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Therapy programs enrich the child’s life by helping
them to experience activities that they might not otherwise be able to do
independently
Physical Therapy
Often physical therapy begins in the first few years of the infant’s life.
Physical therapists help children learn better ways to move and balance. They
may help children with Cerebral Palsy to learn to walk, use their wheelchair,
stand by themselves or go up and down stairs safely.
Speech and Language Therapy
Speech therapists help children with Cerebral Palsy improve their communication
skills. This may mean talking, using sign language or teaching them to use a
communication aid. A communication aid might be a book or a poster with
pictures or an alphabet board that the child uses to spell out a message. A
communication aid can also be a computer that speaks for the child.
Occupational Therapy
An occupational therapist teaches children better ways to use their hands, arms
and upper body. They may teach children with Cerebral Palsy easier ways to
write, draw, cut with scissors, brush their teeth, dress and feed themselves or
use their wheelchair. Occupational therapists also help children find the right
special equipment to make some everyday jobs easier.
Recreational Therapy
Recreational therapitst help children with Cerebral Palsy on sports skills or
other leisure activities such as dance, swimming, or almost any other hobby the
child may have interest in.
Drug Therapy
Doctors usually prescribe drugs for children who have seizures because of
Cerebral Palsy. These medicines are effective in helping to stop the seizures.
Sometimes drugs are used to control spacticity. Children with Athetoid Cerebral
Palsy are sometimes given drugs that help reduce abnormal movements.
Surgery
If the contractures in the muscles are so severe that they cause serious
movement problems surgery may be recommended. A surgeon can lengthen muscles
and tendons to correct significant problems. Surgery for contractures is
usually followed by months of recovery.
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