How to Care for Someone With Cerebral Palsy

An umbrella term used to describe a number of neurological disorders that strike during infancy or early childhood, cerebral palsy causes physical disabilities that are quite costly to manage. Patients require special care throughout their lives, but there is plenty you can do to help if someone you love suffers from cerebral palsy.

Things You'll Need

• Occupational therapist
• Physician
• Physiotherapist
• Dietitian
• Speech and language therapist

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Instructions

Help Care for Someone With Cerebral Palsy

• 1

  Remain in close contact with the patient's physician. Since every case of cerebral palsy is different, a doctor can advise you as to how you can best care for the unique needs of the cerebral palsy patient in your life.

• 2

  Talk to an occupational therapist about bathing accessories that can help you care for your child. Cerebral palsy patients with poor torso control can benefit from a number of different bathing chairs. Remember to take extra care to keep casts dry when bathing your child. If your child is above age 10, always lift him into the bathtub from a standing position to avoid injury.

• 3

  Establish dental hygiene as an early priority. Begin before the patient has grown teeth by wiping the inside of the mouth with a moist cloth. If the patient will not accept a toothbrush into her mouth, substitute a cloth washcloth or cotton-tipped swab soaked in toothpaste or a mild antiseptic. Cerebral palsy sufferers are at heightened risk for dental problems, but early establishment of good habits can help significantly.

• 4

  Help dress your child by encouraging him to hold onto furniture while you put on or remove his clothes. This decreases the amount of lifting you'll need to do to get the job done, and it also helps ready the patient for learning to dress on his own.

• 5

  Help keep the patient active. During childhood, someone with cerebral palsy must remain as active as possible to decrease the likelihood of permanent muscle and bone damage. The goal is to help the patient move as normally as possible. Even if the patient is confined to a wheelchair, there are exercises your physician can tell you about that will help foster healthy muscle and bone development.

• 6

  Collect advice on nutrition and feeding habits from the group of professionals helping you care for the patient. Ask the physiotherapist how to best position the patient during mealtime; talk to the dietitian about foods to feed her and the speech and language therapist can advise you on proper chewing and mouth closure. Your occupational therapist will also help you choose furniture that makes the task of feeding the patient easier.

• 7

  Know that your role in the event of a seizure is not to try and stop it. Rather, simply remain present, ensure the patient cannot harm himself with anything in his way and wait it out. Call 911 if the patient does not recover, suffers several seizures, has breathing problems or changes color (turns blue or red, for example).

• 8

  Ask the occupational therapist or the patient's physician for help with toilet training and use of the washroom. In general, it is best for children to eat meals at regular times so their washroom needs can be predicted with some degree of accuracy. However, specific strategies will depend largely on the severity of the case of cerebral palsy.

• 9

  Read further. Freeman Miller and Steven J. Bachrach's book, "Cerebral Palsy: A Complete Guide for Caregiving" is a standard (see Resources below).

• 10

  Know that there are a great deal of charitable organizations in place to assist you as you administer care to a cerebral palsy patient. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke can help you connect with local charities (see Resources below).