What Is The Impact of Cerebral Palsy on Learning?

First, cerebral palsy (CP)is a neuro muscular disorder that affects an individual’s ability to control their movements and maintain balance and posture. This motor disability is common in childhood, so cerebral palsy rehabilitation treatments should begin during early childhood. These treatments improve muscle control and help a child develop confidence.

Often, the first step in treating PT is cerebral palsy physiotherapy. It is instrumental in improving the child’s motor skills and helps with their movement problems.

Cerebral palsy can affect child’s mobility, posture, overall independence, and coordination. Due to these reasons, the child may need more assistance and supervision than the other school children. It is because children with CP may have more trouble communicating, concentrating, and participating in learning exercises, so they cannot complete a lesson.

These physical and mental impairments are known to cause cerebral palsy learning disability in children. Suppose the brain injury suffered by the child during birth or labor has affected more than one area of the brain all at once. In that case, this damage will lead to several conditions and diagnoses sometime in the future.

Cerebral palsy’s physical and mental challenges can affect a child’s learning ability. Children may find it difficult to stay focused and participate in lessons, and they may also face difficulty interacting with their teachers and schoolmates. 

The following are the signs of cerebral palsy and learning disabilities in children.

Usually, learning disabilities do not become obvious until the child is older or reaches school age. However, parents need to identify the signs early on to prompt early management to reduce problems in school.

• very slow or delayed language skills
• difficulties in communicating with others; also trouble in understanding others
•  issues in following directions
• problems with reading, writing, spelling, and counting.

If you see these signs of cerebral palsy impact on learning of your child, it is better to consult with their pediatrician for further evaluation. The earlier you identify their learning disability, the sooner you can manage these disabilities and set your child up for success.  

A child with cerebral palsy may need these professionals’ help to overcome their learning disabilities.

1. Speech therapist – will help the child improve their communication skills, allowing them to express themselves better, for example, if they want clarification on something they fail to understand or need more help. A speech therapist will also help non-verbal children in learning sign language.

2. Occupational therapist – will train the child in improving their fine motor skills, such as developing functions that need skills in performing tasks, such as with their hands or simple finger movements. Children with CP will also learn how to use body language and gestures to help them communicate what they need. In addition, occupational therapists can help children develop their cognitive skills, such as following multi-step directions or problem-solving.

3. Behavioural therapist – will help a child with CP manage their anger, anxiety, depression, and other emotional problems resulting from cerebral palsy and learning difficulties.

4. Special education teacher – will work to help the child learn foundational academic principles. The general education curriculum will be adapted to the child’s learning needs and will help students succeed.

Whether the child’s cerebral palsy is mild or severe or other conditions affect the child’s learning ability, the important thing to remember is that developing a good treatment plan can improve a child’s chances to succeed. 

To maximise the child’s likeliness to learn and develop their ability to the best they can, there should be the right combination of medicine, therapy, equipment and tools, medical supervision, and surgery. Parents should be the first to understand their children’s capabilities, set constructive goals, and deal with the challenges ahead. Parents should make their children with cerebral palsy feel that they are not alone.

If your child or someone you love needs professional help in dealing with the cerebral palsy impact on learning, please get in touch with Mission Walk Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Centre in Hyderabad today. Our reception staff will clear all the doubts which is clogging your mind so that you can take a right the decision towards what line of treatment you should exactly go in for, as you may need clarification on certain things.