cerebral palsy affects motor development. A brief introduction to cerebral palsy will be given, and then a more detailed look at exactly how motor development is affected will be entered into.

Cerebral palsy is a general term for a variety of disorders caused by damage to the brain (Schuelein, 2002). The damage occurs before or during birth or in the first few years of life, and may cause severe crippling, or the symptoms may be so mild that they hardly interfere with the patient's activities (Schuelein, 2002).

There are several types of cerebral palsy, and all involve lack of muscle control: common effects of the disorder include a clumsy walk, lack of balance, shaking, jerky movements, and unclear speech (Schuelein, 2002). In many patients, the brain damage also causes mental retardation, learning disability, seizures, and problems in sight and hearing (Schuelein, 2002).

In most cases of cerebral palsy, the causes...
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