cerebral palsy, DD, NCBDDD, CDC

What resources are available for people with cerebral palsy and their families?

CDC does not study education or treatment programs for people with cerebral palsy, nor does it provide direct services to people with cerebral palsy or to their families. However, CDC has put together a list of resources for people affected by cerebral palsy or other developmental disabilities. [Go to the resources list]

People with cerebral palsy can live healthy lives. There are many federal and federally-funded programs that help people learn to live well with cerebral palsy or other developmental disabilities. CDC has put together a list of some of these efforts. [Read more about health improvement programs]

We have created a series of Kids' Quests designed to get kids to think about people with disabilities and some of the issues related to participation in daily activities, health, and accessibility. The Quests were written for children in 4th through 6th grades, but can be modified by teachers or parents for use with children of other ages and abilities. Each Quest takes kids through a series of steps that encourage them to use the Internet to learn about a disability and the effect it has on a child's life.

One of the Kids' Quests is about children who have a hard time moving around. Another is about children who have a hard time talking with other people. There is also a quest about children who have a hard time using the bathroom, dressing, or eating. The quests talk about children who have cerebral palsy, as well as children who have other disabilities.

CDC's "Learn the Signs. Act Early."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), in collaboration with a number of national partners, is conducting a public awareness campaign called “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” The campaign aims to educate parents about childhood development, including early warning signs of autism, cerebral palsy, and other developmental disorders, and encourages developmental screening and intervention.
[In English: Cerebral Palsy]
[[En Español: La Parálisis Cerebral]

MEDLINEplus: Cerebral Palsy
MEDLINEplus is an online service of the National Library of Medicine. MEDLINEplus is designed to link you to information on specific health topics, including cerebral palsy. MEDLINEplus brings together information from many sources and is updated every day. This page includes information on general overviews, clinical trials, coping, disease management, research, specific conditions, dictionaries, organizations, children, and teenagers. Some materials are in Spanish.
[In English: MEDLINEplus Health Information: Cerebral Palsy]
[En Español: MEDLINEplus Información de Salud: Parálisis cerebral]

National Information Center on Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY)
NICHCY provides information on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, teachers, and other professionals. NICHCY has a fact sheet about cerebral palsy that includes information on topics such as signs of cerebral palsy and treatment, as well as tips for parents and teachers. NICHCY staff will also give information and referrals over the phone (800-695-0285) or by email (nichcy@aed.org).
[In English: Cerebral Palsy]
[En Español: La Parálisis Cerebral]

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
NINDS has a brochure on cerebral palsy that includes information on early signs of the condition, diagnosis, causes, treatment, and where to go for more information. The brochure is available in both English and Spanish.
[In English: Cerebral Palsy: Hope through Research]
[En Español: La Parálisis Cerebral: Esperanza a través de la Investigación]

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) Publications
NCBDDD staff have written many scientific articles on cerebral palsy. These articles examine such topics as how common cerebral palsy is, and factors that increase the risk that a child will have cerebral palsy. You can see a list of these papers (written in 1990 or later) by using the keyword search on the NCBDDD publications Web page. Choose "cerebral palsy" in the keyword box on the search page. You can choose whether you want the list to be sorted by author or by date. You can also choose to have the list appear with or without graphics. Click on the Submit button. You will see a list of papers that are about cerebral palsy. The list will include the complete reference for each paper and a link to an abstract of the paper or to the full text, when available. [Go to NCBDDD publications keyword search page]

We provide links to other Web pages if you want to learn even more about a topic. Some of these pages are within the CDC Web site and others are on outside Web sites. CDC has no control over the content on these outside sites. Links to such sites are included for information only. The views and opinions expressed there are not necessarily those of CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), or the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS).