The needs of children and young people with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Because cerebral palsy (CP) is a sufficiently common condition of childhood and adolescence, the number and needs of these children and young people with cerebral palsy are monitored by centres across the UK (Surman et al 2006) and Europe (Surveillance of Cerebral Palsy in Europe 2000). This article describes the epidemiology of CP in childhood using data derived from the Northern Ireland Cerebral Palsy Register, which is one of the longest running CP registers in Europe. The findings presented here are similar to, and representative of, the epidemiology of CP in the western world (Dolk et al 2006).