Cerebral Palsy Classification

On earth there are approximately 17 million people with Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is the most common physical disability in childhood. This physical disability can impact the body in numerous ways, and except in its mildest forms, it can be evident in the first 12-18 months of a child’s life. (Alliance 2016)
Cerebral Palsy is one general term that refers to a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move. Cerebral Palsy is a life-long condition and there is no cure. It is due to damage to the developing brain during pregnancy or shortly after birth. (Alliance 2016) In order to classify what type of Cerebral Palsy someone has, there are four different classification systems qualified practitioners use; severity level, topographical level distribution, motor function, and the gross motor function classification system. The classification based on severity level are a broad
When used with Motor Function Classification System, it gives a description of where and to what extent a child is affected. There are several different classifications, monoplegia/monoparesis, diplegia/diparesis, hemiplegia/hemiparesis, paraplegia/paraparesis, triplegia/triparesis, double hemiplegia/double hemiparesis, tetraplegia/tetraparesis, quadriplegia/quadriparesis and lastly pentaplegia/pentaparesis. (Stern n.d.)
Another classification is the classification based on motor function. Motor function is the ability to control the body in a desired matter. The two main groups are spastic and non-spastic. Spastic Cerebral Palsy is characterized by increased muscle tone. While Non-Spastic Cerebral Palsy will show decreased or fluctuating muscle tone. Muscle tone is Knowing which classification someone is gives a description of their body is affected and it gives parents, doctors and therapists a very specific, yet broad description of the symptoms. (Stern