Cerebral Palsy

By: Victoria Fox

February 13, 2013

Introduction
Between two and three children in one thousand are born with cerebral palsy. This is why it becomes crucial for society to educate themselves about this fairly common disability. Education is power, therefore, we must learn and research the disability as much as possible. Cerebral means having to do with the brain, while palsy is defined as having problems or weakness in muscles. These two definitions are very helpful when learning about cerebral palsy; a permanent, non progressive condition caused from brain damage that severely effects motor movement.

Comparison
When researching a condition such as cerebral palsy there is a lot of information to consider and many resources to find this information. The textbook, Introduction to Special Education, gives a great overview of the disabilities that includes a definition, the different types of cerebral palsy and the areas of the body that are affected. However, the textbook offered little to no information upon

The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance. ~Nathaniel Branden

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Cerebral Palsy
the possible causes, frequency, or treatment of the disability. The websites information matched up well with the textbook, however, the websites offered much greater detail when concerning the different therapy and treatments that were helpful to people with the disabilities. Many of the websites also offered information to help the family members cope with the disability and support that the text book did not cover.

Evaluation
The internet offers an abundant amount of information, which can be incredibly helpful when researching a disability, but it can also be confusing to find reliable sources. Whether you are a parent of a child with cerebral palsy, or writing a research report it is crucial the information is dependable. The websites provided below offer accurate information about cerebral palsy.
1. 2. http://www.cdc.gov/NCBDDD/cp/facts.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001 734/

My grandfather who lived to be 87 with cerebral palsy.

3. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/cere
bral_palsy.htm 4. 5. 6. http://www.epi.msu.edu/cpon/cp.html http://centerforchildren.med.nyu.edu/cerebral-palsy http://www.chop.edu/healthinfo/cerebral-palsy.html

When researching the topic of cerebral palsy I limited my results to give me websites with specific URLs

so that I only received information from government or educational websites. This limited search helped weed out some of the more commercial or unprofessional web pages. From there I evaluated each of these links individually and choose websites that passed the 5 Ws test, which is a tool when trying to find websites that are reputable. The second website provides is by the National Institutes of Health and the third website listed was created by the NYU Langone Medical Center with many doctors including information from doctors. They were created from trustworthy institutions, and provide contact information. Each and every one of these websites was created to inform readers about cerebral palsy and contain little to no

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newsletter text here. Continue newsletter text her Center of Disease Control and Pervention (2012, May 18). Cerebral palsy . Retrieved from Continue newsletter text here. Continue newslette http://www.cdc.gov/NCBDDD/cp/facts.html here. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2012, August 12). Ninds cerebral palsy information page. Retrieved from http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_pals y/cerebral_palsy.htm The Cerebral Palsy Outreach Program (2013, ). Cerebral palsy research: On the cutting edge. Retrieved from http://www.epi.msu.edu/cpon/cp.html Division of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery and the Center for Children. (2011, ). Cerebral palsy. Retrieved http://centerforchildren.med.nyu.edu/cerebra lpalsy The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. (2013, ). Cerebral palsy. Retrieved from http://www.chop.edu/healthinfo/cerebralpalsy.html PubMed Health A.D.A.M. (2012, ). Cerebral palsy. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PM H0001734/ Smith , D., & Tyler, N. (2010). Introduction to special education . Columbus, Ohio: Merrill.

also kept current and up to date which is very important especially when concerning medical issues because treatments and concepts are constantly changing. The website that was listed as number one states that May 18, 2012 as last date revised on the bottom of the page. The last aspect of the five Ws is why, out of all of the websites that provide information about cerebral palsy what is the reason I

"I thank God for my handicaps, for, through them, I have found myself, my work, and my God." ~Helen Keller Page 3