGBT youth community and for those with cerebral palsy. She has also written a critically-claimed autobiography. The following video showcases Geri Jewell in “The Facts of Life.”

Josh Blue


Josh Blue is a comedian that won the fourth season of Last Comic Standing in America which aired in May-August of 2006. His comedy sheds light on living with cerebral palsy, how he deals with the disease and how others view him. Blue revealed that he appeared on the program to “make people aware of the fact that people with disabilities can make an impact.” The following video showcases Josh the Disabled Comedian:

Abby Nicole Curran

Since representing Iowa in the Miss USA pageant in 2008 in Las Vega, Abbey Curran has appeared on a variety of programs including the Ellen show. Curran was also chairman of “The Miss You Can Do It Pageant” that she founded, offering young girls and women that have special needs or challenges an opportunity to compete in pageants like anyone else.

The following video shows Abbey Curran on Ellen:

RJ Mitte

Roy Frank “RJ” Mitte III is an actor that is most well-known for playing Walter White, Jr. (Flynn) on Breaking Bad on AMC. His character on the show also has mild cerebral palsy. He moved to Hollywood in 2006 where he started working with a talent manager and sought out acting opportunities in hopes that he could find a role that would educate viewers about the disease. This prompted his audition for Breaking Bad.

Chris Fonseca

This comedian has worked for the American Comedy Club, writing material for Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Arnold and others. He is the only person with a visible disability to act as an entertainer on The Late Night Show with David Letterman in the 18 year history of the program. Fonseca uses his cerebral palsy as the base for many of his stories and works to break down preconceived barriers about the disease.

Dr. Janice Brunstrom

This pediatric neurologist specializes in cerebral palsy while serving at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital at Washington University. She is considered to be one of the leading scientists into research on the disease. Dr. Brunstrom is the only pediatric neurologist with cerebral palsy in the United States. She founded the sole comprehensive pediatric cerebral palsy center in the United States and actively works to correct misconceptions about the disease.

Christy Brown

This Irish painter, poet and author was born on June 5, 1932 and suffered from a form of cerebral palsy that limited his control over physical movements and speech. By the age of 5, Brown was able to gain a great deal of control over his left foot, mostly due to his mother provoking and talking to him about overcoming his disorder. Over time his mother also taught him the alphabet so Brown could spell out words and read. Christy Brown is most well-known for his autobiography My Left Foot.

Ann McDonald

Ann McDonald, an Australian author, developed a severe form of athetoid cerebral palsy at 3, for which she was placed in an institution designed for those with severe disabilities. During this time, Rosemary Crossley opted to use McDonald as the subject for an experiment for a literacy project. During this project, Crossley helped her to learn to read by using a facilitated communication system that encouraged McDonald to point to colors, followed by words and letters. Ann McDonald then went on to work as an activist for the rights of disabled persons.

Christopher Nolan

Nolan is a well-known Irish author and poet that produced his first publication at 15, which won the Whitbread Book Award among others. He developed cerebral palsy due to oxygen deprivation when he was born. As a young child, Nolan’s father read him passages and told him stories to stimulate his mind and his mother hung the letters of the alphabet in the kitchen so Nolan could participate in streams of conversation. He would also frequently act out skits and sing songs with his sister.

Stephen Hopkins

This man was born in Scituate, which was once a part of Rhode Island. In 1774 he was an attendee of the first Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence in 2 years later. He was known for recording his name by controlling his right hand trembling by his left hand due to the effects of his cerebral palsy. When signing the Declaration of Independence Hopkins noted “My hand trembles, my heart does not.”

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy






Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder inherited before birth which affects the normal muscular movement of the child. It is caused due to abnormality in brain development during the developmental stage of the fetus. Initial symptoms of cerebral palsy appear even during infancy or preschool stage for the child. The muscles can become either too stiff or floppy and it causes serious disturbance in normal movement. Some children may have difficulty in walking and in many cases it may affect the normal intelligence also.

Facts on Cerebral Palsy :

• More than 17 million people are affected with cerebral palsy worldwide


• One out of 500 babies are diagnosed with CP globally


• CP is one of the worst type of motor disability problem in childhood


• For reasons unknown, more boys have CP than girls


• Out of 100 children with CP, about 77 children have spastic CP


• Out of 100 children with CP, more than half (58%) can walk independently


• About 40% of the children with CP develop Epilepsy and 7% can develop ASD


• In the United States alone, about 10,000 babies born each year have CP


• Exact cause of CP is not known, but it is believed to occur due to genetic disorder


• Pregnant women should take certain precautions to reduce the risk of CP


• CP is often detected during infancy or early childhood


• CP cannot be cured but the severity of symptoms can be managed with medications and therapy.

