According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. It is the most common motor disability in childhood. It is estimated that an average of 1 in 345 children in the U.S. have cerebral palsy

The following are facts and statistics worldwide on cerebral palsy:

• Around 764,000 people in the United states have at least one symptom of cerebral palsy
• Around 10,000 babies are born each year with cerebral palsy
• Boys are diagnosed more often than girls
• Cerebral palsy is the mot commonly diagnosed childhood motor disability in the United States
• Over 77% of children with cerebral palsy have the spastic form
• More than 50% of all children with cerebral palsy can walk independently
• African American children with cerebral palsy are 1.7 times more likely to need assistance with walking or be unable to walk at all
• Around 41% of babies and children with cerebral palsy will have limited abilities in crawling, walking and running.
• Around 41% children with cerebral palsy in the United states have some form of a cognitive disorder
• Behavior problems are common in children with cerebral palsy including social skills and anger issues.
• Seizures are a common associate disorder of cerebral palsy and can range from mild to extreme severe.
• There is no known cure

Australia Facts and Statistics

• 1 in 700 Australian babies is diagnosed each year
• 1 in 2 is in chronic pain
• 1 in 2 has an intellectual disability
• 1 in 3 cannot walk
• 1 in 4 also has epilepsy
• 1 in 3 has hip displacement
• 1 in 4 cannot talk
• 1 in 4 has a behavior disorder
• 1 in 5 is tube fed
• 1 in 5 has a sleep disorder
• 1 in 10 has a severe vision impairment
• 1 in 25 has a severe hearing impairment

United Kingdom- Facts and Statistics

• The current United Kingdom incidence rate is around 1 in 400 births
• Approximately 1800 children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year
• There are an estimated 30,000 children with cerebral palsy in the United Kingdom
• For every 100 girls with cerebral palsy, there are 135 boys with cerebral palsy
• just under half of children with cerebral palsy were born prematurely
• One in three children with cerebral palsy is unable to walk
• One in four children with cerebral palsy cannot feed or dress themselves
• one in four children with cerebral palsy has a learning disability
• one in fifty children with cerebral palsy has a hearing impairment

Resources

Cerebral Palsy Alliance-Australia

Cerebral Palsy Guidance

The Pace Centre Organization