Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common child physiological disorder in the world. The condition inhibits motor functions that include both voluntary and involuntary movements. This means that simple motor functions such as walking and talking could be impacted, in addition to reflexes such as protecting one’s face from an incoming projectile.

About Cerebral Palsy

Crucially, it is important to understand that CP covers a whole range of different conditions. As such, CP affects different people differently. 2 in 3 people with CP gain the ability to walk during their life while 3 in 4 are able to perform oral communication.

CP develops in children when neurological damage inhabits their brains’ growth during the first 5 years. A number of causes could have caused the aforementioned damage both during birth and during the brain’s toddler years.

Getting Help For Cerebral Palsy

As challenging as CP can appear to be at the start, there are a variety of tools that can be used to cope with it. Critically, mobility aids can play an important role when used in the early years. During childhood, the brain is much more resilient and adaptive, thus allowing for it to overcome some of CP’s inhabitations. 

Here is a list of assistive technologies or devices that people with CP use.

Gait Trainers

Gait trainers are advanced machines used by professional CP specialists to correct the walking gait and posture of a person with CP. It offers customizable features in order to match the particular gait that a person has. However, due to its bulkiness and expertise needed to operate it, gait trainers are solely restricted to indoor facilities.

This means that a person who trains with a gait trainer will not have its assistance in his or her daily activities outside of the facility.

Orthotic Devices

Braces are commonly worn by people with CP as it helps to improve and strengthen their mobility. Many of these braces are custom made for the individual with CP, thus meeting their exact needs. Depending on the exact condition of CP held by the individual, a different brace would be used.

Common examples of orthotic devices include that of:

• Foot orthotics
• Ankle-foot orthotics
• Knee orthotics
• Spinal orthotics

Orthotics are an excellent choice for supporting an individual with CP. They are easy to wear and can be used in most places. 

Walkers

Walkers help children with cerebral palsy by removing a fraction of their weight on their legs. This helps to address balance and posture which in turn increase the mobility of the child. Furthermore, it increases bone strength while reducing the risk of fractures or osteoporosis.

In particular, we advocate for the use of a gait trainer walker which combines the features of a gait trainer and a walker. By infusing a set of 4 wheels and a semi seat to a standard walker, children with CP now have a solution that allows them to be mobile in their daily life while correcting their gait at the same time.