Cerebral Palsy (CP)

Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive,non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, Primarily in the various areas of body movement.

Cerebral refers to the cerebrum, which is the affected area of the brain (although the disorder most likely involves connections between the cortex and other parts of the brain such as the cerebellum), and palsy refers to disorder of movement.


Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the motor control centers of the developing brain and can occur during pregnancy, during childbirth or after birth up to about age three. Results include but are not limited to:

• Limitation in movement and posture
• Disturbances of sensation and depth perception
• Other sight-based perceptual problems
• Oommunication ability and cognition
• Sometimes a form of CP may be accompanied by epilepsy.

A 2003 study put the economic cost for people with CP in the US at $921,000 per individual, including lost income.