According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability in childhood. About I in 323 children are diagnosed each year. Although more than likely, cerebral palsy has been around for years, it was not until the 19th century that cerebral palsy was given a name. Here are some key events in cerebral palsy history.
1810- Dr. William John Little is credited with first identifying spastic diplegia is born.
1836- Louis Stromeyer corrects John Little’s club foot. This discovery begins a career in understanding and treating childhood impairments.
1843- Dr. William John Little begins lecturing on spastic ridgity.
1853. Dr. William John Little publishes On the Nature and Treatment of the Deformities of the Human Frame.
1861- Dr. William John Little establishes the classic definition of spastic cerebral palsy.
1889- William Osler, one of the founding professors of John Hopkins Hospital, wrote the book, Cerebral Palsies of Children
1937- Herbert A. Everest and Harry Jennings Sr., built a lightweight collapsible wheelchair.
1937- The Children’s Rehabilitation Insitute is founded by Dr. Winthrope Phelps specializing in children with cerebral palsy.
1897- Dr. Freud states cerebral palsy may be caused by fetal development
1946- Cerebral Palsy of New York State founded by parents of children with cerebral palsy.
1948- United Cerebral Palsy is incorporated.
1949- United Cerebral Palsy founded by Leonard Goldenson, his wife Isabel, Nina Eaton and Jack and Ethel Hausman.
2002- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducts first U.S. multi-state study on the prevalence.