Question
QUESTION: Would you please explain to me: what cerebral palsy is?

Thanks
C Barwick

ANSWER: According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the term cerebral palsy refers to any one of a number of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination but don抰 worsen over time. Even though cerebral palsy affects muscle movement, it isn't caused by problems in the muscles or nerves.  It is caused by abnormalities in parts of the brain that control muscle movements.  

The majority of children with cerebral palsy are born with it, although it may not be detected until months or years later. The early signs of cerebral palsy usually appear before a child reaches 3 years of age.  The most common are a lack of muscle coordination when performing voluntary movements (ataxia); stiff or tight muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity); walking with one foot or leg dragging; walking on the toes, a crouched gait, or a 搒cissored?gait; and muscle tone that is either too stiff or too floppy.  A small number of children have cerebral palsy as the result of brain damage in the first few months or years of life, brain infections such as bacterial meningitis or viral encephalitis, or head injury from a motor vehicle accident, a fall, or child abuse.

Thank you for your question, Cameron.  I hope that my answer was helpful.

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QUESTION: Would you please explain to me: why whenever I do some writing, my hand
gets tired a little way in the writing?

(P.S   Just to let you know, I have cerebral palsy)

Thanks
C Barwick
ANSWER: Since I'm not a physician nor do I know your medical condition, my best guess is that you are having some muscle fatigue related to poor endurance.  CP doesn't get worse as a person ages because it's a nervous system problem that develops at infancy or early childhood.  

I believe that your endurance would increase if you try to slowly increased the length of each time spent writing and the frequency of times.

Thank you for your follow-up question, Cameron.  I hope that my answer was helpful.

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QUESTION: Would you please tell me if it's true that people with disabilityes have a acute
sence of smell, tast and hearing?

Thanks
C Barwick
ANSWER: An acute sense of smell, taste, hearing, or other senses is just as likely in someone with disabilities as it would be in someone without any disability. Such individual episodes of heightened senses occur in various sections of the population.

Thank you for your follow-up question, Cameron.  I hope that my answer was helpful.


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QUESTION: Would you please explain to me: why do people with cerebral palsy (like me)
loose their balance sometime?

Thanks
C Barwick
ANSWER: Most often, a loss of balance is caused by an inner ear problem involving the semicircular canals.  In the case of individuals with CP, it may also be that the disruption of the muscle coordination signals can cause what seems to be a loss of balance.

Thank you for your follow-up question, Cameron.  I hope that my answer was helpful.

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QUESTION: Would you please explain to me: why do people with cerebral palsy (like me)
can't control their actions?

Thanks
C Barwick

Answer
If you mean control their motions, that's part of the problem with the transmission of signals to the muscles.  

If you mean control their emotions, that's a problem that many people have, disabled or not.  There are a wide range of reasons that people can't seem to control their emotions.  Everybody has their own reasons and must deal with them accordingly.

Thank you for your question, Cameron.  I hope that my answer was helpful.