Cerebral palsy (CP)

Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects muscle control and movement. It affects about one in every 400 children in the UK.

It is usually caused by an injury to the brain before, during or after birth. There may be no obvious single reason. The main causes include:

infection in the early part of pregnancy
lack of oxygen to the brain
abnormal brain development
a genetic link, but this is quite rare

Issues and trends

The rates of cerebral palsy in the UK have stayed the same since before World War Two. Medical advances have not lowered these rates. More small and premature babies survive. This increases the number of babies with additional support needs.
Information on the number of people with cerebral palsy is not routinely collected. There are about 130,000 adults with cerebral palsy in the UK. This is similar to the number of people with multiple sclerosis or Parkinson's.
Defining and diagnosing cerebral palsy is challenging. Cerebral palsy varies in type and cause. It can be hard to identify in young children. Some people are diagnosed later in life.

The brain

Different types of cerebral palsy depend on which part of the brain is affected. This affects muscle tone.

Cerebral palsy causes mixed messages from the brain to the muscles. This results in uncoordinated, clumsy or stiff muscles.

Types of cerebral palsy

The most common types include:

spastic cerebral palsy or spasticity
ataxic cerebral palsy or ataxia
athetoid or dyskinetic cerebral palsy – athetosis or dyskinesia
Some people will have ‘mixed cerebral palsy’, a combination of 2 or more types.

Spastic cerebral palsy or spasticity

Spasticity occurs in three-quarters of people with cerebral palsy.

The outer layer of the brain, called the cortex, is affected.
Spasticity increases muscle tone, causing tight muscles and limited joint movement.
Stiffness, known as hypertonia, can also affect speech.

Ataxic cerebral palsy or ataxia

Ataxia is caused by damage to the cerebellum, the base of the brain.

People with ataxia experience unsteadiness, poor balance and uncoordinated movements.
It is the least common form of cerebral palsy.
All 4 limbs are usually affected. Spatial awareness is often difficult.

Athetoid or dyskinetic cerebral palsy

Dyskinesia involves slow, writhing movements with fluctuating muscle tone.

Athetosis is a type of dyskinesia that involves general incoordination.
The basal ganglia area of the brain is affected.
Fluctuating muscle tone can affect eating, drooling, breathing and vocal cords.
Hearing is also likely to be affected.

Other terms you may hear

Hypertonia: high muscle tone
Hypotonia: low muscle tone
Dystonia: fluctuating between stiffness and floppiness

Other ways of categorising CP

Cerebral palsy can be categorised by the type of muscle movement:

Spastic, ataxic and athetoid types describe different muscle movements.

Cerebral palsy can also be categorised by the area of the body and the number of limbs affected:

Hemiplegia or unilateral: one side of the body is affected.
Diplegia or bilateral: legs are affected more than the arms.
Triplegia: 3 limbs are affected.
Quadriplegia/tetraplegia: all 4 limbs are affected.

Associated impairments

Epilepsy: 86% of people with spastic CP have epilepsy.
Hearing: 1 or 2% of people with CP have no useful hearing.
Vision: 10% of people with CP have no useful vision.
Learning: 25% have some learning difficulty.
Mobility: A third of people with CP are unable to walk.
Other effects: include those related to facial movement (tongue, jaw and lips) such as drooling, eating difficulties and verbal communication

Ways of categorising mobility

Some health professionals use the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS).

It categorises the motor function of children and young people with cerebral palsy into 5 levels.

GMFCS looks at movements like sitting, walking and the use of mobility devices to give:

a description of a child’s current motor function
an idea of what equipment or mobility aids may be needed in the future.

Diagnosis

A paediatrician usually diagnoses cerebral palsy. They will:

watch how your child moves
rule out other conditions
use tests and scans to look at the brain

There is no single test for cerebral palsy. Doctors gather information from:

your child’s medical history
observations
brain scans (if needed)

Most children are diagnosed by 18 months. But some are diagnosed later, especially if symptoms are mild or other health issues are present.

Hidden aspects of CP

Some effects of cerebral palsy are hard to see. Health professionals may miss them.
Sometimes, even the person with cerebral palsy does not notice these hidden effects.

These effects can affect tasks like:

visual perception (telling shapes apart)
visual motor/spatial awareness (using vision with movement, like hand-eye coordination)
short-term memory and memory retrieval

There are issues with transitions from child to adult services. Clinical services may be lacking.

Treatment and therapies

Treatments that may be available from the NHS:

Physiotherapy
Speech therapy (including swallowing and drooling)
Occupational therapy
Medication
Surgery

Private options may include:

Conductive Education (Peto)
Private physiotherapy
Different types of special suits (Mollii, Adeli, Thera suit, Lycra Dynamic)
Craniosacral therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Amino-acids
Stem cells treatments

Take time to research each therapy. Decide if it might help your child. Their symptoms and therapy needs are unique.

To discuss treatments, contact Richard Luke, Cerebral Palsy Programme Lead, at richard.luke@scope.org.uk

Note: Richard offers non-medical advice. He can discuss treatments for clarification. Always consult a medical professional before starting any treatment for your child.

CP resources

Cerebral Palsy - Complete Care Giving by Freeman Miller and Steven J. Bachrach

Books for children

Xander's Cerebral Palsy Superpowers by Lori Leigh Yarborough

The Abilities in me: Cerebral Palsy by Gemma Keir

The Amazing Edie Eckhart by Rosie Jones

Max and the Magic Wish by Gavin Clifton

Useful products

Handmade bandana bibs for children with CP (Tate Rose Bibs)

Products for wheelchairs for adults and children (Bundlebean)

Wheelchair accessories (Trabasack)

Footwear for orthotics

Nike Easy On and Off Shoes

Easy access footwear (Billy Footwear)

Organisations that offer social and sporting opportunities

Cerebral Palsy Teens UK

Cerebral Palsy Sport

Opportunities for disabled and non-disabled people of all ages (Phab)

Contact us

For cerebral palsy information

Richard Luke, Cerebral Palsy Programme Lead

richard.luke@scope.org.uk

Sara Edwards, Cerebral Palsy Specialist, Wales

sara.edwards@scope.org.uk

Lucy Hindmarch, Cerebral Palsy Specialist, Leeds and the North lucy.hindmarch@scope.org.uk

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Last reviewed by Scope on: 17/11/2025

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