iff or permanently contracted muscles. Spastic cerebral palsy results from damaged nerve fibers that carry impulses for voluntary motor control. Another form of cerebral palsy that accounts for about two in ten of all the cases is the athetoid type. Symptoms include uncontrolled movements due to damage to brain nerve fibers responsible for inhibition of muscle movements. Finally, the ataxic type of cerebral palsy, which accounts for only one in a hundred cases is associated with difficulty in coordination while walking and other limb movements. This is caused by injury to the cerebellum, the area of the brain responsible for skeletal muscle control and balance. (James Blackman, Cerebral Palsy, page 2)Since cerebral palsy is damage to the brain it has many effects all focused at the nervous system. It is common for individuals to have a lack of muscle control. Further, common effects include a clumsy walk, a lack of balance, shaking, jerky movements, and unclear speech. Other associated effects are mental retardation, learning disabilities, seizures and problems with sight and hearing. (James Blackman, Cerebral Palsy, page 1)Treatment for cerebral palsy includes physical therapy, prescribed drugs and surgical operations. Physical therapy has helped to teach victims to maintain their balance, dress, eat, go to the toilet, and improve their speech. Instruments such as glasses and hearing aids also help in the improvement of the victims lives. Prescribed drugs help to relax muscles and to control convulsions. Surgical operations are also available to cerebral palsy victims. A selective posterior rhizotomy helps to reduce the rigidity of spastic muscles. It is not uncommon for a mixture of these treatments to be used since cerebral palsy is such a vast affliction varying from patient to patient. Although the condition is physically incurable many cerebral palsy victims learn to lead almost normal lives. (James Blackman, Cerebral Palsy, page ...
