You might be seeing green this month, and it has a lot more to do with health than leprechauns. March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month. Advocates wear a green cerebral palsy awareness ribbon and use the hashtag #CerebralPalsyCan in their social posts. Show your support by learning more about cerebral palsy.
Observe Cerebral Palsy Awareness This March
What causes cerebral palsy?
The most important thing to know about cerebral palsy is that there are several different kinds. You see, it’s caused by damage to developing brains, so the level of disability depends on which part of the brain is injured. About 70% of people living with cerebral palsy developed the condition from prenatal brain trauma.
Below are causes of brain trauma to babies, resulting in cerebral palsy:
- Infections like rubella and cytomegalovirus can be passed to developing babies and are known to cause cerebral palsy because of brain inflammation
- Serious, ignored jaundice can create unsafe levels of a brain toxin known as bilirubin
- A lack of oxygen delivered to the brain (asphyxiation)
- Head injuries shortly after childbirth
- Brain bleeds (hemorrhage)
- Meningitis and other infections after birth
- Some research suggest genetics could also play a role
How is cerebral palsy diagnosed?
Cerebral palsy awareness aims to educate the public on signs of the disease. If your infant child, grandchild, or sibling exhibits any of the following symptoms, schedule an appointment to have them checked out by a physician who specializes in cerebral palsy:
- Limited or awkward movement
- Lack of emotion by three months of age
- Unable to hold head up by three to six months
- Movement limited to mostly one side of the body
- Doesn’t roll over
- Strained communication
- Slow in natural development like walking and reaching
- Doesn’t recognize people, places, or things
Spread cerebral palsy awareness
Even if you don’t have cerebral palsy awareness shirts, you can still spread awareness in your community. Try spreading knowledge by:
- Supporting disability care for adults with cerebral palsy
- Volunteering at an adult day care
- Using the hashtag #CerebralPalsyCan, because cerebral palsy can do anything
- Set up a local Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day 2017 with a walk or run
- Treat people suffering from cerebral palsy like everyone else
Need Disability Care for Adults with Cerebral Palsy?
Nevada Adult Day Healthcare Centers is dedicated to spreading disability awareness every day. Visit our website to find out about our disability care for adults living with cerebral palsy.
