Avery Cerebral Palsy - Development

Cerebral Palsy: Self Perceptions and Impact on Development

January 22nd, 2024 by Fischer Avery

Introduction

Cerebral Palsy is a condition that affects all sorts of people across the world, and understanding the way that those with this condition tend to view themselves is important so that the mental health and well-being of people living with this condition can be improved and secured. Dalila Castillo is a middle-aged Spanish woman living with cerebral palsy, who has found meaning and pleasure in sharing her experiences as a disabled woman with her condition. Her story and the information that she shares is important and applicable to the thousands of other people across the world living with cerebral palsy. 

Self-Concept and Perceptions

Growing up unaware of her diagnosis, Dalila grew up confused as to why she was experiencing issues related to stiff muscles, which made everyday tasks like walking and participating in physical activities painful and difficult. Dalila explains that this pain and these difficulties made it feel hard to fit in, and pushed her to try to mask her symptoms as she grew older. Dalila explains that the pain created negative emotional states, which in turn contributed to the perceived severity of her pain and discomfort, creating what was essentially a feedback loop of pain, negative emotions, and the masking of emotions leading to more pain. Dalila also further explains that she experienced a loss of hope and motivation towards the improvement of her condition, influenced by a want to simply ignore her condition and dissociate from it. Feeling as though one does not fit in or is socially excluded is a common experience of individuals with cerebral palsy, who may oftentimes experience depression-like symptoms of feelings of hopelessness or low self-worth due to an inability to assimilate into their peer groups (Shields et al., 2007). 

Coping with CP

One strategy used to cope with depression that is associated with a disability is practicing task persistence. Oftentimes, individuals with disabilities like cerebral palsy may develop beliefs that they cannot complete certain tasks due to the limitations that their disability has given them. Task persistence training teaches individuals with conditions like cerebral palsy how to remain motivated and continue trying to complete their goals through adaption when a certain task seems to be to difficult to handle. This results in positive mental health outcomes because it pushes those with disabilities to try with all their effort, which gives these individuals a sense of belief in themselves to actually follow through with and achieve their goals. As these individuals consistently fulfill these goals, they develop more self-confidence and exhibit less intense symptoms of depression. Improving the sleep and rest of individuals with cerebral palsy is another strategy that can be used to help improve self-perceptions, as a lack of proper sleep that is reported in populations of individuals with cerebral palsy may exacerbate depressive thoughts. Lastly, practicing mindfulness-based thinking and coping is essential for those who are dealing with negative thoughts related to their condition. Mindfulness is necessary in order to assist those dealing with negative thoughts related to their disability to identify those thoughts and challenge them when necessary (Jensen et al., 2006).

Physical Development 

Cerebral palsy is mostly influential upon the physical development of the individuals it affects, with most of the signs and symptoms being physically recognizable. Cerebral palsy is a neuromotor disorder, meaning that the development of movement, posture, and muscle tone is heavily influenced by the presence of this disorder. Motor dysfunction as a result from this disorder may cause children to achieve milestones related to movement much slower or even not at all, and oftentimes these missed milestones become more apparent as the child ages and exhibits typical signs of cerebral palsy such as partial paralysis, abnormal posture, and muscle stiffness into childhood and adolescence (Patel et al., 2020).

Psychological Development 

The psychological development of individuals with cerebral palsy is certainly not always typical, and the presence of this condition in the life of a child and adult alike has a significant influence over the psychological well-being of the individual with the condition. Individuals with cerebral palsy, or any disability for that matter, experience greater risk of developing neuroticism and negative self-perceptions due to their inability to partake in seemingly joyous activities and function completely independently (Jensen et al., 2006). 

Social Development 

The physically identifiable nature of cerebral palsy makes those with this condition tend to stand out from the general population because they are often using some sort of motor assistance, have a caregiver, or may exhibit movement that is considered irregular like shaking or waddling. This standing out can make those with this condition feel as though they are defined by their condition, and that they may not be able to assimilate into their peer groups due to their physical differences and differences in lifestyles. It may be hard for a disabled individual's friends to schedule times to spend with one another or decide upon certain activities due to the limitations that such a condition can create in the lives of those affected. This may lead to these individuals lacking close social connections due to them being unable to participate in many activities that kids especially want to partake in (Shields et al., 2007).

References

Alila Medical Media. (2023). Cerebral Palsy, Animation. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm9KIutwSYU 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Real stories from people living with cerebral palsy: Dalila. CDC Archive. https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/ncbddd/cp/stories/dalilas-story.html 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Real stories from people living with cerebral palsy: Dalila. [Photograph]. CDC Archive. https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/ncbddd/cp/stories/dalilas-story.html 

Jensen, M. P., Engel, J. M., & Schwartz, L. (2006). Coping with cerebral palsy pain: a preliminary longitudinal study. Pain Medicine, 7(1), 30-37.

Patel, D. R., Neelakantan, M., Pandher, K., & Merrick, J. (2020). Cerebral palsy in children: a clinical overview. Translational pediatrics, 9(Suppl 1), S125–S135. https://doi.org/10.21037/tp.2020.01.01

Shields, N., Loy, Y., Murdoch, A., Taylor, N. F., & Dodd, K. J. (2007). Self-concept of children with cerebral palsy compared with that of children without impairment. Developmental medicine and child neurology, 49(5), 350–354. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2007.00350.x