Today is World Cerebral Palsy Day.

World Cerebral Palsy was first launched in 2012 by Cerebral Palsy Alliance (Australia) and United Cerebral Palsy (USA), with the support of cerebral palsy service organisations from 28 countries. The day is aimed at not only raising awareness of the condition but also to gather ideas from people with cerebral palsy and their carers as to how their lives could be made better, and make the best of those ideas a reality.

The theme is Change My World in One Minute. Participants post text or a video for an idea that, if invented, would change their world. The idea must take no longer than one minute to read or view.

In 2012, more than 470 ideas were posted on the World Cerebral Palsy Day website. Three ideas were shortlisted and then the call went out to inventors. A research team from the University of Virginia (USA) won the major prize. They developed a prototype solar powered wheelchair which was an idea posted by Alper Sirvan, a man with cerebral palsy in Turkey.

There are 17 million people across the world living with cerebral palsy. Another 350 million people are closely connected to a child or adult with Cerebral Palsy. It is the most common physical disability in childhood.

Cerebral Palsy is a permanent disability that affects movement. Its impact can range from a weakness in one hand, to almost a complete lack of voluntary movement. It is a complex disability: 1 in 4 children with Cerebral Palsy cannot talk, 1 in 3 cannot walk, 1 in 2 have an intellectual disability, 1 in 4 have epilepsy.

Approximately 10% of children with cerebral palsy suffer from this condition as a result of complications that happen at birth. In some of those cases it is possible to prove that different management of the birth may have avoided this type of injury happening.

If you believe that you or your child have suffered an injury during pregnancy or childbirth our specialist solicitors could help you not only to make a claim for compensation but also by providing you with the support and assistance to cope with this life changing condition.

 

For more information on how Wolferstans could help please contact Elizabeth Smith on 01752 292309 or esmith@wolferstans.com

For more information on World Cerebral Palsy Day visit their website www.en.worldcpday.org