Common Misconceptions about Cerebral Palsy
It is not alright for any infant or child to have a condition called cerebral palsy. As you know, this could mean the overall development of the child would be affected. In general, cerebral palsy is directly affecting the motor development of any child. Through the years, numerous research efforts have been conducted, but still, cerebral palsy is a condition that is up to this day incurable, but treatable.
Picking up from that point, many people have confusion about the words ‘cure’ and ‘treat.’ This could have direct implications to cerebral palsy because as mentioned, the condition could only be treated, but not cured. First, cerebral palsy, once developed in a child, could stay on forever. The inconvenience and discomfort caused by it could only be treated. Such treatments include specific medications, therapies, and surgical procedures. However, treatments are meant to only relieve pain and distress. So while such discomforts are temporarily eliminated, cerebral palsy would stay.
Another misconception about cerebral palsy is that it is a disease or an illness. This could be corrected. Medical studies and expert testimonies are all backing the assertion that cerebral palsy is just a condition. It means cerebral palsy is not caused by disease-causing virus and bacteria. It is inborn, meaning, it is the natural state of the child. This fact about the condition also supports the previous point that cerebral palsy could never be cured. How could you cure something that is not a disease in the first place?
Time and again, many people, out of ignorance, believe that cerebral palsy is contagious. Now is the time this misconception is cut once and for all. Because the condition is not a sickness and it is not caused by any pathogen or microorganism, cerebral palsy could not in any way be transferred from a person to another. In the past, some people have treated cerebral palsy patients with much indignation and avoidance because of their fear to share the condition. Now, you should know how to handle that misconception.
Cerebral palsy vanishes as the child grows old. It is not bad to help patients keep hope, but to say cerebral palsy would go away as a patient grows old is not correct. It is not in any way possible. As mentioned, once the condition has developed in a child, it is meant to stay there forever. The patient has to adjust to living in that condition.
From that, get on to another common misconception. It states that most patients of cerebral palsy could not be independent. Usually, people would feel so. If you are a parent of a cerebral palsy patient, you should remember that the condition is not an excuse to make the child useless or dependent. Perhaps, you could teach him to act and do activities on his own. Make him feel normal by trusting in his ability to get things done. He could still be mobile despite his inability to walk normally through using wheelchairs, crutches, braces, and walkers.
Lastly, it is a common misconception that the mental capacity of children with cerebral palsy would remain inferior. This is not true. Cerebral palsy patients could still develop their mental abilities to the extent similar to normal children. They would just however have a slow start, like they may take time to first learn words and communication. But once they get into it, they could do wonders.
