What is a developmental disability? A developmental disability is a mental or physical impairment which is chronic and begins before an individual reaches adulthood. There are many different types of developmental disabilities. They include Intellectual Disability (ID), epilepsy, autism, and cerebral palsy, which is the disorder this paper will be focusing on (CA.Gov 2013). Cerebral Palsy is an impairment in the area of the brain that controls muscle tone and movement. Cerebral Palsy does not cause a child to intellectual disabilities, but is often associated with them. This condition has different levels of severity, and different types of motor impairments (N.A. 2015). This paper will discuss the nature of the disability, the causes, misconceptions,
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The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists conducted a study which disproved this. Another common misconception is that all children with Cerebral Palsy have an Intelligence disorder. This is the case with many children, but not all. It is also the most common physical disability in childhood (Reddihough & Collins 2003). A total of 2 to 2.5 of every 1000 children born in the Western world have the condition. The incidence is higher in premature infants and in twin births (Rosenbaum …show more content…
These disorders include intelligence disorder, epilepsy, hearing and vison problems as well as attention deficits ( Rosenbaum, et al. 2007). Since, Cerebral Palsy is often accompanied by other disorders it would seem likely that most children with it would be in special education so they could receive more individualized instruction. However, this is not the case. In a study by Michelsen, Uldall, Kejs, and Madsen only 37 % of their subjects with cerebral palsy were in special education. One of the problems is that a physical disability alone does not mean you will receive special education. If most students with cerebral palsy did not have other learning disabilities as well this would not be a problem, but this study showed only 51% of the subjects obtained an education, and 41% of the subjects never passed a test on the secondary level. Employment is another factor to consider since the goal of an education is to obtain a good job. There were a total of 819 adults with Cerebral Palsy in the study. Out of those 819, only 29% were competitively employed, which means they are making the same amount as other employees without Cerebral Palsy. One other thing that should be consider in regards to Cerebral Palsy and education is that even when the children with it completed normal schooling only half gained employment by the time they were
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists conducted a study which disproved this. Another common misconception is that all children with Cerebral Palsy have an Intelligence disorder. This is the case with many children, but not all. It is also the most common physical disability in childhood (Reddihough & Collins 2003). A total of 2 to 2.5 of every 1000 children born in the Western world have the condition. The incidence is higher in premature infants and in twin births (Rosenbaum …show more content…
These disorders include intelligence disorder, epilepsy, hearing and vison problems as well as attention deficits ( Rosenbaum, et al. 2007). Since, Cerebral Palsy is often accompanied by other disorders it would seem likely that most children with it would be in special education so they could receive more individualized instruction. However, this is not the case. In a study by Michelsen, Uldall, Kejs, and Madsen only 37 % of their subjects with cerebral palsy were in special education. One of the problems is that a physical disability alone does not mean you will receive special education. If most students with cerebral palsy did not have other learning disabilities as well this would not be a problem, but this study showed only 51% of the subjects obtained an education, and 41% of the subjects never passed a test on the secondary level. Employment is another factor to consider since the goal of an education is to obtain a good job. There were a total of 819 adults with Cerebral Palsy in the study. Out of those 819, only 29% were competitively employed, which means they are making the same amount as other employees without Cerebral Palsy. One other thing that should be consider in regards to Cerebral Palsy and education is that even when the children with it completed normal schooling only half gained employment by the time they were