The Facts
- Cerebral palsy is an 'umbrella' description for a group of non-progressive disorders of movement and posture caused by damage to the developing brain.
- These disorders become manifest early in life and are a permanent and nonprogressive condition.
- Cerebral palsy is not a disease and it is not contagious.
- Cerebral palsy is not hereditary or passed from one generation to the next.
- Most children with cerebral palsy are healthy and can expect a normal life span.
- The aetiology of a large number of cases of cerebral palsy is unable to be determined - RCH (2005) Third Report of the Victorian Cerebral Palsy Register.
- Prenatal events are now thought to be responsible for approximately 75% of cases of cerebral palsy - RCH (2005) Third Report of the Victorian Cerebral Palsy Register.
- The risk of cerebral palsy rises as birth weight falls.
- Associated disabilities such as epilepsy, intellectual, visual or auditory impairment may also be present with cerebral palsy.
- The first medical reference to cerebral palsy was by English surgeon W J Little in 1862.
- Of every 1000 live births in Victoria, at least 2 children will be diagnosed as having cerebral palsy before the age of 5 years.
- Cerebral palsy is the most common form of childhood physical disability, affecting about 34,000 Australians.
- CP is in the top five most costly conditions on a per capita basis of 15 conditions studied by Access Economics in recent years (2008).
- The current annual financial cost of cerebral palsy is about $43,000 per person, with the cost to the individual estimated at 36.7% of the total – or $306 per week (2007).
- Most people with CP are healthy and have the capacity to participate in meaningful studies, hobbies and employment.
- Cerebral palsy doesn't actually get worse over time - it's just that the symptoms may change, or it may become more noticeable.
- People sometimes think that those with cerebral palsy can't understand them. This isn't true - people with cerebral palsy may have trouble moving or communicating but they're still intelligent and aware.
- In Australia, around 600 to 700 infants are born with CP each year.
- In Australia, it is estimated that a child is born every 18 hours that has or will develop CP (that is one in every 400 babies).
