SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY CAN HELP CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY

Phil Neville, the captain of Everton Football Club, has spoken about his daughter Isabella’s cerebral palsy. When Isabella was born five years ago she was 10 weeks premature and weighed just 3lb 3oz (1kg 445g).

For the first few weeks she was fighting for her life in a special care baby unit and managed to survive, before being diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 18 months. Cerebral palsy is a disability caused by damage to the brain before or during birth.

Phil Neville and his family now support the New Children’s Hospital Appeal, of which he is patron, and help to raise money which will fund state-of-the-art equipment and a family accommodation block. The appeal currently stands at £18 million.

By following the video link below, you can listen to Phil Neville, expressing his joy when Isabella took her first steps, despite the doctors’ odds.What is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a physical condition that affects movement. There are several causes, although the most common is failure of part of the brain to develop – perhaps because of a blocked blood vessel or complications in labour.

It is not a degenerative condition – it does not become more severe as the child gets older.

People with more complex forms of cerebral palsy can have a range of impairments including mobility, visual and hearing impairments, learning difficulties, epilepsy and other medical needs.What therapies can help cerebral palsy?

Although cerebral palsy is a permanent condition some therapies can help to alleviate its effects.

Help is most effective if it is available from an early age. The brain changes a lot during the first few years of life, so it can be difficult to assess the extent of cerebral palsy initially.

However most experts suggest babies should be first assessed around 9 – 12 months.

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