Overheard medical student talking with pediatrician in the hall. what is cerebral palsy?

Please see below.: Cerebral palsy (CP) is actually a group of disorders where there is a problem with development of movement and posture; this limits activity. It's attributed to disturbances that occurred in the brain of a developing fetus or infant. Changes in sensation, intelligence, speech, behavior and/or a seizure disorder may accompany the abnormalities of muscle function.

Movement disorder: CP is a static movement disorder that is caused by many things. It is static, because it does not progress in severity. It can be caused by lack of oxygen at the time of delivery, by decreased placental perfusion to the fetus inutero, by inutero infection, meningitis post birth, and in some cases no clear answer why. There are a group of diseases that mimck CP but are treatable.

Brain Problem: Cerebral palsy is an insult to the developing brain, usually before the age of 2 years old. It can happen in the womb, at birth or shortly after birth. It can show up as anything that the brain controls, which is everything, so kids can have speech, hearing, walking, coordination, , etc problems. There is a broad range of types and severity from very mild to children who are in wheelchairs.

Motor handicap: Cerebral palsy is a motor handicap that results from brain damage that occurs during the pregnancy or delivery. It is characterized by an abnormality of muscle tone, either an increase called spasticity, or decrease called hypotonia.