6 Types Of Support You Can Offer Your Child With Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy refers to disorders that affect how people move, maintain balance, and retain their posture. Although its exact cause isn’t always known, most times, it occurs when a child’s brain is underdeveloped or due to a birth injury. Due to this, the brain cannot correctly send and receive messages to the muscle, resulting in jerky and uncoordinated movement. Cerebral palsy also affects other physiological functions like breathing, eating, bladder or bowel control, and talking. Since all these rely on smooth muscle movement and motor skills, their regular activity may get compromised.

As one of the most common motor disabilities in infancy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the prevalence of CP to be around 1 to 4 per every 1000 live births. Premature babies or those born with complications during childbirth are especially at risk of developing cerebral palsy. To diagnose the disease early, doctors observe them for particular signs and symptoms such as developmental delays, uncoordinated movements, or abnormal muscle tone.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for cerebral palsy. However, parents and caregivers can try a few therapeutic approaches to make a living with CP manageable. Here are the top 6 ways you can support your child in living a healthy and fulfilling life.

1. Explore Treatment Options

Every child with cerebral palsy experiences symptoms differently, so there is no one-size-fits-all therapy that works for everyone. Depending on the disease’s type and severity, you can explore multiple treatment options that best cater to your child’s needs. Although they can’t cure the disease, their primary objective is to manage symptoms, relieve pain, and allow your child to live a long and healthy life.

The most popular treatment options include medication, surgery, and therapy. Conduct thorough research to learn more about how each of these works and can best help your child.

2. Join A Support Group

Reaching out to other parents and caregivers with similar experiences can benefit you and your child. Besides offering emotional assistance, such support groups can help you explore the latest and advanced treatment options available. Sharing honest reviews and advice can help figure out the best resources and approach to care for your child. Doing so can save you plenty of money and time by allowing you to skip through the trial-and-error phase of discovering the finest resource. Most importantly, these groups allow your child to make friends with other kids like themselves and find camaraderie in one another.

You can join any of the countless online support groups available for caregivers of cerebral palsy. Additionally, you can even connect with other parents you meet at the doctor’s office or in a therapist’s waiting lounge.

3. Provide Healthy Food

All children must have a well-balanced meal. However, children with cerebral palsy must take extra care with what they eat and ensure they consume the necessary nutrients needed to maintain their strength. For instance, if your child has weak bones and can’t properly walk, you must tailor their diet to calcium-rich foods. Milk, yogurt, cheese, and calcium-fortified juices must be part of their daily meals to help them regain their bone strength. You can also provide them with foods rich in Vitamin D, which aids the body in absorbing calcium from food and other sources. The best sources of vitamin D are salmon, sardines, and egg yolks.

4. Help Them Stay Active

Cerebral palsy can move downright challenging for most children suffering from this disorder. But even though it may seem impossible, staying active is crucial to improving mobility and maintaining muscle tone. Work with your child’s physiotherapist to outline an exercise routine that they can perform safely without causing any pain or unnecessary discomfort. You can also align your workout routine with your child to help them stay motivated and keep them company while exercising their body. Stronger muscles can reduce the chances of muscle spasms and contribute to fewer health problems in the long run.

Some cities and states even have sports leagues that support children with disabilities. It may be good to look for one in your area and get your child involved with athletics.

5. Work With Assistive Devices

Plenty of assistive devices are available to help people with cerebral palsy navigate through everyday activities. Advancements in specialized technology and tools like Artificial Intelligence have allowed your child to enjoy life independently. Communication boards, hearing and vision aids, modern wheelchairs, and wheelchair-accessible cars are only a few examples of devices available today. To make movement even more feasible for your child, you can even make modifications in your home. Add ramps, free up space in the living room, and make larger doorways to allow assistive devices to travel from one area to another.

If you can’t afford this equipment, financial resources can offer assistance for people with cerebral palsy. Consult your doctor or a relevant professional who can connect you with these aid programs and get your child the help they deserve.

6. Raise Awareness

While you can improve your child’s day-to-day routine at home, you can also offer them support once they enter the world outside. Increasing awareness about cerebral palsy can make a difference on a larger scale by creating schools, communities, and playgrounds more inclusive. Even your smallest and simplest action can significantly impact your child and other cerebral palsy children.

Some ways you can raise awareness include:

• Increasing your knowledge about cerebral palsy so you can better educate others around you
• Use social media to spread your knowledge and help clear out misinformation surrounding disabilities
• Organize or participate in a fundraiser to help gather funds or other resources for families who may require aid

 Conclusion

Living with cerebral palsy can be emotionally and physically taxing for you and your child. However, nothing worthwhile in life comes easy, so your efforts today will go a long way in helping your child reach their full potential tomorrow.