Cerebral palsy (Cerebral Palsy) is not a progressive or degenerative disorder, and thus dos not necessarily get better or worse over time (although this often depends on the level of severity and treatment provided). Symptoms of cerebral palsy generally remain the same throughout a person’s lifetime, but certain issues may present themselves or prove more-challenging later on in life.
Cerebral palsy results from the child’s brain being deprived of oxygen during the birthing process, ultimately causing damage to the baby’s developing brain. Most often, a child affected by this condition will require some level of medical treatment to help them function in life.
Learning disabilities are common with cerebral palsy. There are oftentimes pronounced problems walking and with other activities that require muscle coordination. Hearing problems are fairly common, but like coordination problems, they are hard to detect in infants. In some cases, a doctor may notice the problems right away. No matter when it’s noticed however, cerebral palsy will not heal with time. The best that parents and affected children can do is find a way to cope with and treat the condition, as the effects will not get better on their own.
Cerebral palsy is expensive to treat due to the length of time that care will be required. Because the symptoms do sometimes worsen over time, your child may require extra care for many years, and potentially for the rest of their life (again, depending on the child’s level of severity).