Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects muscle movement and coordination. It is caused by damage to the developing brain, often before or during birth. There are four main types of cerebral palsy defined by the muscles affected: spastic, athetoid, ataxic, and mixed. Spastic cerebral palsy causes stiff muscles and difficult movement, while athetoid causes involuntary movements and ataxic causes problems with balance and coordination. Treatment focuses on improving quality of life through physical therapy and respecting those with cerebral palsy.

1. Cerebral Palsy Rachelle Valencia Mr. Holley 2 nd Period Human Interact April 7, 2011 http://www.about-cerebral-palsy.org/definition/spastic-athetoid-ataxic.html

2. What is Cerebral Palsy “ Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability in America, affecting at least two of every thousand children, most at birth. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports that there are nearly 800,000 individuals in the United States with one or more symptoms of cerebral palsy. “Cerebral” refers to the brain. The word “palsy” refers to problems with muscle control.” (Mo) Moe, Barbara. "Cerebral Palsy." Teen Health and Wellness. Rosen, 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2011. http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/article/79/cerebral-palsy >. http://www.passenlaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Cerebral-Palsy-Birth-Injury.jpg

3. What does it mean? “ Cerebral Palsy means that it’s a disorder of the brain that affects the person’s ability to coordinate body movements. The condition also affects muscle tone.” http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/brain_nervous/story_cerebral_palsy.html http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER1/00059693

4. Effects of Cerebral Palsy “ There are four types of Cerebral Palsy: Spastic, Athetoid, Ataxic, and mixed. In the Spastic type there is a severe paralysis of voluntary moments, with specific contractions of the extremities either on one side of the body (hemiplegia).” “ In Athetoid type of cerebral palsy, paralysis of voluntary moments may not occur, n the athetoid type of cerebral palsy, paralysis of voluntary movements may not occur, and spastic contractions may be slight or absent. Instead, there are slow, involuntary spasms of the face, neck, and extremities, either on one side (hemiathetosis) or, more frequently, on both sides (double athetosis), with resulting involuntary movements in the whole body or its parts, facial grimacing, and inarticulate speech (dysarthria)—all of which increase under stress or excitement. Damage to the brain particularly affects the basal ganglia underlying the cerebral cortex. Ataxic cerebral palsy is a rare form of the condition that is characterized by poor coordination, muscle weakness , an unsteady gait, and difficulty performing rapid or fine movements. If symptoms of two or more types are present, most often spastic and athetoid, an individual is diagnosed with mixed cerebral palsy. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/103412/cerebral-palsy

5. Types of Cerebral Palsy Spastic Cerebral Palsy (stiff and difficult movement) Athetoid Cerebral Palsy ( involuntary and uncontrolled movement) Ataxic Cerebral Palsy (disturbed sense of balance and depth perception) Mixed Cerebral Palsy There may be a combination of these types of cerebral palsy for any one person. Cerebral Palsy - Ask the Doctor is sponsored by Lawyers Inc., P.C. (1-800-888-LAWS) - Sheldon O. Zisook, Attorney. http://www.passenlaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/cerebral-palsy-types.gif

6. How to help improve someone’s life with Cerebral Palsy You can help improve someone’s life with cerebral palsy by treating them with respect and like if they were normal people. Another way would be to help them if their stuck on something, and by showing them you care.

7. Works Cited &quot;cerebral palsy.&quot; Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online . Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. < http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/103412/cerebral-palsy >. Moe, Barbara. &quot;Cerebral Palsy.&quot; Teen Health and Wellness. Rosen, 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2011. http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/article/79/cerebral-palsy >. http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/brain_nervous/story_cerebral_palsy.html http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.caringforcerebralpalsy.com/images/cerebralpalsy.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.caringforcerebralpalsy.com/nutrition.html&usg http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.passenlaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Cerebral-Palsy-Birth-Injury.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.passenlaw.com/blog/brain-injury-law/cerebral-palsy-birth-injury-recognition-treatment&usg Cerebral Palsy - Ask the Doctor is sponsored by Lawyers Inc., P.C. (1-800-888-LAWS) - Sheldon O. Zisook, Attorney. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.passenlaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/cerebral-palsy-types.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.passenlaw.com/blog/brain-injury-law/closer-cerebral-palsy&usg http:// ic.galegroup.com/ic/scic/ImagesFullListPag

8. Photos Cited http://www.caringforcerebralpalsy.com/images/cerebralpalsy.gif http://www.passenlaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Cerebral-Palsy-Birth-Injury.jpg http://www.passenlaw.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/cerebral-palsy-types.gif http://callisto.ggsrv.com/imgsrv/FastFetch/UBER1/00059693