Symptoms :

Symptoms of CP vary widely with respect to each child, depending on the damage done to the brain. Children with CP may have problems in movement with varying degree. Muscle tone becomes very stiff or very floppy. They show exaggerated reflexes or insufficient muscle coordination. Such children may show involuntary movements in hands and legs. They have difficulty in performing simple tasks like sitting or crawling due to delay in muscle coordination. Such children often have delay in completing developmental milestones like crawling, sitting and walking.

Some children may develop crouched position while walking and some may show scissors like gait. Many children with CP may develop problems in sucking and swallowing and hence may not reach expected weight. Some may have difficulty in speaking also. The brain lesions occur before birth does not progress over age and so the symptoms will not get worse over age. Intellectual disability and epilepsy are common in children with CP.

Causes :

Exact cause of CP is not clear, but it is believed to be caused due to lack of oxygen supply to the brain before the child is born. Abnormality in healthy development of the brain due to maternal infections, random gene mutation, and disruption of blood supply or oxygen supply to the brain can cause CP. In some cases the growing fetus may develop head injury due to accidental fall. Having premature birth definitely increases the risk of CP.

Types :

Any kind of CP will show impairment in motor coordination and based on this observation cerebral palsy can be categorized into 3 major types namely spastic, dyskinetic and dystonic CP.

• Spastic CP :

This type is marked by rigidness in muscle tone in one side of the body affecting arms or legs. It can cause rigid posture in one hand or leg causing difficulty in using extremities. In some children spasticity may develop in both the legs causing scissoring gait like posture. The range of spasticity differs greatly with children and accordingly some children may have only little restriction in motor function while others may have severe rigidity.

• Dyskinetic CP :

These children will show abnormal movements in legs and arms that occur involuntarily. In children with Ataxic type of CP abnormal rhythm of motor movements occurs affecting the use of legs and hands.

• Dystonic CP :

This kind of CP is marked with slow movements wherein the child may take few seconds or even minutes to raise his hand or move his leg.

Risk Factors :

Any infections or serious health problems developed during pregnancy can increase the risk of CP for the child. Pregnant women developing rubella or chickenpox or other viral infections have more chance of delivering a child with CP. Bacterial Meningitis or viral encephalitis in newborn child can cause CP. Similarly premature birth and low birth weight can increase the risk of CP.

Complications :

Apart from varying severity in motor coordination, the child may develop certain complications like malnutrition (due to difficulty in sucking), contracture, and Mental Illness (social isolation and Depression) and neurological problems like epilepsy.

Diagnosis :

An expert doctor can identify CP symptoms even during the first 3 months of the developing baby. Depending on the signs, he may order for imaging tests like CT scan or MRI scan, cranial ultrasound to get clear picture of the brain. EEG may be done if your child develops epilepsy. In addition blood profile will be done for detecting any other abnormality. A child with vision or hearing problem will have to undergo other suitable procedures for detecting the degree of impairment.

Treatment :

There is no cure for CP but the severity of symptoms can be decreased. The child would require prolonged treatment from expert team of doctors like pediatrician, neurologist, orthopedics, therapist and psychiatrist. Medications are prescribed to improve muscle tone due to spasticity. Botox injection is given to improve symptoms of drooling. Muscle relaxants like diazepam or baclofen are prescribed to improve flexibility in stiff muscles.

These drugs can cause side effects and should be given with doctor’s supervision only. Physiotherapy can improve muscle strength and improved motor development. The child will be taught to do daily tasks like bathing and eating etc. Splints are helpful in children with walking difficulty. The child can use electric wheelchairs or specialized seating devices based on his problem. Language therapy is effective in improving the child’s ability to speak and communicate.

• Surgery :

Orthopedic surgery is done for repairing severe deformity in bones and joints so that the child can attain improved usage of affected bones. In some cases the nerves that cause spasticity are cut off during surgery for gaining muscle relaxation.

Prevention :

Nothing can be done to prevent cerebral palsy. However pregnant women can reduce the risk of CP by taking certain precautions like getting vaccinated and regular screening.