Neuroplasticity is the good news. Maladaptive habits are the bad. No matter how old your child is, every parent is at the crossroads and the choices you make will affect […]
Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy [HIE] or Neonatal Encephalopathy [NE]?
You have heard me argue against using generic terms like Cerebral Palsy as a final diagnosis, so you may be surprised that I am favoring the newer term Neonatal Encephalopathy […]
Do Brain Scans Improve Diagnostic Accuracy?
Yes and no. Starting with CT scans, then head ultrasounds, MRIs and now fMRIs and Diffusion Tensor Imaging, brain scans have given us progressively more detailed pictures of the brain. […]
A New Way Of Thinking About AFO’s – Spasticity Series #6
The boy on the left with a ball is wearing a set of standard issue AFO’s that block the spastic tendency to plantar flex at the ankle. The boy on […]
First the Trunk, Then the Ankle – Spasticity #5
There is a continuing debate about the use of ankle supports/braces in children with cerebral palsy. In my experience, where there are polarized opinions, it usually means that there are […]
Spasticity is a Body and Brain Habit
Spasticity is a term used to describe tone changes that are common in cerebral palsy. Unfortunately, it is a generic term that is effectively useless when applied to a specific […]
Movement Starts With The Core
The overwhelming majority of small babies with damaged brains have perfectly normal posture during sleep. When they are awake and attentive, looking at you, but not moving, they are similarly […]
The Good, the Bad and The Ugly Facts about Adult CP
The good news is that neuroplasticity is life long and provides new hope for change in adults with cerebral palsy, as well as in children. In addition, there are many […]
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly Facts About Growth and Recovery
The Good – The first 3 to 4 years are a period of active neuroplasticity in humans. Brain growth is explosive and there are many available neural networks. One of the best examples of early neuroplasticity is the exposure to language. If a child is raised hearing 2 or more languages, they are able to learn them all. In certain areas of Switzerland it is commonplace for children to be fluent […]
Crawling: Normal, But Not Necessary
Most babies begin to crawl between the ages of 6 to 10 months. If a child has an early neurologic problem such as cerebral palsy or brachial plexus injury, both […]