Cerebral palsy is not a disease.  It’s not an illness, and it’s not contagious.  It doesn’t get worse, and you can’t catch it by being friends with someone who has it.  It’s simply a disorder that is caused by the improper development of certain areas of the brain.

‘Cerebral’ means brain and ‘palsy’ means the disorder of posture or movement.  Due to an injury to their brain, a person with cerebral palsy cannot use their muscles the same way someone without cerebral palsy can.  The severity of the disorder ranges from barely noticeable to extreme, but some examples are inability to walk, talk, eat, or play like other children.

Yet those who are afflicted with cerebral palsy should be treated the same as those who are not.  While it is not curable, with education, therapy, and other forms of treatment people with cerebral palsy can live fulfilling and productive lives. 

Teaching others about cerebral palsy is one step in the right direction.  Through education comes advocacy, and with this support comes the equal and fair treatment of all people.  Just because someone is living a life differently than yours, it doesn’t mean their any better or worse than you are.  They’re still living, just differently.