Cerebral Palsy Assessment and Classification Flashcards
What is cerebral palsy?
Describes a group of disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to non-progressive disturbances that occurred in the developing foetal or infant brain.
The motor disorders of cerebral palsy are often accompanied by what disturbances?
- Sensation
- Cognition
- Communication
- Perception
- Behaviour
- Seizure disorder
How many children are born with cerebral in Australia each year?
600 - 700
What are the upper motor neuron syndrome features of cerebral palsy?
- Increased proprioceptive reflexes producing spasticity
- Increased cutaneous reflexes producing flexor and extensor spasms and the Babinski response
- Paralysis
- Weakness
- Loss of dexterity
What are the typical motor development features of cerebral palsy?
- Delay in achievement of motor milestones
- Atypical skill development
- Secondary impact on musculoskeletal system due to change in forces acting on the growing child e.g. spasticity
What abnormalities of posture and movement are associated with cerebral palsy?
- Insufficient force generation
- Spasticity and increased reflexes
- Abnormal extensibility
- Poor selective control
- Poor regulation of activity in muscle groups in anticipatory postural changes, resulting in co-contractions
- Decreased ability to learn unique movements
What are the five dimensions of the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM)?
- Lying and rolling
- Sitting
- Crawling and kneeling
- Standing
- Walking, running and jumping
What does the Function Mobility Scale (FMS) measure?
It is a measure of independent mobility.
What are the eight ratings used in the Functional Mobility scale?
6: independent on all surfaces
5: independent on level surfaces, uses furniture
4: uses one or two sticks
3: uses crutches
2: uses a walker or frame
1: uses a wheelchair
C: crawls
N: does not apply
What are the three distances that are rated by the Functional Mobility Scale?
5m, 10m and 500m
What are the four presentation types of cerebral palsy and what do they involve?
- Spasticity: characterised by hypo-extensibility due to spasticity
- Dystonia: characterised by voluntary muscle movement that is marked by abnormal posture
- Athetoid: characterised by the child’s body either becoming extremely stiff or extremely relaxed
- Ataxic: characterised by clumsiness, imprecision, or instability
What is spasticity?
A motor disorder characterised by a velocity dependent increase in tonic stretch reflexes, with exaggerated tendon jerks resulting from hyper excitability of the stretch reflex.
What are the common measures used for the assessment of spasticity?
- Australian Spasticity Assessment Measure (ASAS)
- Hypertonicity Assessment Tool (HAT)
- Tardieu scale
- Ashworth scale
What does the Australian Spasticity Assessment Measure (ASAS) involve?
Scored on a diagrammatic representation of the body and incorporates elements of the Tardieu and Ashworth scales
What does the Hypertonicity Assessment Tool (HAT) involve?
A 7-point scale which differentiates between the four limbs and measures dystonia, spasticity and rigidity.
