Depending on the location of the brain injury, CP can affect the body in different ways. There are multiple ways to classify CP, too. Due to the complexity of the brain and the veritable damages it may sustain, you may hear many technical terms to describe a specific student's condition. Consider the following:

• Spastic: This is the most common form of CP, accounting for about 70% of all cases. Essentially, spastic CP occurs when there is damage to the primary motor cortex, which is the back of the frontal lobe of the brain. This causes increased muscle tone and spastic reflexes in the parts of the body. Over time as muscles tighten, these muscles become shorter and can pull at joints, potentially causing physical deformity.

  • Hemiplegia: Hemiplegia indicates that only one side of the body is affected. If damage occurs on the right side of the brain, the left arm and leg may be affected.

  • Diplegia: This type of spastic CP indicates that both legs are affected, but there might be some complications with arm movements, too. The person's legs may cross or "scissor" due to the increased muscle tone. Diplegia occurs when the top of both sides of the primary motor cortex are affected.

  • Quadriplegia: This is when both arms and legs are affected. The torso and speech may also be impaired depending on the extent and exact location of the damage.

• Dyskinetic: Unlike spastic CP, Dyskinetic CP occurs when the damage occurs in the basal ganglia of the brain. This is the second most common form of CP, accounting for about 1 in 5 cases. People with this dyskinetic CP will have involuntary movements that may be slow and writhing or quick and jerky.

  • Athetoid: This form of dyskinetic CP causes involuntary movements that are typically more noticeable in the arms and especially occur when trying to perform a certain movement. These involuntary movements can also be more prevalent when experiencing strong emotions or excitement. Students with athetoid CP may experience difficulty with walking and have poor articulation when speaking.

  • Dystonic: With dystonic CP, strong muscle contractions cause localized or generalized involuntary movements that can affect posture.

• Ataxic: This form of CP occurs with damage to the cerebellum. Symptoms of ataxic CP include poor balance and coordination.

• Mixed: The above movement disorders are seldom found in isolation. More often, individuals with CP have a mixed or combined type that affects the body in different ways.

Physically, students with CP can experience a wide range of severities. Here are a few examples based on the severity of the motor impairment.

• Mild: The student can walk, run, and jump with his or her peers. The student may occasionally drag a toe or momentarily fumble with a button, but overall he or she will be independent with functional tasks and can perform nearly all school activities without assistance or accommodation.

• Moderate: The student may have a more atypical gait or require orthoses ("leg braces") or crutches to walk. Head and neck control may be affected, and the student will likely need some assistance with activities of daily living. The student's speech may be impaired, but it is likely still intelligible to others.

• Severe: If the student can walk, it is with assistance or for very short distances. The student will likely use a powered or manual wheelchair in most situations. Assistive technology or staff support will be necessary for tasks like dressing and eating. The student may be able to use oral speech for communication, but it will be difficult for unfamiliar listeners to understand.

• Profound: A student with profound motor impairments will use a wheelchair for mobility and will likely require specialized positioning equipment. Activities like eating, dressing, and using the restroom will require heavy support or assistive technology. Speech is likely to be severely impacted.

The Gross Motor Functional Classification System is a more standardized approach to classifying mobility levels for children with CP. You can watch the video to the right or read more about it from CanChild. One helpful component of this video is seeing children with CP with various severities of motor impairments.

Additionally, vision impairments are common for students with CP, including abnormal eye movements and difficulty tracking. In some situations, hearing impairments are also present. As outlined above, some students with CP may communicate orally without articulation difficulties, while others have so much difficulty speaking that they rely on augmentative or alternative communication devices.

There is no cure for CP, but there are some treatments that help people with cerebral palsy develop maximum independence.

• Mobility devices: Crutches, scooters, walkers, and both manual or powered wheelchairs are examples of devices that a student with CP may use for mobility.

• Positioning equipment: Wedges, standers, side lyers, and other equipment can be used to help students with CP. These devices will only be used by trained staff under the direction of a physical therapist or another qualified expert.

• Orthoses: Different splints and braces can be used to help maintain proper alignment and maintain or improve range of motion.

• Medication: Different medicines may be used to help relax muscles and prevent involuntary movements. Some students may take medications orally, have a pump surgically implanted in them, or receive injections.

• Surgery: Some students may undergo orthopedic surgery to help treat muscle contractures. Others may have neurosurgical procedures to help reduce spasticity.

• Intellectual abilities: Fascinatingly, students with CP can be intellectually gifted, severely impaired, or anywhere in between. The severity of motor impairments does NOT necessarily coincide with decreased cognition. A student with profound spasticity and unintelligible speech may very well be intellectually average or above average. If you are curious, check out the movies King Gimp (1999), My Left Foot (1989), Door to Door (2002), or the TV series Speechless (2016-2019). However, it is important to note that cognitive deficits may occur with CP. Specifically, individuals with spastic quadriplegia are more likely to have intellectual impairments in comparison to those with hemiplegia, athetoid, or ataxic CP.

• Learning disabilities: Visual processing (e.g., keeping place while reading, finding words on a page, aligning columns while writing, etc.) and auditory processing (e.g., following directions, retelling a story, answering comprehension questions, etc.) may be challenging for students with CP.

• Communication: Although communication may not be a concern, a student's CP may impact expressive and receptive language skills. This could be an articulation/speech disorder or a broader language deficit. The physical impairments caused by CP may also impact nonverbal communication. Students may use AAC to communicate (see assistive technologies below).

• Social needs: It is an unfortunate truth that students with CP are often ostracised by their peers. A recent study by Edwards et al. (2019) suggests that students without special needs interact less with and harbor "negative attitudes" toward students with physical disabilities. See the mindset section of the barriers page for more information.

Many low-tech and high-tech AT considerations exist for students with CP. Here are a few to consider:

• Adapted pencils

  • Pencil grips

  • Word processors

    • Keyguards

    • Alternative keyboard and/or mouse

    • Word prediction

  • Eye-gaze

    • High-tech computer devices

    • Low-tech flip charts

• Paper stabilizers

  • Tape

  • Clipboard

  • Slant board

  • Dycem

• Alternative supply management tools

  • Raised desk or table edges/rims

  • Open storage bins (no clasps)